Phoebe Eskenazi endured many sleepless nights before checking into the Royal Sonesta Hotel Boston for a weekend. The Alexandria, Va., teacher was recovering from a bout of asthmatic bronchitis and just couldn’t get any rest. But when she collapsed into an extra-cushiony Serta bed created just for the hotel chain, she fell into a deep slumber. “It was one of the most comfortable beds I’ve slept on,” she raves. Eskenazi and her husband were so smitten they took a Sonesta bed home – for $1,600, including shipping.
“It is all about the bed,” says Sonesta spokeswoman Deborah Roker. The hotel industry is starting to agree. After all, what good is a mint on your pillow if the pillow resembles a bag of cement? Westin was the first chain to upgrade its bedding, back in 1999. Since then, other upscale hotels have jumped on the bedwagon. Now midscale joints are joining in. Last month, Hampton Inn announced it was spending $80 million to replace mattresses, pillows, and such. Four Points by Sheraton will roll out a “Four Comfort” bed this summer.
Like Eskenazi, guests sometimes want to buy the hotel bed. “It’s found money,” says lodging analyst Robert Mandelbaum, though he guesses that the take represents no more than 1 percent of the industry’s income.
You can probably score a better deal if you do it yourself, but there’s a lot to be said for one-stop shopping, not to mention the fact that you’ll be the only person on your block with a bed fit for the Ritz. The for-sale package typically includes a mattress, box spring, frame, pillows, sheets, and comforter. Prices below, from high-end chains with high-end beds, are for king size; shipping (from the manufacturer) is extra.
Phoebe Eskenazi endured many sleepless nights before checking into the Royal Sonesta Hotel Boston for a weekend. The Alexandria, Va., teacher was recovering from a bout of asthmatic bronchitis and just couldn’t get any rest. But when she collapsed into an extra-cushiony Serta bed created just for the hotel chain, she fell into a deep slumber. “It was one of the most comfortable beds I’ve slept on,” she raves. Eskenazi and her husband were so smitten they took a Sonesta bed home – for $1,600, including shipping.
“It is all about the bed,” says Sonesta spokeswoman Deborah Roker. The hotel industry is starting to agree. After all, what good is a mint on your pillow if the pillow resembles a bag of cement? Westin was the first chain to upgrade its bedding, back in 1999. Since then, other upscale hotels have jumped on the bedwagon. Now midscale joints are joining in. Last month, Hampton Inn announced it was spending $80 million to replace mattresses, pillows, and such. Four Points by Sheraton will roll out a “Four Comfort” bed this summer.
Like Eskenazi, guests sometimes want to buy the hotel bed. “It’s found money,” says lodging analyst Robert Mandelbaum, though he guesses that the take represents no more than 1 percent of the industry’s income.
You can probably score a better deal if you do it yourself, but there’s a lot to be said for one-stop shopping, not to mention the fact that you’ll be the only person on your block with a bed fit for the Ritz. The for-sale package typically includes a mattress, box spring, frame, pillows, sheets, and comforter. Prices below, from high-end chains with high-end beds, are for king size; shipping (from the manufacturer) is extra.
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