There are a few things that make a hotel stay a hotel stay. The bed, of course (with the best-kept secret of five-star hotels: the featherbed & the crisp, fresh sheets), the bathroom (hallelujah for big fluffy towels, bathrobe and slippers) and, of course, not having to do anything yourself for a while. But there is more. Six simple tips to create that luxurious feeling at home too. Here they come.
Minibar
Yes, the minibar. How lovely it is to sit down at your own bar after dinner or around the end of the afternoon (or, why not, right at the start of the afternoon). A glass of bubbles or an ice-cold glass of wine makes your hotel experience more than complete.
How to take this home bar feeling to a higher level? Invest in beautiful wine glasses and real, timeless hotel cocktail glasses with a story. Such as the Singapore Sling glasses from the Raffles Hotel in Singapore. And make sure you always have ice cubes to hand. Then it actually doesn’t matter which drink is in it. It tastes better straight away. Haven’t found your favourite drink yet? An inside tip from our founder is that delicious Singapore Sling or the Orange wine from Grape Jane.
Breakfast in bed
Your first reaction may be that breakfast in bed has to be made for you, but why, actually? The evening before, set out treats on a nice hotel tray (tip: bring real hotel luxury home with an authentic hotel tray from, for example, the Ritz in Paris) ready, so that in the morning you only need to put the finishing touches to it. And then, back to bed. Curtains open, newspaper to hand: for this you need neither a partner nor room service. But you do need those brand-new, white cotton sheets, of course.
Soft carpet
Who says you have to travel to England for soft carpet in your bedroom? We don’t. In fact, rugs have become immensely popular lately, and not only to give your feet (and mood) a soft landing after waking up. You can find rugs in all shapes, types, colours and sizes, but that real luxury hotel feeling is of course created by a lovely thick carpet. High-pile, you could also say. We work a lot with rugs from Limited Edition for the rooms.
Art
Okay, this may not be something you do in a day, but it is worth the time and effort. Luxury hotels often enrich their lobby and hotel rooms with the most beautiful art on the wall. Did you know there are even hotels that double as a gallery? At the Rome Cavalieri by Waldorf Astoria you will find art by, among others, Andy Warhol. And tucked away beside a forest, with a view over the streets of Zürich, The Dolder Grand is home to an impressive line-up of more than 100 artworks by major artists. Take, for example, Salvador Dalí’s "Femmes métamorphosées". Bookshelves are great, but they are no match at all for a real Matisse.
Throws and cushions
We wrote earlier about how to make your bed as taut as a luxury hotel bed in this blog. You can also very quickly transform your bed into a hotel-worthy one by dressing it with decorative cushions and a lovely Pulitzer Amsterdam hotel throw. For hotels and boutique hotels we design made-to-measure throws and decorative cushions in the most beautiful fabrics from Nobilis and Designers Guild. Every cushion is unique and tailored to the style of the bed and the room. We have included the most beautiful ones in our hotel for home collection. Take a quick photo and you could go straight into a lifestyle magazine.
White, whiter, whitest
Is it a coincidence that many hotel rooms have white sheets and pillows without colours or patterns? Certainly not. The colour white brings a sense of calm and symbolises a new beginning. A perfect ‘colour’ for your night’s sleep, then. After all, you want to feel as relaxed as possible when you dive into bed.
Besides, with white bedding you always know whether it is clean. Or if it isn’t. You can spot a stain with the naked eye straight away. Finally, a fun fact: many manufacturers add softeners to the wash, so that products look nice and soft at first glance, but feel coarse and rough after only a few washes. With Egyptian Cotton it is exactly the other way round. With every wash, sheets made of this luxurious material actually become softer and more supple. So stock up quickly. In the colour… exactly - white, whiter, whitest.
