As a sleep expert, the question "What mattresses do hotels use?" is one I get asked a lot. And that's not surprising. Because the best night's sleep a person's ever had, more often than not, turns out to have been in a nice hotel.
Personally, I used to think this was because you're away from home and all its distractions, so you're able to properly relax. But then I noticed that I slept particularly well whenever I stayed at a Premier Inn. So I bought one of its Hypnos beds for my own place… and in all my years of reviewing sleep products, it remains my favourite to this day.
So if you're looking for the best mattress for your home, and you've had great sleep experiences with a specific chain, this is a good avenue to consider. Yes, hotel mattresses tend to be on the expensive side, are unlikely to get discounted in the mattress sales, and rarely come with money-back trials. But if you already know you love them, these may be compromises you're willing to make.
First, though, a word of warning. The question "What mattresses do hotels use?" can never really be answered definitively. Because while most hotel chains generally use the same mattress throughout all their hotels, there's occasionally some local variation.
Mattress availability, government taxes, space in the room, and simple logistics sometimes mean that sometimes alternative mattresses need to be substituted. Also, the most expensive rooms in a hotel often swap standard mattresses for very expensive ones, such as Vispring or Savoir. In other words, if you've really enjoyed a particular mattress at a hotel, it's always worth checking the label or consulting with reception before rushing out and buying the wrong thing.
With all that in mind, this article reveals what mattresses are typically used in hotels across the globe, from the Four Seasons to Hampton Inn, and whether they're available to the public to buy.
1. Ritz-Carlton
The Ritz-Carlton hotel chain uses a custom-made mattress made by Stearns & Foster called The Ritz-Carlton Bed. A medium-firm mattress with a plush pillow top, it combines layers of individually wrapped coils, latex foam and memory foam, to provide a supportive and comfortable sleep.
With a depth of 13.5 inches, this mattress is also hypoallergenic and features breathable materials to help regulate temperature and moisture. You can buy The Ritz-Carlton Bed on the hotel's website, and it's available in the following sizes: Twin, Full, Queen, King and California King.
2. Marriott
The mattress most widely used in the Marriott hotel chain is called, straightforwardly enough, the Marriott Mattress. It's a hybrid mattress that combines innerspring coils with soy-based foam layers for a supportive and comfortable sleep surface, and features a quilted pillow top for added plushness. You can buy a Marriott Mattress from the hotel's website, in the following sizes: Twin, Queen, King and Super King
That said, just because you've stayed in a Marriott doesn't necessarily mean you've slept on a Marriott mattress. The chain also partners with different mattress brands such as Simmons, Sealy and Jamison to provide other types of mattresses across the world. So if you've particularly enjoy a night's sleep at a Marriott, it's always worth checking the specific mattress you were given.
3. Westin
Westin Hotels & Resorts may be owned by Marriott International, but it doesn't use the Marriott Mattress. In fact, it prides itself on its own signature Heavenly Bed Mattress, which was introduced in 1999 based on extensive research about what type of mattress hotel guests liked. Featuring a plush pillow top, a high coil count and several layers of foam, this mattress is now deployed in Westin hotels across the globe and sold on the hotel's website, in a choice of Twin, Full, Queen, King and Cal King sizes.
4. Sheraton
Stay in a Sheraton hotel and you'll experience one of a range of custom-made mattresses, developed in partnership with manufacturers such as Sealy and Simmons, including the Sheraton Mattress, Sheraton Signature Mattress, Sheraton Sweet Sleeper Mattress, and the Sheraton Signature Sleep Experience Mattress. Only the first of these, though, is available to buy for home use.
The Sheraton Mattress is a top-of-the-range, 13-inch deep, encapsulated spring mattress with individually wrapped, pocketed coils. Damask quilting is 100% polyester knitted fabric with antibacterial and acaricidal treatment, and there's reinforced edge support for sag prevention. It comes with a 10-year warranty in the USA (five in Europe), and is available in the following sizes: Twin, Double, Queen, King and Super King.
5. Four Seasons
For a long time, the Four Seasons has been putting a lot of thought into its mattresses. Back in 2014, it caused a stir by becoming the first hotel chain to offer a choice of firmness to its guests. And today, those same, custom-made Signature mattress can be bought online in three levels of firmness: standard, firm or plush. (Note: they're essentially the same mattress, but each one includes a zippered topper in the selected firmness.)
The Signature mattress combines memory foam with pocketed coil springs, and features special gel foams to prevent overheating at night. It's available in the following sizes: Twin, Full, Queen, King and Cal King.
6. Hampton Inn
We've titled this section 'Hampton Inn', because that's how the budget chain is still best known. But it's worth noting that the official name is now 'Hampton by Hilton'. So what mattresses are used in hotels under this new monicker? It's most likely to be either the signature Hampton Bed or the Cloud Nine, both made by Serta.
The Hampton Bed is a spring mattress with a plush surface and reinforced edge support. It's available for purchase on Hampton by Hilton's website, in the following sizes: Twin, Full, Queen, Queen Split, King and Cal King.
As for the Cloud Nine mattresses, they've now been discontinued by Serta. But as these are premium, long-lasting mattresses, we'd expect they'll be sticking around Hampton hotel rooms for a good couple of years
7. Premier Inn
The UK's largest hotel brand, Premier Inn has for years now made its sleep experience key to its marketing and advertising. This includes a 'Good night sleep guarantee', which promises your money back if you don't get one (although in practice, you need to check the terms carefully).
Premier Inn has also put a lot of effort into providing guests with large, super-comfortable mattresses. Until recently, these were created in partnership with Hypnos. However, last August the chain switched to Silentnight – the UK's biggest mattress brand – as its new official supplier.
It's now rolling out a new, medium-firm mattress, which had been trialled amongst Premier Inn guests over the previous two years. This has a more complex construction than its Hypnos predecessor, and features multiple layers for extra comfort including 1,000 Miracoil springs, a gel-infused comfort layer, and a lightweight zip-off topper. It's available to buy online, in the following sizes: Single, Double, King and Super King.
What makes hotel beds so comfortable?
Beds at the most popular hotels are often said to be super-comfortable, and not just in the most expensive establishments, but at mid-range and budget chains as well. One reason for that could be that you're simply more relaxed, because you're away from the day-to-day pressures of home. But logically, that can't be the whole story, because even business people facing the stress of early-morning meetings often comment about the comfort of their hotel beds.
In our experience, the reason hotel beds are often very comfortable lies in the attention to detail the establishment has paid to making the sleep experience a good one. That means, for example, the careful selection of bedding materials, including sheets, pillows, and duvets.
Many hotels use high-quality cotton sheets with a high thread count, which provides a soft and silky feel against the skin. And of course the fact that they're freshly laundered makes a big difference too, both to the feel of the bed and the way it looks. Crisp sheets will always look more inviting than the crumpled duvet on your bed at home.
Having the best pillows can also make a big difference. Nowadays, many hotels often offer a range of pillows to suit the needs and preferences of different guests, including firm or soft pillows, hypoallergenic options, and even memory foam pillows. And they're generally fairly new, well filled and fluffy, comparing well with any flat and lifeless old pillows you may have at home.
Finally, most hotels these days invest in premium, well-designed mattresses, which often combine springs, foam and other materials to give superior support and comfort. Anyone with an ageing mattress at home will instantly tell the difference, and it can be a powerful spur to buy a new one yourself.
How can I make my mattress feel more like a hotel bed?
If you want to make your mattress feel more like a hotel bed, but can't afford to replace it, a mattress topper can be a game-changer. The best mattress toppers add an extra layer of cushioning to your mattress, providing additional support and comfort that can give it a luxurious feel, for minimal outlay. They can also help to regulate your body temperature, which is essential for a good night's sleep. Memory foam toppers are good at conforming to your body's shape, whereas if you prefer a plush feel, a down-filled topper may be a better bet.
