Around the House: Make Your Beds Like a Five-Star-Hotel

By Yehudit Garmaise

Hospitality experts report that luxurious, comfortable beds are the keys to success for most hotels.

“The beds can make or break a hotel,” William Rademacher, the general manager at the Talbott Hotel in Chicago, says,  “You could have the most beautiful, gold-gilded hotel in the world, but if your beds aren’t to an exceptional level, it all falls apart.” 

While nothing is better than returning home after a long trip to one’s own bed, BoroPark24 shares how to combine the comforts of home with the feeling of luxury that five-star hotels strive to achieve.

1.          Choose your sheets wisely. Good sheets can be worth splurging on. High thread counts, which indicate the tightness of a fabric’s weave and quality, are crucial for softness and comfort. For a luxury hotel look and feel: buy all cotton sheets that contain thread counts of at least 600. Sateen sheets give a smooth, silky feel, but by ensuring the sheets are 100% cotton,  sleepers will stay cooler.

2.         One way to keep your beds crisp and clean: Don’t sit down or lie on your bed wearing your street clothes. Also, when in your bed, do not eat or drink. Crumbs and stains do not create a luxurious feeling.

3.         Buy a featherbed mattress topper, or make a faux one to transform your bed into a fluffy, comfy cloud. Mattress toppers add a delicious layer of cushy comfort on many hotel beds. You can buy mattress toppers or simply lay a few extra blankets underneath your fitted sheets to further cushion you as you sleep. 

4.         To keep extra warm in the winter, and make your bed look particularly plush and cozy, insert two duvets into one duvet cover.

5.         When making the bed every morning: For those who use sheets and blankets instead of duvets, pull sheets as taut as possible. Neatly fold down the top of the flat sheet over your blanket. Make sure to neatly tuck all sides of sheets and blankets under the mattress using hospital corners for a smoother, tighter look. 

6.         For reading, resting, and napping, place a soft, color-coordinated lighter blanket at the foot of your bed for an inviting, luxurious look.

7.         Each bed can get two pillows, which should be fluffed daily. When you make your bed, place one in front of the other, against the wall or headboard for comfort and a nice look. Tuck the ends of the pillowcase inside the casing for a uniform look.

8.         Instead of mints on the pillow, hotels now often leave little sprays of sleep-inducing lavender oil, or other scents, for guests to spray onto their pillows. 

“A dried sachet near the bed works, too,” said Lori Mukoyama, a hospitality-design principal at Gensler. “Engaging all the senses helps create a hospitality-inspired experience.” 

9.         Hotel rooms also can be relaxing because they don’t contain all your belongings. 

“Hotel rooms are inviting because tabletops are clear,” Dobin pointed out. 

10.       For the full five-star experience, replace the clutter on your clean nightstand with a relaxing book, cut flowers in a small vase, a small lamp, and nothing else.