Spun off from this thread.
Ready… GO!
Er… I’m not sure there is a question 
(But I would say that “European” is while not meaningless, not very useful either)
The only thing for me to contribute is a semantic consideration: luxury seems to be defined differently at least in some segments in the US vs. Germany. For example Mercedes seems to be referred to as a luxury brand in the US but not in Germany (they have revived the Maybach brand as their luxury marque). Cars that are driven by Fußball moms, farmers, as taxis and by master craftsmen simply don’t qualify as Luxus.
I know that I had a misunderstanding with a german friend of mine, I called something luxurious, meaning a level of opulent fantasy treatment [like handsome young men bringing me my dinner of foie gras, caviar, truffles and champagne, though that menu would suck collectively - it needs more courses] and he took it to mean something like that bordello scene in Shadow of the Vampire. I would call that decadent myself …
I think it was Clark Howard who said you have to look at the country of origin when reading hotel comments/reviews because of different standards of measurement.
I think it is far more specific than just “American.” It’s kinda hard to generalize. What a midwesterner would call a closet-sized hotel room, a New Yorker would consider quite spacious.
I could definitely generalize on decorating though. Europeans are accustomed to clean straight lines and minimalist furniture. To Americans, this resembles a prison cell. We expect some woodworking skill to go into the bed in a “luxury” hotel, no matter how fine the mattress and linens may be. We are also looking for high end textiles and rugs, not lovely polished wood floors. And “blond” or “natural” wood looks unfinished to most of us. That’s the one we buy when we want to save 15%.
I personally consider true luxury to be about comfort and service. I think most Americans are uncomfortable with service. LOL! Even the highest end homes often do not have permanent staff, just crews who come in at intervals to set things to rights. There may be a live-in housekeeper, but if so he/she is treated like a member of the family. So wait staff who silently fill our drinks when were not looking make us nervous - we want to thank you each time you do something for us - and for many it feels impersonal.
There are probably at least three terms necessary to even have the discussion:
Opulence - Which I think of as a sort of visual richness, unecessarily fine materials (gold faucets and such) and a sort of Roccoco style.
Decadence - tasteless and unecessary richness, a purposeful wasting for the sake of showing one can.
Luxury - comfort and care, in a pleasant setting. Air conditioning, private baths, extra towels and pillows, rich carefully prepared foods.
My personal preference is for Bed and Breakfasts, as I find hostels to often be less friendly. Or friendly in an “I can hike farther than you with less” kind of way. I like to relax and enjoy my travel, without all that competitive austerity.
I also want a private bath. Sorry, but sharing a bathtub is just yucky, and I don’t want to wash it myself when I’m on vacation.
Regarding the “clean lines” thing: I’m under the impression that Ikea is regarded as “yuppie” or maybe even “fancy” in the US. Over here in the Netherlands, Ikea is where you get most of your stuff when you’re a student. It’s usually fairly well made, and the designs are neutral enough to blend in with whatever else is in your room, but mostly, it’s cheap. That’s not to say that Ikea is regarded as “shabby” - most people I know who have a fair bit of money have their kitchen furnished with Ikea stuff - but it’s definitely not “luxury”.
But I think that “Europe” is just way too diverse to give any meaningful answer. For instance, my sister lives in England, and the painters she hired were perplexed to hear she wanted all the walls and fittings in the living room painted plain white. That’s really quite common over here, since it makes the place look lighter and larger, but the English seem to prefer a bit more ornamentation.
I don’t think anyone here considers Ikea ‘luxury’ furnishings. ‘Yuppie’? Maybe, in the sense of ‘Look at my European style’. I’m not a yupster, but I do like the style. And the Ikea furniture I have is well-made and cheap.
I’ve never heard of anyone considering Ikea to be fancy. I think of Ikea as being affordable, well made, and simple.
I think an American (and Canadian, due to cultural proximity) idea of luxury involves the concept of new. Shiny, unused, there–just-for-you items are considered to be much more luxurious than older, antique, well-taken-care-of items, and this includes things like TVs, furnishings, even the buildings themselves. Old buildings are torn down and replaced with new and modern ones, regardless of the history or character of the building. I think new technology plays into it as well; having the latest and biggest anything is more luxurious than having an older model, even if the older one is better, more suitable, or just as functional.
I’ve noticed that Americans seem to like new furniture. Had a couple of occasions where American friends have come into a nice used chair or something, and the first thing they want to do is get it refinished etc.
My (British) inclination is the opposite: refinishing it makes it look new and tacky.
pdts
Do you want to hear a secret?
I find it strange that TruCelt thinks Americans may be uncomfortable with service. As an American, I was taught to always say ‘Thank you’ when someone brings you something or refills your water glass, but in general, I would say that Europeans expects less overall than Americans do, particularly when dining. I have been on a number of cruises both domestically and throughout Europe, and have found universally that those ships catering to a largely European clientele seem a little off. Other than the far larger number of smokers, the service in the dining room is always much “worse”, which is to say that the staff don’t come up and ask how the food is, refill glasses as often, and overall, take too long to get the meal out. I am aware that Europeans like to have a long (and later dinner), but what I think a European would consider good service, Americans would find slow or mediocre.
I would also say that Americans expect a large space in a hotel, whereas Europeans don’t care, especially if the building is at all historical. In general, I think Europeans require less and expect less than we do. I would bet the typical European would look at what Americans see as luxurious and classify it as simply ‘wasteful’.
I hate it when staff comes around to ask how the meal is. If it’s bad, I’ll flag down my server. If it isn’t, I don’t want to be bothered. Waiting for a meal is seldom a problem, unless I’m famished. In that case I probably wouldn’t be dining in a restaurant anyway. But I do like to have my water glass filled.
In the U.S., people seem to have a vastly different view of the importance of personal space than they do everywhere else, and I think this reflects in what is considered luxury here vs. elsewhere. For example, in many European hotels I’ve stayed in, televisions and personal bathrooms are considered extras, not necessities, yet they’re available in virtually every hotel in the U.S. So I think in the U.S., luxury is seen as bigger and fancier, probably what many Europeans would consider more ostentatious than anything else. But that’s just my opinion.
Oh, and for what it’s worth, I don’t consider Ikea to be luxury furniture. I think of it as contemporary furniture certainly, but not luxury. To me, it looks like something a college student would have in their apartment. For me, luxury furniture is a huge king-sized bed with a carved, fancy wood headboard and footboard and soft, fluffy bedding.
HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Ikea is thought of as college-age disposable crap. 
For me, luxury is a bed. (OK, it’s pretty much a necessity. But I’m not particular.)
Speaking of which…
My Ikea bed frame (solid pine) is a couple of decades old.
To clarify the IKEA issue: IKEA is thought of as “nice” and even “yuppie” furniture…by college students. After college, it’s thought of as cheap, yet still functional and not all that shabby, but it’s not “luxury” or “high-end” at all. As a 20something, I was proud to have a neat little couch from IKEA, but when I was 32 and it was really too wrecked to clean one more time, IKEA was not my first choice to find a replacement.
The (midwestern middle class) American ranking in terms of respect for home goods goes something like:
Your grandma’s old stuff < Thrift Store < Walmart < Target < Ikea < Value City Furniture < Pier 1/World Market/Crate and Barrel < Walter E Smithe < independent furniture sellers
< handcrafted furniture <someone else’s old stuff.
Good quality antiques are luxuries.
Some things are luxuries due to a matter of proximity. Even the bottom of the Mercedes line sold in the U.S. is a very expensive car. In Germany, a Mercedes is a more reasonably priced car.
I live in Minnesota - wild rice here is cheap. My understanding is that its a strange and rare luxury other places.
In general, high end luxury is similar the world over - because the wealthy travel the world - they look for the same qualify no matter where they are.