Don?t you just miss the comfort and luxurious feel of staying in hotels? The soft, fragrant beds, the lovely scent, the picturesque views, the delectable breakfast buffet, and the reinvigorating spa services — all these make our vacations even better. Too bad the coronavirus pandemic halted all our travel plans and forced us to stay at home.
But just because you still can?t book a hotel doesn?t mean you can?t have a unique hotel experience wherever you are. If you can?t bring yourself to your favorite hotel accommodation, why not bring the hotel experience to you? With a few small and cheap touches, you can transform your old, humble abode into a hotel room. The best part is you have no nightly rate to pay for.
If you?re looking forward to treating yourself with a hotel-like experience at home every once in a while, here are 11 tips you may check out.
1. Give your bed a hotel-quality makeover
Stuck with an old mattress and outdated bed linens? It doesn?t cost a lot to reward yourself with an elegant hotel-quality bed you can enjoy every day. Stock up on soft pillows, plush duvet covers, and bed linens. If you have the budget, go for feather headrests, silk sheets, and memory foam. As for the palette, stick to crisp white sheets.?
Then, make your bed like how hotels do. There are tons of step-by-step videos on how the housekeeping staff makes beds. Your bed should have a fitted sheet and a top sheet, tucked-in to perfection. Fluff up those pillows, straighten out the duvet, and spray the bed with a mild fragrance of your liking.
2. Upgrade your curtains
Don?t you just love the blackout drapes of hotels that don?t mess up with your sleep? Next to sprucing up your bed, consider updating your window covers with thicker, richer ones. Stick to neutral colors, like taupe, greige, and gray.
If you have the time, give your entire bedroom a full hotel room makeover by decluttering, investing in sleek and modern decors, and adorning your side table with fresh flowers.
3. Light up elegant scented candles
Fragrances not only help uplift your mood and soothe your mind and body — some fragrance blends can also make your room smell like an actual vacation. In fact, the most luxurious hotels in the world include scents into their guest experience. Some hotels have even released their own signature candles.
Mimic the hotel experience by lighting up a scented candle of your choice. To imitate a luxurious five-star metropolitan vibe in your bedroom or home, choose smoky, chocolatey, and musky fragrance blends.
4. Infuse your regular tap water
Even your home?s tap water can be leveled up to mimic your ideal hotel experience. Grab a carafe or jug, fill it up with water, and put in some sliced cucumbers, lemon, and mint. Infuse it overnight, so you have something refreshing to sip in the morning.
5. Buy luxe robes, slippers, and sleeping mask
A five-star suite experience is never complete without these key posh hotel room staples. If you have to spend money on house clothes, make sure you include stocking up on fluffy waffle weave bathrobes to cozy up your experience. Match your robe with a pair of ultra-soft, absorbent slippers to comfort your soles. And for quality sleep, pop a silk or velvet sleep mask over your eyes.
6. Stock up on plush towels
There?s nothing as sumptuous as large, fluffy, freshly-laundered white towels. Stock up on sets of these simple luxuries for the divine reminiscent of a five-star hotel experience you once had. Buy different sizes: washcloths, hand towels, and bath towels.
7. Use your high-end hotel toiletries
No matter how old you are or how far you?ve gone in life, there?ll always be a weird joy that comes from seeing small toiletries in hotel bathrooms. If you have a collection of miniature hotel toiletries from your previous Kilkenny hotel experience, now is the best time to use them. You can also purchase some lovely new shampoo, conditioner, soap, body wash, and lotion, and repack them in smaller containers.
8. Order a fancy meal
I know what you?re thinking: ordering expensive dinners from fine restaurants isn?t practical when you can always cook food at home. But just for one day, skip worrying about cooking and simply reward yourself with a fancy meal prepared by a chef. You can have them delivered to your door.
Set up your table with candlesticks, luxurious table runners, and flowers, then plate your food like a true chef.
9. Enjoy a chilled glass of wine or champagne
Opening up a bottle of red wine, white wine, or champagne can instantly put you into a celebratory mood. You can pair your dinner with the liquor of your choice or save the bottled spirits for a spa night or as a nightcap.
10. Give yourself a spa treatment
Turn your bathroom into a spa. Splurge on face masks, scrubs, oils, rose petals, and other spa staples you can use at home. You can even concoct your own scrubs and DIY face masks using the ingredients you have in your pantry.
Set the mood by playing relaxing music (like nature sounds and classical instrumental music), lighting up tea lights or candles, and filling the room with lovely aromas. If you have a partner, you can take turns when giving each other a massage.
11. Last but certainly not least…
Hang a ?do not disturb sign? on your front door handle. All that?s left to do is to give your neighbors the impression you?re living the time of your life and you don?t want to be disrupted.
Enjoy your staycation!
Author Bio: Carmina Natividad is a travel and lifestyle writer. Aside from taking vibrant street photos, you can find her writing articles about travel, food, and lifestyle. To know more about hotels and travel blogs, you may visit Pembroke Hotel Kilkenny.
As the editor of the blog, She curate insightful content that sparks curiosity and fosters learning. With a passion for storytelling and a keen eye for detail, she strive to bring diverse perspectives and engaging narratives to readers, ensuring every piece informs, inspires, and enriches.
