scorecard
  1. Home
  2. life
  3. news
  4. 12 home upgrades to make yours feel like a luxury hotel — from sumptuous sheets to indulgent bath amenities

12 home upgrades to make yours feel like a luxury hotel — from sumptuous sheets to indulgent bath amenities

Alesandra Dubin   

12 home upgrades to make yours feel like a luxury hotel — from sumptuous sheets to  indulgent bath amenities

When you buy through our links, we may earn money from our affiliate partners. Learn more.

  • Most of America remains under shelter-in-place orders, which means we're spending a lot of time in our homes.
  • Until travel can safely resume, you can replicate a five-star experience under your own roof — no passport required — and upgrade quarantine life with these products that mimic the feel of a luxury hotel.
  • Our list includes an array of hotel-inspired ideas across categories from robes and slippers to bedding and towels, all similar to what you'll find within luxe lodging. Best of all, most products come in under $100.
  • Read all Business Insider hotel reviews here.

With most of the country still under shelter-in-place guidance, even the most avid travelers and habitual wanderlusters are spending countless hours inside their own homes. We're dreaming about, and planning for, the time when it's safe to travel again, likely sustaining ourselves on travel memories from more carefree times.

For my part, I'm dreaming of days spent enveloped in the comfort and indulgence of some of my favorite hotels around the world. I'm burning my sumptuous Aman candle, sliding around in a pair of slippers once monogrammed for me by the Beverly Wilshire, and drinking copious Vanderpump rose from a bottle Lisa Vanderpump autographed at the opening of her Caesars Palace lounge venue — all in attempts to channel those hotel vibes.

Until travel resumes, you too can turn your home into the closest facsimile possible of a dazzling hotel experience with some thoughtfully curated (and mostly affordable) upgrades.

Looking for more ways to recreate hotel experiences?

To come up with our list of luxury hotel-inspired items, we considered the categories most essential to the five-star experience, like bath amenities, bedding, and robes. We also looked for items that mimicked food and beverage offerings, and even replicated indulgent offerings, like room service, thoughtfully stocked minibars, and fresh flowers in rooms.

We also considered a range of price points, from products under $20 for a quick and affordable fix, to a few high-end investment pieces such as sumptuous sheets and luxe decor.

Almost all the items on our list fall under $100, so pick a few ideas and give your home the hotel-style upgrade it deserves … until your next check-in.

Read on for 12 easy upgrades to make your home feel like a luxury hotelRead the original article on Business Insider

A hotel mattress

A hotel mattress
Pottery Barn

To really simulate the hotel experience at home, stretch out on an actual hotel bed, the kind that envelops you in comfort and instantly puts you into a deep sleep after a long day of traveling, sightseeing, or working.

Westin's well-known Heavenly Bed, found in all Westin Hotels & Resorts properties, is made with six layers of thick padding for plush comfort. Plus, it has a 13-inch conforming pillow top to complete the experience, which eliminates the need for mattress flipping, too.

Read Business Insider's guide to the best mattresses

A serene spa experience

A serene spa experience
J.R. Watkins

Visiting a hotel spa may be out of the question, but here's how you can turn your home shower into a spa-like experience with some affordable, widely accessible amenities.

JR Watkins has an aromatherapy in-shower mist that adds fragrance to the at-home experience, instantly converting your shower into a spa-like steam room. Choose from Sleep, Detox, and Awaken aromas meant to stimulate or relax as needed. JR Watkins sent a complimentary sample of the Detox formula for me to try in my own bath, and it helped me melt off a bit of the stress of this challenging time.

The products aren't specifically available in hotels at this time, but the in-shower mist was a solid way to recreate experience showers I loved at spas like the Waldorf-Astoria Beverly Hills' La Prairie spa.

Read Business Insider's picks for the best affordable hotel spas

Minibar pre-mixed cocktails

Minibar pre-mixed cocktails
Reserve Bar

You may find yourself more tempted than ever right now to access an alcohol stash. Make your own minibar at home by keeping some pre-made canned cocktails at the ready, like Cutwater's vodka mule, made with ginger, a splash of bitters, and a hint of lime, plus Fugu vodka.

Four packs in attractive copper-colored cans are refreshing and affordably priced, and shipping is available to Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Texas, and Washington.

The Moscow Mule traces its history back a century to New York's Chatham Hotel, so you can indulge in a little lodging lore while you sip. Plus, we love these for the pre-made ease. Quarantine is no time to add an extra trip to the store for ingredients, which are in limited supply anyway. Enjoy responsibly.

Mix up your own fancy cocktail inspired by a favorite hotel bar14 signature cocktail recipes from hotel bars around the world — plus the tools and spirits you'll need to make them

An elegant scented candle

An elegant scented candle
Neiman Marcus

Transport yourself to a tranquil oasis — even as you shelter at home — with a scented candle that will perfume your entire space for a hint of hotel-like sensory pleasure.

Consider a candle from Jo Malone, whose scents waft through luxury hotels around the world like the elegant Beaumont Hotel in London and the chic London West Hollywood in Beverly Hills.

This version includes notes of honeysuckle to evoke the English countryside and its stately hotels, plus a fruity top note of davana and an earthy base of moss.

Read Business Insider's guide to the best candles and where to buy them

Fresh cut flowers

Fresh cut flowers
1-800-Flowers

Cheery floral blooms typically decorate hotel lobbies and rooms, especially during seasonal periods. Some hotels really go all-in, like the Kitano Hotel New York, which employs a resident ikebana expert to create weekly customized floral arrangements.

Channel some of that beautiful sentiment and impart a pop of color to your space with a fresh potted bloom. This magenta double-stem Phalaenopsis orchid from 1-800-Flowers sits alongside a dusty rose succulent with natural twig accents in a stone square ceramic container. It's at once elegant and uplifting, adding a zen vibe to any space.

Read Business Insider's guide to the best flower delivery services

Room service breakfast buffet

Room service breakfast buffet
Harry & David

If you're the room service type, you're going to want to set yourself up with an abundant breakfast basket to enjoy with a fresh pot of coffee or tea in the morning — ideally while kicking your slipper-clad feet up and reading the paper.

While you can't wake up and order fresh baked goods from Cafe 52 at the Hotel Grand Powers in Paris, you can come close with Harry & David's signature bakery assortment filled with delicious baked goods such as lemon poppyseed coffee cake and baklava.

The basket also includes cookies like raspberry galettes to round out a generous collection of baked goods that weighs in at over four pounds.

Sophisticated decorative accessories

Sophisticated decorative accessories
Neiman Marcus

If your taste in hotels is five stars all the way, you might be accustomed to seeing an assortment of truly opulent accessories on desks and side tables.

Aerin is a brand that is well known for top-end luxury and status and their collection of trays and decorative items make worthy investment pieces to recreate that look at home. Last year, the brand's founder Aerin Lauder joined the Rosewood Curators program as curator for the new Rosewood Bermuda, even coming up with a specific amenity line for the property.

Give your own vanity or bedside table a sleek new look along with some added functionality with Aerin's vanity tray in off white. The embossed crocodile surface is simultaneously neutral and wow-worthy, and the brass edging adds a richness to the look.

Fluffy white towels

Fluffy white towels
Crane & Canopy

There's nothing quite as sumptuous as fluffy white towels. Just about every high-end hotel from the Four Seasons on down uses 100 percent cotton towels.

Get a set of your own for divine comfort reminiscent of a five-star suite with towels from Crane & Canopy, made from long-staple Turkish cotton for a lightweight yet soft and rich-feeling towel. You can even monogram them for an extra-special hotel feel. The essential bundle comes with two washcloths, two hand towels, and two bath towels. Unfortunately, housekeeping service to launder them after use is not included.

Read Business Insider's guide to the best bath towels

Crisp white sheets

Crisp white sheets
Frette

Few things feel better than checking into a hotel room after a long journey and depositing yourself into a perfectly made bed, topped with crisp white sheets finished to perfection by expert housekeeping staff, hospital corners and all.

Frette bedding is found in many luxurious hotels around the world, including top-end brands like St. Regis and Ritz-Carlton. They even have their own hotel collection sheets that you can buy and feature double borders on durable cotton percale sheets made in Italy. Sets include a top sheet, fitted sheet, and two pillowcases.

Read Business Insider's guide to the best bed sheets

Indulgent bath amenities

Indulgent bath amenities
Kiehl's Since 1851

You don't need a deep soaking tub or high-end rain shower to feel the effects of a pampering hotel bathroom, though, they certainly help.

Indulgent bath products found in top hotels also do the trick. Cult-favorite Kiehl's — whose products have been carried in such hotels as LA's famous Hotel Bel-Air and Sunset Tower — offers a healthy skin starter kit with a set of five skin-care essentials to perk you right up and help moisturize.

Start with vitamin C serum, hydrate your face and eyes with cream and eye treatment containing nourishing avocado, and then replenish your skin before bed with facial oil — all included in this kit. All five products come as a set in a colorful, travel-ready carrying bag you can reuse when you next hit the road.

Soft slippers

Soft slippers
Bed, Bath & Beyond

These cozy waffle-weave slippers by Casual Avenue complement the robe for a matching hotel-like set. I picked this pair because they are super comfortable, soft, and absorbent — just right to keep by the side of your bed at night to replicate a posh turndown service. But, no judgment if you're still wearing them under the desk for your Zoom meetings, too.

A plush bath robe

A plush bath robe
Allswell

Every traveler knows a plush white robe is a key component of a luxurious hotel experience; on a recent work trip to London at Christmastime, I spent as much time as possible prepping work in my fluffy robe at the Four Seasons at Ten Trinity Square so I could stay cozied up until I had to brave the elements.

This version from Allswell does an ideal job of balancing the look and feel of a quintessential hotel spa robe. A waffle weave lends both a luxe look and feel with plenty of practicality: Its grooves enable it to absorb water like a sponge to dry you quickly and comfortably. And thanks to a stone washing process, it starts ultra-soft and only gets softer with each wash.

READ MORE ARTICLES ON


Popular Right Now




Advertisement