Photo courtesy of Jamie Herzlinger
Walk into a five-star hotel room and the first thing that grabs your attention is usually a large, lavish bed that looks so inviting you can’t wait to jump in.
If you’re like me, you often wonder, when lying in luxe linens, sinking into plush pillows and snuggling under a billowy duvet, how to create this cloud-like wonder in your own home.
“The pivotal elements to the best hotel bed are white linens, a high thread count, and great lighting that can be dimmed for relaxing or reading while in bed,” says Kellie Sirna, co-founder of Studio 11 Design, a design studio that works with boutique hotels. “We love simple minimalism and maximum comfort. Layering is key in any form, and one of the most fun elements to play with is how that takes shape. Layering a hotel bed could mean several pillows or one beautiful throw.”
Here, we look at the best hotel beds, and the best hotel mattresses and how to make that luxury find its way to your home. Let’s talk with the experts who have mastered the art of the bed to make great sleep a priority—and the ultimate in luxury.
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
HOTEL ELEVEN
Hotel Eleven, a new boutique property in Austin’s hot East 11th Street neighborhood, attracts trendsetting travelers looking for a local experience. And while you expect cool design, you may not expect one of the best hotel beds. Husband and wife owners Mark Vornberg and Shelly Leibham spent countless hours picking the perfect bed for the 14 rooms. They found sleep nirvana with a Simmons mattress, Italian linens by Sferra and pillows from Down, Inc.
“Pretty much once a week we get a request for the type of mattress we use,” says Leibham. “One guest told us his only complaint about our hotel is that the mattress was too comfortable and he overslept.”
Bring it Home:
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
FOUR SEASONS HOTELS AND RESORTS
For 50 years, the Four Seasons has worked with partners to create what they refer to as their “Sleep Temple.” Today, the mattresses by Simmons are made exclusively for the hotel, and feature a temperature regulation system and coil motion separators to ensure your husband’s tossing and turning doesn’t cost you beauty sleep.
Guests have a choice of three mattress toppers to further customize their hotel bed to their firmness preference. Dobby Sateen 300-thread count sheets are bespoke Four Seasons designed and manufactured, high-lofting, 100-percent down plush duvet, and four hypoallergenic down/feather pillows complete the look. Four Seasons housekeepers are trained in the “Issy fold” which is a tuck that allows an 8-inch pocket at the foot of the bed to allow your feet freedom to move during the night.
Bring it Home:
You May Also Like: Smarter Sleep is a Wink Away
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
TSCHUGGEN GRAND HOTEL
Nestled into the iconic Alps in Arosa, Switzerland, the Tschuggen Grand Hotel knows that nothing beats an inviting hotel bed after a long day on the slopes. Keeping it local, the interior designer, Carlo Rampazzi, insisted on Swiss-made Elite beds in all the suites. The mattress is custom-made and extra-long, making it comfortable for everyone from a gymnast to an NFL linebacker. It is well ventilated and adheres to European Ecolabel standards. The best hotel bed is dressed with Swiss linens including Zollner billowy pillows, a luxurious mix of feather and down, and sheets from Leinenweberei Bern. The ensemble is perfect for anyone wanting to recreate a cozy retreat from winter weather at home.
Bring it Home:
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
MIRAVAL
Guests have likened Miraval’s hotel bed to sleeping inside a jumbo marshmallow.
“At Miraval, our guestrooms combine comfort and elegance so that our guests may experience peaceful relaxation after a restorative day,” says Mark Stebbings, general manager of Miraval Arizona. “Our beds in particular are thoughtfully designed with comfort in mind to offer the ultimate night’s sleep and enhance guests’ overall wellbeing.”
What sets this bed apart is definitely the linens. A luxurious hotel bedding ensemble is built on a Sealy Serta Diamond Suite Edition 2 mattress. The down pillows are crafted in Italy’s premier mill, the pillowcases, duvet cover and sheets are 300-thread count and 100-percent cotton, and the down comforter is a winter light blend with 650 fill power Hungarian Down covered with a 366-thread count Swiss Batiste cotton cambric cover.
What really makes the Miraval bed so comfortable is its featherbed constructed of a surface down layer and a supportive bottom layer that is a down/feather blend. A cotton twill ticking prevents feathers from mixing with down.
Bring It Home:
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
HOTEL SAINT CECILIA
Named for the patron saint of music and poetry, Hotel Saint Cecilia in Austin, Texas, offers guests a heavenly night’s sleep with handcrafted Hästens mattresses in all its suites, bungalows and studios. The mattress is made to order with medium firmness, and features a special spring system and layers of horsetail hair, pure wool, and teased cotton for extreme comfort. The hotel bed is dressed in 100-percent Egyptian cotton, 400-thread count Italian linens from Rivolta Carmignani, and pillows and a down comforter from Cuddledown.
Bring it Home:
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
Langham New York
Worldwide, Langham hotels are known for their refined sophistication, but in New York it’s also known for letting you get your Zzzs in the city that never sleeps. All of the rooms feature a Duxiana bed. The Swedish company has been making the best hotel beds since 1926, with the philosophy that the right mattress helps reduce and eliminate back pain. The Dux 1001 model at the Langham features two layers of Duxiana’s unique continuous coil springs and a special support top pad. The 300-threadcount linens are made exclusively for the hotel, and while the standard pillow is feather there is an extensive pillow menu to choose from.
Bring it Home:
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
WESTIN
Way back in 1999, well before wellness travel exploded, Westin put an emphasis on great sleep with its revolutionary Heavenly Bed. The foundation is a Simmons pillow-top mattress and box spring, and the hotel bed is dressed with several types of pillows, 200-thread count sheets, and a billowy duvet, down blanket and bed skirt.
Bring it Home:
©2023 ICONIC - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
