Last Updated on March 30, 2023

Sleeping on a hotel bed is an experience like no other!

You probably remember how well you slept the last time you were on vacation. Your experience was no accident. Hotels carefully craft their beds to ensure that you are well-rested and refreshed.

Surprisingly though, they use different aspects of bedding to satisfy those two concerns. The pillows and the layering under the sheets provide comfort and support to get you the sleep needed to feel well-rested.

The sheets and the bed covering are what evoke the refreshing spirit.

You might have noticed that nice hotels feature a common theme – the beds are always white! The white color provides a “fresh and clean” energy.

Creating a hotel bed at home is actually very simple.

And you can do it using the 7 steps below!

1st Step – The pillows

Let’s start at the top, and work our way down.

The First thing you’ll need for a hotel bed is a set of pillows! We decided to go with the Chamber pillows from Downlite. They are featured in more hotel rooms across the country than any other brand or model of pillows.

And deservedly so!

Since the majority of people are either side or back sleepers, it makes sense for the pillow to be of medium/firm density.

Chamber pillows are somewhat of a hybrid pillow. They offer the structural integrity and support of a firm pillow, but have a soft and supple surface, like a medium density pillow.

How does that work?

Chamber pillows have layers, or “chambers”.

The inner layer features a 10/90 white goose down and feather blend, which is great for support. This allows the pillow to retain its shape throughout the night, without cratering in the middle.

The outer layers are 100% white goose down, for a sumptuously soft surface.

Traditional pillows are great for support or comfort, but not both. A chamber pillow offers both features in one package – which is why they are featured in so many hotels – like Hyatt hotels for example.

If you love soft pillows, but don’t enjoy having a stiff neck, Chamber pillows are the way to go.

2nd Step – The duvet cover

The duvet cover is definitely the most important aesthetic component of any hotel bed. Everything else on a hotel bed is there to provide some type of comfort.

As we mentioned earlier, a hotel bed is usually a fresh and clean-looking white color.

Some hotels feature a bordered duvet, while others feature a shimmery logo print. Either way, hotel duvets usually involve two common aspects:

They’re white
They possess a simple elegance

For these two reasons, we chose the Hotel Stitch Duvet Cover from Pinzon.

This duvet cover is very similar to Sferra’s Grande Hotel duvet cover found in Viceroy hotels but is definitely more accessible for the average person.

These covers feature an all-white base, with that classic hotel-style border stitching, available in Black, Espresso, Navy, Silver Blue, Silver Grey, or Taupe.

We recommend matching the color of the embroidery to the overall colors of your bedroom. But, if you insist on going fully classic – most hotels feature the taupe version.

These covers are 100% cotton, with a 400 thread count. They are machine washable and dryable, and feature button closure.

The matching pillow shams are sold separately.

3rd Step – The comforter

Hotels generally tend to provide a comforter that matches their local climate.

Warmer climate hotels – like the Venetian in Las Vegas – usually offer a lightweight or summer comforter. Colder weather destinations sometimes get a heavy comforter.

By and large, however, most hotel rooms feature a medium weight or “all-season” comforter.

That being said, feel free to pick the comforter of your choice here. For the majority of people, however, we recommend an all-season comforter.

Our choice is the Eddie Bauer 600 Fill Power Multi-Season White Down Comforter.

This great comforter from Eddie Bauer features 600 fill power white duck down, and is available in the following sizes and fill levels:

Queen – 90 x 90″ – 35 Oz. of fill
King – 104 x 90″, 40 Oz. of fill

4th Step – The sheet set

In keeping with the white theme, you’ll want to get a set of crisp white sheets.

We recommend a 300 thread count sheet set.

Why 300?

Because it’s the gold standard! Sheets with less than a 300 thread count might not feel as soft or luxurious. Sheets with a thread count of higher than 400 suffer from a lack of durability.

Does 300 thread count sound too low? It probably does right?

That’s because you’ve been fooled by marketing tricks. Using standard thread, the maximum possible thread count is somewhere around 400.

It’s just physically impossible to go any higher.

To achieve the high thread counts that we’ve been accustomed to seeing, sheet manufacturers twist thinner strands together to form a standard thread.

By using this 2-ply thread, a manufacturer can produce the equivalent of a 300 thread count sheet but call it “600 thread count”.

Think of it as changing a $20 bill into two $10 bills. You have double the currency, but still the same $20 amount.

300 thread count is definitely the way to go here.

We chose the 300 Thread Count Organic Cotton Sheet Set from Pinzon (in the white color of course).

5th Step – The mattress pad

Usually, a mattress pad’s sole purpose is to provide a pad of comfort.

In this case, while it will add a thin layer of comfort, the mattress pad’s main purpose is to hold down the 6th step – which will be a feather bed.

You definitely don’t want a luxurious or plush mattress pad here – things will get too mushy! A thin mattress pad will work best, particularly the type with anchor bands, like this one from Royal Hotel:

This style of mattress pad skips the skirt in favor of elastic bands. These bands go over the corners of your mattress and hold on to everything snuggly.

For the full hotel treatment, don’t skip this step.

6th Step – The feather bed

A feather bed is the centerpiece of any hotel bed when comfort is concerned. They are the reason that hotel beds are so comfortable.

If you love that cloud-like feeling that a hotel bed provides, you’ll need a feather bed. For this step, we chose the Luxe Loft Feather Bed from the Pacific Coast Feather Company.

These are the same feather beds featured at Hilton Hotels.

The Luxe Loft feather bed is certainly a luxury model.

But for true comfort, it can’t be beaten by cheaper alternatives. They feature a barrier-weave fabric, to keep the feathers inside, and baffled-box design to keep them evenly distributed.

Pacific Coast featherbeds feature quality throughout!

7th Step – The bed skirt

To finish off our fabulous hotel bed, we just need a bed skirt.

You can purchase a bed skirt with a hotel stitch to match the duvet cover, but we feel like a solid white bed skirt is the best option. It keeps the visual focus on the beauty of the duvet, without any distractions.

Our choice is this solid white bed skirt from Utopia Bedding: