Last Updated: November 24, 2023
Why Are Hotel Pillows So Comfortable? (Some Secrets)
Hotel pillows are often more comfortable than those we sleep on at home.
So, after you return from vacation, or have a great night’s sleep at a hotel, you are often left wondering why hotel pillows are so comfortable.
Hotels have some clever tricks to ensure their pillows are always comfortable, and it all begins with selecting the right pillows from the start.
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High-Quality Pillows
One of the main reasons hotel pillows feel so incredibly comfortable is the high-quality materials they use.
The Pillow Cover
The pillow cover is typically made of high-thread-count cotton, similar to luxurious sheets, offering a fantastic feel. With finer yarns, the cotton is softer to the touch, which is especially delightful since it’s your face, one of the most sensitive parts of your body, that comes into contact with it. This makes it feel extra great!
For example, the Four Seasons pillow features 240-count cotton. And as we all know, their hotels are super comfortable!
Waldorf Astoria Hotel Pillow
Inside The Pillow
There are more tricks to creating a super-comfortable pillow for hotel use. Here are a few more I have discovered by exploring what some of the top hotels use in their pillows:
Multiple Chambers
To keep your hotel pillow soft and plump, use multiple chambers for the down, just like in down jackets. This helps the down stay evenly distributed, ensuring your head doesn’t sink into the middle of the pillow.
The Ritz Carlton pillow uses a triple-chamber design to achieve optimal plumpness!
Other pillows use an inner and outer chamber design with different feathers (duck, goose etc) or synthetics inside to keep the pillow plump yet still feeling soft.
The Waldorf Astoria does just this with a stiffer feather inner and a soft down outer chamber.
Feathers, Down & Synthetics
What exact material you use inside the pillow also makes a huge difference. Down can feel super-fluffy but often lacks support.
Other hotels opt for a more earth-friendly approach, with Marriott using recycled plastic bottles and Ritz Carlton using a splash of natural Lyocell fibers made from tree fiber.
Stitching & Piping
These hotel pillows are finished with high-quality double stitching and piping around the edges to give you a luxurious finish that we just don’t have at home.
Maintenance & Replacement
I don’t know about you, but I rarely wash my pillow. And I certainly don’t replace it as often as I should.
According to the Sleep Foundation:
Most experts recommend replacing pillows every 1 to 2 years. Doing so helps to ensure that you’re using pillows that are supportive, clean, and free of allergens. It is also important to care for the pillows you use to ensure their longevity.
So, unlike most of us, hotels often replace their pillows. Of course, they have more incentive to do so than we do, because we pay them a lot of money. On top of that, different people are sleeping and drooling on them regularly.
This leads us to the next point. Even if you don’t replace it as often as you should, we should wash them occasionally!
WebMD says you should wash your pillows at least twice a year. So, hotels likely wash their pillows far more regularly than that.
Not only will this keep the hotel pillows clean, allergen and bacteria-free, but it will also help to re-plump them up in the drying process. That is another reason why hotel pillows are so comfortable all the time!
Machine Washable Hotel Pillows – Waldorf Astoria
As you can see from the hotel pillows I mentioned above, they are all machine washable – something they make sure of when they buy them.
A Variety Of Pillows
Some hotels have become famous lately for having a so-called Pillow Menu. Some of these pillow menus go a bit overboard, but fundamentally they offer things like:
- Side Sleeper pillows
- Back Sleep Pillows
- Memory Foam Pillows
- Children’s Pillows
and much much more.
Pillow Menu – Via Frank Gruber
This can go a long way to giving you the best possible night’s sleep at a hotel. And one reason people walk away feeling like hotels have the most comfortable pillows in the world.
However, even if your hotel does not have a pillow menu, at the very least, they will have a variety of pillows on the bed. Often 2-3 different types when you arrive.
And if you explore the room a little more, you will find other pillows in the closet and you could even ask reception if they have other options. Such things are becoming quite common at hotels today.
Overall Hotel Experience
Let’s face it: feeling comfortable is vital to a good night’s rest. It helps your body and mind relax and makes it easier to fall asleep and stay asleep throughout the night.
So, it’s no surprise that the overall hotel sleep experience, which includes
- the bedding
- lighting
- ambiance
- air-conditioning
- music and movies
It can all contribute to a sense of relaxation and comfort that helps us all get a better night’s sleep.
On top of that, just being on vacation and perhaps dead tired after a full day of activities might also help us sleep better than we had expected. No more deadlines, maybe not more screaming kids, and just some time to relax with family or friends.
Those pillows are more comfortable at a hotel, but is it just the pillow?
About the Author Anna Timbrook
Anna is the co-owner of expert world travel and can't wait to share her travel experience with the world. With over 54 countries under her belt she has a lot to write about! Including those insane encounters with black bears in Canada.
