Luxury hotels prioritize bedding. It doesn’t matter if you are in a standard room or the Presidential Suite; the bed is the focal point of the room. The mattress, pillows, linens, and small details are carefully curated to ensure you feel relaxed and have an incredible sleep!
Fortunately, you don’t have to check in to a $1000/night hotel to experience this. With the right bedding, pillows, and décor, you can transform your bedroom into a luxurious hotel suite. We spend roughly one-third of our lives in bed, so why settle for anything less than the best! By leveling up your bedroom, you can benefit from better sleep and improved health and wellness.
Redecorating your bedroom and upgrading your bedding does come with a cost, but it is a lot less than checking into a 5-star hotel for a week. You can choose to go all out and spare no expense, or you can prioritize certain items to enhance your bedroom for less.
We’re sharing the tips and tricks from luxury hoteliers and interior designers so you can transform your bedroom into a luxurious hotel suite.
Clean up and purge the clutter
Luxury hotel suites aren’t full of picture frames, trinkets, and clutter. End tables aren’t covered with bills, books, and magazines, and you won’t find laundry piled up in the corner. Clutter and a messy space can make you feel uneasy or stressed – a constant reminder of what you didn’t get to or what you need to do tomorrow. So before you start redecorating, clean up and remove all unnecessary clutter. Try to keep everything off your end tables and dresser. If you have an ensuite bathroom, do the same in there.
Paint your walls a relaxing color
The color on your walls is very important and shouldn’t be overlooked. Research has found that the color of a room can affect your mood and how you feel. If it’s too bright and bold, it can make you feel agitated or even trigger a headache. On the other hand, soft, natural, and lighter shades can evoke tranquility and help you feel calm. Pick warm neutrals and earth tones to brighten up your space.
Create a pillow menu
All the best hotels have a pillow menu — a variety of quality pillows that you can cozy up to at night. Consider adding specialty pillows like a water pillow or hemp pillow. Water pillows are adjustable to achieve the perfect height and feature our cool touch pillowcase. A hemp pillow is also adjustable and provides greater support and firmness, just like lying on a sandy beach.
Upgrade your mattress
If you are still sleeping on a 20-year-old mattress, it’s time to upgrade! Generally, mattresses last between 7 to 10 years before they need to be replaced. An old mattress is lumpy, uneven, and saggy, which could cause back pain. For added luxury, consider a bed with a pillow-top feature. Alternatively, if a new mattress isn’t in the budget right now, you can simply buy a new mattress topper to provide additional comfort and support.
Don’t forget turndown service
Who doesn’t love a good turndown service! After dinner, go into your bedroom and turn on a lamp (soft, dim lighting), turn down the temperature, and layout your pajamas, slippers, and robe. The General Manager at the Bobby Hotel in Nashville told Forbes, “Draw the blinds and shades before bed however you like – whether you want to block out all the light or wake up to the sun. You can even set out your slippers and leave chocolates on the bed“. If you can, consider putting on some soothing music.
Use fresh, crisp, cool sheets
When you get into a hotel bed, you get into fresh, crisp, and cool sheets. You sleep better when you feel cool, and there is something extra satisfying about clean sheets. No one has the time to wash their bedding every single day so instead, opt for cooling sheets. A Tencel sheet set is made from special Tencel fabric which features unbeatable temperature control. The sheets are embedded with cooling fibers, so you stay cool no matter what. They are also as soft as silk but for a fraction of the price.
Consider the triple sheet
This is a hotelier trick used in nearly all luxury hotels. Instead of using a duvet cover, layer your comforter or a blanket between two sheets. This makes it a lot easier to change out your sheets, giving you that clean, crisp feel. To really make this work, you need high-quality sheets and should be put on your bed straight after drying to avoid wrinkles. You can layer another, thinner blanket at the end of the bed for extra comfort and warmth.
Get some fresh flowers
Just like a high-end spa, a luxurious hotel suite smells good. Cheap hotels are associated with stale cigarette smoke and room deodorizer, and high-end hotels are associated with fresh floral arrangements and essential oils. Treat yourself to a bouquet of fresh flowers and place them in a lovely vase on your bedside table or dresser. They will not only look beautiful but will help your room smell great. Please note this isn't good if you have allergies and are allergic to certain flowers. In this case, opt for a green plant.
Treat yourself to (at-home) room service
Ordering a late-night snack of biscuits and herbal tea or having coffee and freshly pressed orange in bed is a luxury everyone loves but rarely do at home. Start by getting a crystal decanter and water glass and keep it beside your bed. You can also get a tray and treat yourself to coffee in bed and enjoy a leisurely morning from under your covers – just like you would on vacation.
Get ambient lighting options
As mentioned with the turndown service, you need to have the proper lighting. You may have noticed that hotel rooms don’t have overhead lights in the bedroom. Instead, they use lamps as they provide softer illumination. Try layering lighting in your room, like a tall lamp over a reading chair and smaller lamps on your bedside tables. With the right lighting, you can create a soothing ambiance that will help relax you before bed.
Add luxurious items
It’s all in the details! Add little luxuries around your room and washroom like hand soap and hand cream. Invest in a high-quality terry or waffle robe and matching slippers, and leave them out at night. Even upgraded towels can give you the feeling of luxury every time you get out of the shower.
Invest in dual layer window treatments
Hotels always have the best room darkening blinds that shut out the morning light, letting you sleep in as late as you like. That said, they also have a sheer blind that can be used for privacy while still letting in natural light. The key is to lay a sheer curtain with a blackout layer that can be moved to the side if you wish.
Add an area rug
Traditionally, hotels often have wall-to-wall carpeting, but now many are using hardwood with area rugs. Whether you have carpeting or hardwood, you should place a rug where your feet hit the ground when you get out of bed. This will add a layer of comfort and warmth when you first get up. From there, you can then step into the slippers you laid out the night before.
Incorporate a touch of color
As mentioned earlier, neutrals and light earth tones are best for the walls. White sheets are also a staple for luxury hotels, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have any color in your room. Luxury hotels will often have strategic splashes of color throughout the room. For example, you can have a colorful painting hanging over a dresser or bright throw pillows on your bed. This touch of color will add style and personality to your space.
Get a clock
The majority of us use our cell phones to tell the time and set an alarm. This works well; however, every time you check the time, you will see notifications from emails, text messages, and social media. This can be very distracting and end up keeping you up later than you intended. Having a clock on your nightstand, like a hotel, will allow you to unplug at night and disconnect from your phone until the next day.
If you don’t plan on giving your room an entire makeover – that’s okay! You can make huge improvements by simply upgrading your bedsheets to a Tencel sheet set or investing in your own pillow menu with a hemp pillow and water pillow. On a Saturday afternoon, you could enhance your bed and space, so you feel as if you are vacationing in a 5-star hotel every night of the week. When you feel calm, relaxed, and tranquil in your space, you will have a better night’s sleep.