We often say that we enjoy traveling on our vacation to escape the city crowd, enjoying the nature, ocean, and other joys that the new destination brings. However, if you ever stayed in any well-furnished hotel, or even some luxurious 5-star hotel, you know that it’s not only about the change of climate, there’s also something about the change of the ambient too.
If you’re one of those people who visited a luxurious hotel destination, then you must’ve loved how welcoming and cozy your bed’s embrace felt. That’s because hotels go the extra step to ensure unprecedented comfort and convenience for the guests so that they can return home rested, refreshed, and ready for new challenges.
But, how do they achieve that? Be sure that it’s not rocket science on how hotels keep their sheets, their mattresses, and the overall bed quality so premium.
No, there’s no magic either. It’s just a set of techniques, professional staff that changes sheets and maintains the mattress promptly. More importantly, it’s all about the equipment they use, luxurious mattresses, pillows, sheets, and a quiet bedroom ambient.
Given that there’s no magic or some super-complicated science behind the bedroom that feels good, here’s a detailed explanation of how hotel bedrooms maintain their freshness for all its guests, and how you can turn your bedroom into a luxurious slice of paradise.
Continue reading through this article to learn what techniques hotel staff uses, and learn about what you can do about enhancing the quality of your bedroom for a peaceful and cozier slumber.
How Do Hotels Make Their Beds Comfortable
The beds at luxurious hotels feel fluffy, cozy yet cool, refreshing, and welcoming. They are a protective cocoon that aids your sleep through the night and gives you the best version of yourself for the next day. But, how do they do it? Here’s an explanation.
1. A Lot Of Testing
Hotel personnel takes buying a mattress seriously. You probably know that buying a mattress is not an easy feat, and it comes with a lot of researching and communication with your partner about what you need, as well as some extra features.
Buying a mattress also depends on where the hotel is located. If the hotel is located at some hot and dry place, or humid place, they’ll avoid getting cheap memory foam mattresses that tend to get hot. They will choose the mattress that will feel cool, breathable, and comfortable.
On the other hand, if the climate is cold, they’ll search for mattresses that are filled with wool which is a great temperature regulator, and it won’t cause you to feel too cold or too hot.
Finally, mattresses come with different thicknesses and firmness. Most hotels will want to go for a thick mattress, given that both heavier and lighter people sleep on them. But, when it comes to firmness, it’s different.
We all have different sleeping preferences, but when it comes to healthy slumber, hotels usually choose beds that are neither too firm nor too soft. It’s just at the medium-level firmness so that both sides can enjoy their half.
Although there are people who prefer having beds that are firmer or have that plush, sinking feeling, the medium bed ensures that guests won’t lose their sleep quality, while they’ll be able to adjust to the medium feeling while still waking up fully rested.
With that in mind, the hotel management hires people that will test the mattresses and avoid pure memory foam or pure spring design. They’ll spend some weeks testing the mattress based on their internal criteria and decide whether it’s good enough to use it.
Editor’s notes: Some luxurious hotels have a contract with different mattress makers to design custom-made mattresses for their hotels. This usually comes after the employed testers already spent some time with the mattress and want to make adjustments to meet the policy of their hotel.
2. Custom-made furniture
If you thought that hotels just hire IKEA to bring them the furniture, you’re wrong. Oftentimes, they collaborate with custom furniture makers, the same as they’d work with custom mattress manufacturers. The furniture needs to be designed and colored to meet the desired aesthetics that the hotel is trying to promote while being able to fit in the branding of the hotel.
The manufacturers use high-quality wood to design wardrobes, beds, headboards, and other furniture in the hotel rooms that will help it last longer and be durable for different guest profiles that visit the hotel throughout the years.
The furniture won’t start falling apart after only a few months but will feel fresh and silent even after some years have passed with minimal maintenance.
Also Read: Best Hotel Beds: Book a Better Room
3. Flat Sheets
Did you ever notice that the bedsheets at home feel far different than the hotel ones? That’s because they’re completely different. Mostly so, they’re not only different material, but also a thread count, and the overall design makes it less wrinkly.
A lot of people have duvet or cotton sheets at home. Sometimes, you may settle for a sateen option, or want to treat yourself with percale. Still, it’s not so frequent to see luxurious material like linen or some other luxurious material.
Just like everything else, hotels work with custom furniture manufacturers to design and sew flat sheets, instead of fitted sheets. They often also use multiple flat sheets to mimic the look of fitted sheets, while also avoiding the air that deposits itself on the bottom of the sheet and causes wrinkles, which are common occurrences on percale and linen sheets.
The cotton or percale sheets at home usually have between 180 and 300 thread count, which makes them less durable, and crispy compared to some other, luxurious material. The most breathable, crispier, and hugging sheets are made out of Egyptian cotton, which we know is derived using expensive and premium processes.
Note: Most hotel sheets come with about 300 thread-count, and this goes for both linen and cotton sheets. Some other hotels, that want to offer even more comfort and breathability will go for 500 thread-count, and some even up to 800, although that’s quite expensive compared to other comfortable options in the market.
4. Down & Down Alternative Pillows
As for the pillows, it’s known that hotels use a lot of them. Luxurious hotel rooms come with at least two pillows on each side of the bed, plus additional comfort pillows that will make your leaning on to read or watch television while scrolling Instagram or Tik-Tok much easier.
The most affordable pillows on the market are the regular feather pillows and memory foam pillows. However, both heat up easily. More importantly, feather pillows need to be re-fluffed frequently to avoid sinking of the pillow or having it become asymmetric.
Hotels want a breathable, comfortable, and crisp experience of sleep, which is why they use down, large pillows that are ideal for sleepers in all positions. For one, down pillows are made of down, which the name suggests, is back and chest quill-less feathers underneath the top feathers of a duck and geese. They’re more premium and easier to maintain.
Down lasts for a long time, and the pillows can be easily maintained and rejuvenated. More importantly, hotels can easily change the filling if necessary. Some hotels also add microfiber pillows for more comfort and balance, which is why there are plenty of pillows in the hotel rooms.
Editor’s notes: It’s worth noting that there is also a vegan-friendly down-alternative option for down pillows, which hotels that advocate against animal cruelty often use. In case you want to build your hotel room in your apartment, if you’re a vegan, this information may help.
5. They Use A Comforter
It’s worth noting that, given they went for a medium bed, the hotel management will add other plush materials to the bed to soften it, and give it a cloud-like feel. With that in mind, it’s important to give your bed a comforter that is more different compared to the duvet cover. Make sure that it’s super-plush and soft and a little wider compared to the duvet cover you’d normally use.
The air will get trapped beneath it, lifting it a little, so that you can just jump and sink into the endless comfort. They are usually made out of down and down-alternative, for an extra fluffy feeling.
6. Special Chemicals
It’s known that hotels often use industrial-grade washers and fragrant fabric softeners to improve the overall quality of the sheets and pillowcases. These also improve the softness of the material and lead to it lasting much longer. They wash these daily and because this practice is not environmentally friendly, it’s often discouraged and not used in the home conditions.
How To Recreate A Luxurious Bedroom Feel At Your Home?
Now that we clarified the techniques and secrets behind the comfort of hotel rooms, it’s time to help you recreate the same, or similar feel. Read our guide below which will help you choose materials to turn your room into a luxurious paradise of comfort and sweet slumber.
See If It’s Time To Change Your Mattress
We agree that shopping for a mattress is not the most affordable expense that you can make. However, it’s necessary to change your mattress every 10 to 15 years, and even sooner, if you’re using a memory foam mattress or a budget option that often contains not-so-sustainable materials.
A new mattress will be more breathable, softer, comfortable, and will likely regulate the temperature better than the old mattress. If your mattress is sagging, not hugging your curves, and simply feels too hard or too soft, it’s time to change it.
Editor’s notes: Consider taking a mattress with good temperature regulation. Memory foam mattresses are cheaper than most other mattresses, but they have poor temperature regulation. If memory foam is your only option, search for models that have gel memory foam.
Also Read:
- 5 Most Comfortable Sleeper Sofa Within Your Budget
- Top 10 Most Comfortable Mattresses in 2021
Swap Your Fitted Sheet For Two Flat Sheets
As we mentioned above, one of the best solutions you can do is put all-white sheets that are not fitted, but flat. Fitted sheets often cause wrinkling of the material which can get uncomfortable. Also, the material made out of fitted sheets may not always be cotton sheets.
Although the hotel-grade flat sheets are hard to find and are significantly more expensive compared to the sheets we use at home, combining two 100% cotton or percale sheets can give you that cool and breezy feeling. If it’s not too out of your budget a linen sheet, which is a superb quality sheet can also come into consideration.
Editor’s notes: Always make sure you use two sheets. One should be used to completely encase the bed. Make sure that it’s larger than your bed and tuck its edges under. The other sheet serves as a cover over the bed, for ensured softness and crisp feeling when laying on.
Use A Mild Washer To Wash Your Sheets
One of the ways to help your sheets preserve their freshness and crispiness is to use a mild washing detergent, instead of some heavy chemical that could be bad for your sheet. See what works the best with the sheet material that you use. Given that hotels mostly have white sheets, you should consider going full white.
Some anecdotal rumors are going on about how white sheets are good for our health, our skin and improve the overall mental health which is why many people feel rested in hotels. However, health experts say that this sensation is often tied to a placebo effect and that more research needs to be done.
Editor’s notes: Another thing to consider about the sheets is using the percale or cotton sheets with a thread count of more than 300, up to 500. Keep in mind that also makes these models pricier.
Use A Fluffy Bed
A fluffy bed or feather bed refers to the mattress topper or pad that will soften your bed if necessary. A fluffy bed will make your bed soft, and more cloud-like which can ultimately contribute to calmer sleep and improvement of your sleep cycle.
Editor’s notes: Mattress topper or pad won’t fix your bed if it started sinking and sagging. They are used to soften your bed and can’t harden it.
Add Up More Pillows
It’s no secret that adding more pillows to your bedroom means a more cloud-like experience, you’ll also feel more support on your back and neck. Some common practice at hotels with double beds is to have at least two large pillows and four small ones. Some even more luxurious hotels boast at least four large pillows.
The larger pillows should be made out of comfortable material like down or down alternatives. The smaller pillows are usually fiber-fill, but there are also other materials depending on the hotel service they offer.
Editor’s notes: As we discussed earlier, down pillows are the most luxurious option you can get. However, if you’re not allergic to latex, latex pillows do a great job at offering comfort and regulating the temperature.
Also Read: Top 20 Luxury Masculine Bedding Ideas (2021 Updated)
How To Recreate Luxurious Hotel Bedroom When Restricted On Budget?
When wanting to create luxurious hotel bedroom-like on your own terms and budget, there’s usually one thing that we forget – the budget. Linen, industrial-level detergents, expensive pillows and mattresses are unavailable to people who can’t plan their budget for a luxurious bedroom.
Still, while using expensive premium materials to make your bed more luxurious feels a bit far-fetched you can either shop for bedding bit by bit, or use cheaper materials that won’t compromise on quality. Such as:
- Using gel memory foam mattresses and mattress toppers for fluffier feeling and better temperature regulation.
- Gel memory foam pillows with cooling and breathable elements can help you flow into a restful slumber.
- Use breathable cotton sheets made out of percale or sateen.
- You don’t have to buy all the pillows immediately.
- Get more breathable blankets without breaking the budget.
