Sweetest dreams
01-Nov-06
What do your clients want in bed? Have you ever dared to ask them? Whatever it is, they can probably get it when staying in a top-class hotel, as the leading names in the business are falling over themselves to ensure their guests have all they need for a good night's sleep.
Sprung mattresses, duck-down duvets, plump pillows and crisp cotton sheets are to be expected in five-star bedrooms, but some hotels have gone a step further to create what they believe is the ultimate bed.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts, parent of the St Regis, W, Westin and Sheraton brands, led the charge seven years ago with the launch of the Westin Heavenly Bed. Barry Sternlicht, executive chairman, admitted people thought he was "nuts" when he introduced the bed, but claimed that shortly after the launch Westin's guest loyalty and satisfaction increased.
"Our guest research has proven that one of the main reasons travellers continue to stay at Westin is because of the luxurious comfort of this wonderful bed," he said.
The Westin team spent a year developing the bed, including months testing hundreds of mattresses, pillows and linens and taking advice from the Better Sleep Council in the US. And certainly it makes sense to put so much effort into getting it right. After all, clients may never open the in-room mini bar, or switch on the flat-screen high-definition TV screen, but will almost certainly lie on the bed.
A great looking bed also gives an added sense of luxury to a room, according to Marriott, which recently introduced new white-on-white bedding and swapped its blankets for duvets. Marc Gulliver, who is responsible for international interior design at the hotel chain says: "When you walk into a Marriott hotel room, the white bed is so pronounced and looks so luxurious sitting there like an island of comfort among all the other colours and furnishings in the room, it's great - very inviting."
If clients do fall in love with their hotel bed, some hotels will let you take them home - well, they will sell you an identical one, complete with pillows, duvets and linen.
Enquiring about the comfort of a hotel bed at the booking stage is still very much an American preoccupation, however, according to Kuoni senior product manager Ellis Cain-Jones.
But your clients may be surprised to know just how far some hotels will go to ensure they are comfortable in the bedroom. For example, the uber-smart Sandy Lane in Barbados will swap the mattress if asked to do so and the stylish Kempinski Grand Hotel des Bains in St Moritz once moved a bed 180 degrees for one guest who wanted the room to be feng shui.
Luxury bed offers from hotel brands
Westin
The multi-layered, all-white Westin Heavenly Bed has a mattress topper, a cosy down blanket, three cotton sheets, a duvet and five pillows. The bed and linen are for sale at www.westin.com/eurostore. There are even Heavenly Dog Beds and Heavenly Cots for children, too.
Marriott
Marriott introduced new, higher beds five years ago and more recently it piled more luxurious bedding on top - every bed in all of its 3,000 hotels is now covered with a thick mattress topper, a duvet, crisp white cotton sheets and six to eight pillows. The bedding will be for sale in the UK shortly.
Sheraton Hotels
Sheraton Hotels spent more than $50m (£26m) developing the Sweet Sleeper Bed, which has high-tensile springs in synthetic material pockets, so each one moves independently. The linen is 100 per cent combed cotton and the duvet cover and sheets have a 200-thread count. The pillows are goose feather and down.
Sofitel
Sofitel's MyBed is a box-sprung bed with a featherbed on top of the mattress to make it softer. Launched last year, they are available in its hotels. They can also be bought at www.soboutique-hotelsathome.com.
aBode
The new British boutique hotel collection aBode has put great emphasis on the bed in its properties in Exeter, Glasgow and Canterbury. Each room has a soft, hand-built Vi-spring bed. The quality of the bed is the same in all four room categories: Comfortable, Desirable, Enviable and Fabulous, but those in the Fabulous category are the largest.
Four Seasons
Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo beds are coil-sprung with layers of natural material to provide a soft quilted top and bottom. The duvets are 100 per cent down and a range of pillows is on offer. Guests can buy the beds direct from the hotels.
Radisson
After a $20m (£10.4m) refurbishment, the newly reopened Radisson Lexington Hotel in New York's Manhattan, now has some rooms which feature the Sleep Number Bed, which allows guests to determine their "sleep number" - the level of firmness they find most comfortable. The number can also be recorded by the Radisson for future visits.
Insider's guide
Sue Lyall
Sales Manager, Exsus, Scotland
One of my favourite bedrooms has to be on Dhoni Mighili (www.dhonimighili.com) in the Maldives, where your villa comes with a dhoni (traditional wooden sailboat) on which you can choose to sleep. As the dhoni is your resort transfer too, your bed will meet you at the airport, so you can go straight to sleep after your flight.
The 65ft dhoni is really luxurious, with a king-size bed made with fabulous Frette linen and goose down duvets. On the bow there are comfy daybeds.
The boat, which comes with a crew, has a smart kitchen with Smeg appliances, Phillipe Starck bathroom fittings and in-cabin, state-of-the-art entertainment. You can take your bed everywhere you go - on fishing trips, diving expeditions or sailing around the Ari Atoll - or you can sleep in the air-conditioned villa on the island.
There are only six villas on the island and every one has its own dhoni. Four of the villas have private pools. They all have fabulous open-air tropical showers.
You can choose to dine when and wherever you want on the island or on the boat, and chefs will cook your chosen menu. There's also a spa with an extensive list of treatments, a library and a 24-hour bar.
I also love the Sunset Water Villas at the Hilton Maldives Resort & Spa (www.hiltonworldresorts.com); its remote-controlled, king-size beds rotate 180 degrees so you can watch both the sunset and the sunrise through the floor-to-ceiling windows.
The two over-water villas have two bedrooms each, glass-floored living rooms, two marble bathrooms, one of which has an open-air shower, and swimming pools in the ocean carved out of the sea bed. They each come with a personal butler.
The Hilton Maldives Sunset Water Villas cost from £620 per villa, per night. Dhoni Mighili costs from £500 per villa and dhoni per night, full board. www.exsus.com
The Experts' Choice
Location: Baines' Camp
Botswana
Suite/room: Five
Why: Here you can truly sleep under the stars, as your four-poster is wheeled out onto a private deck
Extras: A mosquito net is all that separates you from the sights and sounds of the bush
Client fit: Astronomers
Price: From £240 per person, per night full board
Contact: www.abercrombie kent.co.uk; www.sanctuary lodges.com
Good night's sleep recommended: Kay Durden, Head of Planning, Abercrombie & Kent
Location: Royal Plantation
Ocho Rios, Jamaica
Suite/room: Honeymoon Plantation Suite
Why: There's a pillow menu for the king-size, four-poster, which includes one with self-moulding foam
Extras: A five-foot body cushion aligns the spine and reduces neck, back and joint pain
Client fit: Clients with joint problems
Price: From £237 per room, per night
Contact: www.carrier.co.uk; www.royalplantation.com
Good night's sleep recommended: Suzanne Walford, Product Manager, Carrier Caribbean
Location: Huvafen Fushi
Maldives
Suite/room: Ocean Bungalow
Why: With beds seven-foot square, even tall clients can stretch to their heart's content
Extras: Beds are dressed in luxurious Frette linen
Client fit: Taller clients; romantics
Price: £367 per room, per night
Contact: www.elegant resorts.co.uk; www.huvafenfushi.com
Good night's sleep recommended: David Atkin, Business Development Manager, Elegant Resorts
Location: Burj Al Arab
Dubai
Suite/room: Royal Suite
Why: It boasts a rotating four-poster, canopy bed
Extras: A mirror on the ceiling means clients can watch themselves while they, erm, sleep
Client fit: Those with cash to flash
Price: On request for Royal Suite, but others start at £3,085 per person, per night
Contact: www.seasonsin style.co.uk; www.burj-al-arab.com
Good night's sleep recommended: Julia Girdham, Marketing Assistant, Seasons in Style
Location: Cliff House
Kangeroo Island, South Australia
Suite/room: Tower bedroom
Why: The circular room is almost entirely filled by a round bed
Extras: A curved window rises from floor to ceiling in front of the bed, affording the occupants spectacular views of the beach
Client fit: Romantics
Price: £345 per person, per night
Contact: www.audleytravel.com; www.life-time.com
Good night's sleep recommended: Joanne Poole, Regional Manager, Audley Travel
Location: Al Maha Desert Resort and Spa
Dubai
Suite/room: Bedouin suite
Why: The custom-made, super king-size bed is a taste of sheer luxury in the middle of the desert
Extras: You can see your private plunge pool from the luxurious pillow
Client fit: Romantics
Price: £472 per night, full board
Contact: www.azurecollection.com; www.al-maha.com
Good night's sleep recommended: Karen Boulton, Sales Executive, Azure Collection
Location: Porto Elounda de Luxe Resort
Crete
Suite/room: Seafront Villa Samos
Why: It has a gigantic bed covered in crisp Egyptian cotton bedlinen
Extras: An enveloping power-shower will wake clients from their slumber
Client fit: Families
Price: £455 per villa, per night, including breakfast
Contact: www.prestige holidays.co.uk
Good night's sleep recommended: John Dixon, Chairman, Prestige Holidays
Location: Sukhothai Hotel
Bangkok
Suite/room: Deluxe studio
Why: An enormous bed is covered in luxurious Jim Thompson silk sheets
Extras: The plump pillows are to die for
Client fit: Anyone who values a good night's sleep
Price: From £110 per person, per night
Contact: www.coxandkings.com; www.sukhothai.com
Good night's sleep recommended: Yaow Butwisate, Far East Tour Consultant, Cox & Kings
Location: Four Seasons Resort, Sharm El Sheikh,
Egypt
Suite/room: Deluxe, one-bedroom suite
Why: The coil-spring beds and 100% down duvets are so soft you just sink right in
Extras: There's an extensive pillow menu, including non-allergenic
Client fit: Those looking for understated luxury
Price: £420 per suite, per night
Contact: www.itcclassics.co.uk; www.fourseasons.com
Good night's sleep recommended: Gill Shannon, Head of Product, Europe and Middle East, ITC Classics
Location: Curtain Bluff
Antigua
Suite/room: Grace and Morris Suites
Why: Their position on the bluff means the rooms are cooled by the sea breeze, so there's no need for air-con
Extras: Each suite has wide-open views of the sea to wake up to
Client fit: Families; couples; honeymooners
Price: From £518 per room, full board
Contact: www.curtainbluff.com
Good night's sleep recommended: Claire Moore, Manager, Ron Morgan Travel
