The Best In Bed: Heavenly News For the Sleep-Deprived Traveler
(December 1999)
There's nothing better than a hotel that feels more like a home.
The more at ease you are, the better you sleep. Luxury hotels have long been at
the forefront of establishing the creature comforts that make a stay more
relaxing. Now more and more mainstream hotels are catching onto the trend of
adding signature items to set them apart from their competitors.
Earlier this December, I had the pleasure of sleeping in one of
Westin's Heavenly
Beds. I am happy to report that it was truly heavenly – so much so
that I absolutely hated getting out of it. It was the most comfortable bed
I’ve ever slept in.
What was so great about this bed you ask? The Heavenly Bed
boasts a custom crafted Simmons pillow-top mattress, premium linens, a down
blanket, a puffy comforter, a duvet, and five fantastic pillows. It is like
sleeping in a plush cloud. Definitely not your average hotel chain bed. Westin
chose the components for the Heavenly Bed after testing out 50 beds from 35
hotel - representing all the major chains plus luxury and boutique hotels around
the world.
Westin
introduced the Heavenly Bed after receiving a wakeup call from travelers who
said that the most important service a hotel can offer is a good night's sleep.
Westin Hotel & Resorts' parent company is Starwood Hotels and Resorts, which
also includes hotel chains Sheraton,
Four
Points, St.
Regis, W
Hotels, and The
Luxury Collection.
Westin’s study was comprised of 600 business executives.
Titled Sleeping on the Road, the study found that 63% of travelers
say that a good night's sleep is the most important service a hotel can provide
and 84% say that a luxurious bed would make a hotel room more attractive to
them. Executives in the survey noted that getting a good night's sleep in a
hotel room could be somewhat elusive. They went on to state that
they usually get less sleep on the road as compared to home (49%), sleep fewer
hours (51%) and sleep worse (50%). Furthermore, three-quarters of the travelers
surveyed said that they are tired when they return home from a business trip and
need to catch up on their sleep.
In response to all the feedback, Westin Hotels & Resorts is
spending $30 million to put 52,000 new beds in its 39,500 guest rooms in 83
hotels in North America. Clearly, Westin is well on its way to being the best in
bed.
Click here to return to article index
