Regardless of how much someone is enjoying their vacation, it’s common for travelers to yearn for home at some point while out of town, especially the comfort of their own beds. It’s a sentiment I can usually relate to, but when my husband and I returned from our recent two-month honeymoon, I found myself excited to be back, yet less than thrilled about the bedroom that awaited us.
Our trip took us across nine countries, checking into some of the most luxurious hotels we’d ever visited (and admittedly some less glamorous ones, too). The experience left me longing for crisp white sheets, luscious beds, and that overall oasis-like feeling that you can only get from a five-star hotel.
So I decided it was time to be more intentional about the setup of our bedroom, not only for comfort’s sake, but also for our overall wellness.
“Since sleep quality and duration are directly tied to other aspects of human health, a bedroom environment that promotes sleep can also improve how you feel while you're awake,” says Tammy Pahel, VP of Spa & Wellness at Carillon Miami Wellness Resort.
Below, we’re rounding up the essential products you need to curate those five-star-hotel vibes at home, from hotel pillows to top-quality linens, with input from hospitality, wellness, and home goods experts.
This article has been updated with new information since its original publish date. Additional reporting by Taylor Mead.
Mattresses are the foundation of a quality sleep experience, and the first thing you gleefully plop down on when you arrive at a deluxe hotel. If there’s a category to splurge in, this would be it.
For a premium, technologically advanced mattress, order a Bryte Balance Smart Bed. Equipped with a core of up to 90 “smart” cushions, the Bryte Balance mattress senses your movement as you sleep and adjusts the firmness to relieve pressure on strategic points of your body. Bryte Balance also comes with a phone app that tracks your sleep hygiene and signals the bed to give a gentle massage that’ll rock you to sleep.
Of course, not everyone can invest over $6,000 in a mattress. Though Pahel is a fan of Bryte Balance, which is featured at her Miami resort amongst several other properties across the US, she recommends the Tempur-Pedic LuxeBreeze, with its cooling technology, as a slightly more affordable option.
For all of the luxury at an even more accessible price point, the Saatva Classic Luxury Firm mattress (there are three firmness options) is my personal favorite. The soft Euro pillow topper is just the right amount of plush, while the individually pocketed coils underneath are supportive and keep the spine properly aligned—something particularly important for anyone (like me) who has back pain or sleeps in
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When someone says “bucket list trips,” it’s all too easy to imagine the journeys you’d like to take in the future, in some faraway someday to celebrate a momentous occasion or mark a sort of final hurrah. That’s all well and good, but as they say: There’s no time like the present. All across the vast United States lie innumerable opportunities to fulfill a childhood—or adulthood—dream, to experience the country in all its splendor, whether rural or urban, culinary or cultural, educational or just plain ol’ fun. At Condé Nast Traveler, we spend our days learning and writing about the best experience all 50 states have to offer—this is our ultimate wish list.
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