Table for one? Done.
With the growing number of solo diners, hotels and resorts are making sure they are comfortable.
The Plume restaurant at the Jefferson Hotel in Washington, D.C., created a program for solo diners last fall (from $98 a person); several of its 18 seats are dedicated to diners who want a sense of privacy yet a feeling of inclusion. “The seating for this type of diner doesn’t include being in the center of the room,” said the restaurant’s manager, Sean Mulligan. “We make sure they are not near the entrance or exit for discretion and privacy while making sure the diners have items like newspapers and magazines delivered to their table if they need it.”
At Metropolitan by Como, Miami Beach, a dinner-for-one menu ($70) made its debut earlier this year, with recommended seating at the corner of the hotel’s terrace and the Traymore bar positioned for people-watching along a pedestrian area of Miami Beach Drive. Solo diners are also able to log into PressReader, where they can read their favorite magazine in their preferred language from their phone or tablet.
The new “Just Cook for Me Chef!” program ($150 a person) at Miraval Resort & Spa in Tucson, Arizona, was designed to bring together several solo guests in the kitchen so they can enjoy samples from the daily menu. This option was designed to be a smaller version of the communal-style tables that are enjoying a wave of popularity.
Other hotels are taking a similar approach. At the Atwood Restaurant in the Hotel Burnham in Chicago, which was renovated last year, the general manager, Damian Palladino, said an extension of the bar area was intentionally blended into the lobby to attract the solo diner.
Bjorn Hanson, a clinical professor of hospitality and tourism at New York University’s Tisch Center, said he has observed a recent increase in solo dining among those traveling on their own. “This type of experience continues to become more of a desire, and much of the stigma is less of an issue for younger travelers,” he said in an email.
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