How to Make Your Bed Like a Hotel

During a hotel stay, your whole experience culminates at the moment you sink into the hotel bed. Hoteliers know this, and as such, they put a lot of effort into creating the most comfortable and crisply clean beds possible for their guests. Fortunately for you, the hotel sleeping experience isn’t a result of some kind of untapped hotelier magic; it’s instead the product of a few trade tricks that you can easily replicate at home to make your bed up to a luxury hotel standard. 

To make your bed like a hotel, you’ll first need hotel-grade bedding; this includes a high-quality mattress, a mattress topper, flat sheets, down or ‘feels like down’ pillows and a duvet, and pillowcases and a duvet cover with a high thread count. You must then use the right technique in the actual making of the bed, like placing each layer in the right order and using the ‘hospital corners’ tuck on your bottom sheets. We have explained every aspect of this process in the remainder of this guide for you to create that luxury hotel-grade bed in the comfort of your own home. 

What You Need to Make Your Bed Like a Hotel

If you want to make your bed like a hotel, you’ll first need to acquire the right type of bedding. Hotel beds are made up of many different layers that all contribute to their uniquely luxurious feel. Below, we’ll walk you through each layer you’ll need, working from the mattress up to the duvet. 

1. High-Quality Mattress

Being the bed’s base layer, the mattress will act as the foundation of the hotel-quality bed that you’re trying to build. Your bed simply won’t reach the hotel-standard level of comfort if the mattress is old or in poor condition.

Ideally, if it’s within your budget, you should replace an old or uncomfortable mattress with one that’s brand-new and of high quality. Most mattresses come with a typical lifespan of between 7 and 10 years before replacement is absolutely necessary; so, if your mattress is reaching this age, it’s definitely time for a new one. Otherwise, you may wish to consider replacing your mattress sooner than this if it has degraded prematurely. 

In the actual industry, hotels purchase luxury mattresses specifically designed for use in their sector from specialist manufacturers. These true hotel-grade mattresses are harder to find in the general market and are typically more costly than regular mattresses. Instead, it would be easier and more cost-effective to invest in a luxury mattress from a reputable manufacturer; you’ll find many that are on par with hotel-standard mattresses, especially if you opt for a luxury filling like memory foam.

If a new mattress is out of the budget, you can alternatively take some steps to enhance the mattress you currently own. A straightforward no-cost trick is to flip your current mattress over; this will put the lesser-used side up, which will be more comfortable as this side will be free of compression. As we’ll explain below, you can then further improve the comfort of an existing mattress by adding a mattress topper.

2. Mattress Topper

A mattress topper is a soft, plush bedding layer that sits atop the mattress and beneath the bottom sheet. Toppers are standard elements of bedding that hotels use both to enhance the comfort and prolong the longevity of their mattresses.

Adding a topper is a much more cost-effective option to improve the comfort of a mattress rather than replacing it entirely. Mattress toppers act as an extension of the mattress, creating a more cushioned, supportive base layer for the bed. Not only will a topper improve comfort, it will also help to preserve the condition of the mattress for longer. 

The most common materials from which mattress toppers are made include latex, wool, memory foam, down and feathers, or synthetic ‘feels like down’ alternatives. For instance, our Hotel Quality Quilted Mattress Topper contains a 100% hollowfibre filling; this is a synthetic filling that closely emulates the soft luxurious feel of down while being completely hypoallergenic.

3. Two Flat Sheets

The next layers are the bottom sheets, which lay over the top of the mattress topper. For this layer, your mind most likely defaults to standard fitted sheets with elasticated edges; however, If you want to make your bed like a hotel, you should opt for two flat sheets instead.

Despite their convenience, elasticated fitted sheets won’t meet the mark in your endeavour for a hotel-standard bed. It’s far more common for hotels to use two flat sheets layered one on top of the other; hotel housekeepers also tuck these flat sheets in a particular way, namely using ‘hospital corners’, to give the bed a distinctively crisp finish. 

It’s therefore best to ditch your old fitted sheet and invest in two quality flat sheets instead. For the ultimate luxurious feel, opt for flat sheets in 100% cotton, like our Cambridge T200 Flat Sheets. In the method outlined later in this article, we’ll further explain how to properly tuck the flat sheets using hospital corners. 

4. A Hotel-Standard Duvet

With the bottom layers sorted, it’s now time to consider the upper elements of your bedding. You’ll want to invest in a luxurious duvet that provides the cosy sumptuous envelopment of your body akin to a luxury hotel bed.

A common question homeowners ask is what type of duvets hotels use as standard. Most commonly, high-end hotels use duvets with top-quality fillings like goose feather and down, or a synthetic ‘feels like down’ alternative. These fillings possess the ideal qualities for hotel bedding; they’re exquisitely soft, easy to wash, and provide cosy insulation while remaining breathable and light. 

Generally speaking, goose feather and down duvets are ideal if you want to make your bed like a hotel; our Luxury Goose Feather & Down Duvets are very popular with our customers in the high-end hotel industry due to their impeccable quality and long-lasting durability. Even so, synthetic ‘feels like down’ duvets are an equally luxurious and hypoallergenic alternative at a more affordable price; our Hotel-Quality Stripe Microfibre Duvets contain a hollowfibre filling that closely emulates the natural qualities of real feather and down duvets. 

5. Two to Four Hotel-Standard Pillows

To match your hotel-standard duvet, you’ll also need to invest in two to four high-quality hotel-standard pillows. 

Sinking your head into a luxurious set of pillows is a key marker of the hotel bed experience. The pillows should be soft and fluffy, while also being plump enough to provide sufficient support to your upper body. These particular qualities are stringent on the filling that the pillows contain.

Again, high-end hotels opt for pillows that contain the highest quality fillings like goose feathers and goose down, or synthetic ‘feels like down’ alternatives. As we’ve explained, these materials create a soft yet supportive filling; these fillings also retain warmth while maintaining breathability for optimal temperature regulation. Our Hotel Quality Microfibre Stripe Pillow also contains a 100% hollowfibre ‘feels like down’ filling that provides these exact hotel-standard qualities. 

6. Set of Quality Bedsheets with a High Thread Count

To finish off the make-up of your hotel-grade bed, you’ll lastly need a set of quality bedsheets. You’ll only be able to fully appreciate the luxuriousness of your duvet and pillows if they’re encased in equally luxurious covers.

With bedsheets, the defining feature of their softness is their thread count. The higher the thread count, the softer the sheets will feel. As such, hotels typically opt for cotton sheets with a 200-thread count, such as our Cambridge T200 Duvet Covers and Pillowcases. These will make a worthy final investment into your hotel-grade bed.

How to Make Your Bed Like a Hotel (Step-by-Step)

1. Clear Mattress

To start the bed-making process with a clean slate, you should first remove any existing bedding from your mattress. Check over the mattress to make sure it’s clean and in good condition; if you didn’t purchase a new one, flip over your mattress onto the lesser used side. 

2. Add Mattress Topper And/Or Protector

As the first layer of bedding, place your mattress topper over the mattress. Ensure that all four corners of the topper fit snugly and securely in place. If you also want to use a mattress protector, you should place this over the topper. 

3. Add Flat Sheets Using ‘Hospital Corners’ Tuck

The next layers should be your two flat sheets, which will act as your bottom sheets. You want to layer your two flat sheets one on top of the other using the ‘hospital corners’ tucking method that we’ve previously mentioned. 

4. Make-Up Duvet and Pillows

With your mattress made up, you can then move on to your duvet and pillows. Turn your duvet cover inside out, then place your hands inside the cover at its top two corners. With your hands still inside the cover, grasp the top two corners of your duvet; then, use a shaking action to allow the cover to fall over the duvet. Use this same technique for your pillowcases.

5. Arrange Duvet and Pillows on Bed

Arrange your duvet and pillows on your bed as you please. Fluff up the pillows and duvet to give the bed a plump finish. If you want to add an extra accent, you could also place a throw blanket over the bed as a final touch.