As H&G's resident sleep writer, I'm often asked: 'which bedding do luxury hotels use?' The questions continue: how do they get their sheets so soft? How do they plump their pillows just so? How do they tuck the blanket so tight?
If you really want to know how to bring home that five-star feeling, then you've come to the right place. I asked top hoteliers to share their secrets, pick out the best products, and show us how to create a hotel-worthy at home.
You'll need the best bed sheets for a crisp, cool finish, the best duvet insert for maximum loft, and the best pillow to rest your head, plus a few finishing touches to tie it all together. Good news: you can get the luxury look and feel for less when you shop with the specialist sleep stores, rather than the hotel boutiques.
Which bedding do luxury hotels use?
Along the way, we'll bust some bedding myths and identify the best bedding for every sort of sleeper, so that you can enjoy a sleep retreat from the comfort of your own home.
Signature sheets
I don't know about you, but the first thing I notice about a hotel bed is the sheets. Back home, I tend to sleep on a flat sheet with a comforter thrown on top, so it feels like a real treat to slip between silky sheets. I asked Alex Ekbatani, CEO of ette hotels, what makes the best hotel bed sheets.
According to Alex, it's all in the details. That's why he partners with Frette, luxury linen makers since 1860, to get total creative control over his bed and bath linens. He believes that 'the meticulous selection of cotton sateen linens, adorned with an elegant saddle white rim of embroidery and featuring the distinctive ette logo on the pillowcase, speaks to our commitment to excellence'.
Alex is the CEO of ette hotels, a luxury hotelier group under Rosemont Hotels. He's something of a nomad himself and reckons he's circled the globe several times over in the course of his five-star travels.
When you get into a hotel bed, and you feel the silkiness of the sheets, that's sateen: a tight weave with an attractive sheen that's soft against your skin. Sateen is beautiful, but it wrinkles easily, which is why ette's housekeeping staff take such good care of their sheets.
Cotton sheets are a classic for a reason, but a percale weave could prove more manageable. Simply knit, with a one-thread-over, one-thread-under structure, percale is strong enough to withstand the wear and tear of regular washes, with optimal airflow for hot sleepers.
These sheets are woven from hand-picked Egyptian cotton staples for their strength and softness, then finished with a triple embroidered stitch for a bit of interest around the edges.
For designer bed sheets, these are seriously affordable. You can pick up a Queen-sized flat sheet, fitted sheet, and two pillowcases for around $600 (less in the luxury bedding sales).
Like all the best bedding, these Supima cotton sheets are breathable, yet durable, fashioned from long-staple cotton fibers for pill-resistance. You can throw them straight in the washer and dryer and they'll come out as good as new.
Quality comforters
I used to struggle to style a comforter. Where sheets look neat and tidy, a comforter can bunch up on the bed, creating lumps, bumps, and cold patches that have no place in a home or a hotel.
When I asked Christopher Perone, General Manager at NoMad London, for his styling advice, I thought he'd tell us all how to do hospital corners. Instead, he encouraged me to let it all hang out. 'At NoMad, we maintain a more residential approach for making our beds,' he says. That means 'not tucking in the duvet all the way around', but letting it fall to the floor for a dramatic drape. Christopher thinks 'this helps to achieve a more relaxed visual'.
Christopher helped to launch the original NoMad NYC back in 2012. He brings more than 20 years of operational experience to his new role as General Manager at NoMad London.
By their very nature, hotel beds tend to feel a little impersonal. They're designed to suit every sort of sleeper, whether they prefer the feel of fluffy down to that of a down alternative. When you're curating your own sleep sanctuary, you get to tailor it to meet your needs.
If you're a hot sleeper, I suggest you invest in the best cooling comforter to see you through the night sweats and the hot flashes. Cold sleepers should snuggle up under the best warm comforter, while eco-conscious shoppers could consider organic duvet inserts.
Filled with fluffy down, ethically sourced from American farms, and triple-washed for longer-lasting loft, this duvet insert would look right at home in a high-end hotel or luxury spa.
Down alternative bedding doesn't have to be cheap and cheerful. This organic duvet insert is filled with Alpaca wool, famed for its thermoregulation and moisture-wicking properties, ideal for summer nights.
If you're looking for something really luxurious, then I suggest the Cozy Earth Silk Comforter. It's naturally antimicrobial, hypoallergenic, and thermoregulating, and it feels unbelievably soft.
Plush pillows
I tend to have a little trouble with hotel pillows. As a stomach sleeper, I appreciate a pillow that's flat, yet firm, to save my neck from straining. In my experience, hotel pillows are plush, yet insufficiently supportive.
I asked Alex how he handles pillows at ette hotels. He advocates for 'A balanced blend of soft and firm pillows, tailored to meet the unique preferences of each client', regardless of their sleep position. It sounds like the ideal solution.
Even if you prefer a plush pillow, Alex argues that 'the firm pillows serve as an ideal canvas to showcase the artful display of decorative shams and other design embellishments'.
This latex pillow is springy and responsive, made to mold to your neck and shoulders then bounce back into shape once you remove your weight.
This pillow is filled with micro-cushions for pressure relief. Hot sleepers should consider alternative materials: memory foam traps heat.
This is the ultimate adjustable pillow, suitable for any sort of sleeper. Simply push and pull the zippers to find your ideal firmness and feel.
It's all about the accents
A hotel-worthy bed is incomplete without one, two, or five of the best throw pillows. Adding a throw pillow is an easy and affordable way to spice up your plain white sheets and add some depth and dimension to your bedspread.
Personally, I like to spread a cozy throw over the end of my bed to keep the comforter in place and add some touchable texture. A lightweight blanket makes a great alternative in the summer for hot sleepers who like a layer.
If you've got a little cash to spare, and you're keen to upgrade the look and feel of your bedroom, then you could even swing for one of the best bed frames. Hotel bed frames tend to feature plush upholstery in neutral shades to complement any color palette.
Alex is a big believer in accent pieces. 'Not only do these vibrant additions serve as an expression of personal style, but they offer the freedom to switch seasonally, effortlessly transforming the mood and ambiance of the bedroom.'
Draped in Valencia linen and finished with gleaming brass accents, this sumptuous bed frame would make a serious statement in your master bedroom.
There's nothing like a throw pillow to add a bit of interest to a bed. This linen and cotton from Lulu & Georgia blends timeless materials with modern design: I love the off-set stripe motif.
This cashmere throw makes it into almost every blanket buying guide I write, and with good reason: it's warm and fuzzy and comes in any number of neutral shades.
Final thoughts
If you've ever wondered 'what mattresses do hotels use?', I've got the answer. I scoured the sites of the world's best hotels, from the Marriott to the Mandarin Oriental, to work out which beds they use and what it would cost you to bring it home.
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