We all love staying at a hotel, right?
You get into that plush hotel bed, and you fall asleep like a baby. And you wake up feeling so relaxed and fresh. It has to be those hotel sheets right? They have to be better!
Well, as it turns out, they are better. Hotel sheets are just different.
It’s like a steak. You wouldn’t expect your steak at home to be as good as a steak at a nice steakhouse right? The professional version is always better. They have better cuts, and better techniques – just a better steak!
And hotel sheets are no different.
Hotel sheets are manufactured differently than the usual stuff that you’ll find at retail stores. They use different materials, as well as unique weaving techniques, to craft a sheet that feels and performs differently – and feels better.
How is that possible?
To answer that question, let’s take a look at two of the most popular hotel sheet options.
Comfortwill
The Comfortwill sheet set from Standard Textile is quite possibly the most commonly used sheet set in the country.
Have you stayed at popular hotels like the Sheraton? Or maybe the Marriott? These hotels feature the Comfortwill sheets on their hotel beds.
You might have seen them as solid white, or with mini alternating white stripes.
Comfortwill sheets are made of a 70% combed cotton and 30% microfilament polyester blend.
This blend achieves a few things actually. Cotton is usually soft, but not very smooth, and wrinkles easily. Polyester is smooth, and wrinkle-resistant, but not necessarily soft.
Combining cotton and polyester offers the best of both worlds. The sheets are soft and smooth, and wrinkle resistant.
The fibers are woven around each other in a way so that the cotton side is on the side of the sheet that is facing you, so you can enjoy the soft feel of cotton. The poly side is on the reverse side, so you see get a bright white appearance on the top of the bed.
Centium Satin
Centium Satin sheets are the luxury version of Comfortwill sheets. They are commonly featured at 5-Star resorts.
They have a satin feel and shine on top, with the softness of cotton. The fibers are woven with air pockets to keep you cool throughout the night.
The Satin version is made of a 65% cotton and 35% microfilament polyester blend.
The blend results in a thinner sheet, that is just as strong, but also smoother. The luxurious satin feeling is synonymous with a luxury resort.
The blend also means that these sheets don’t require the usual maintenance of a traditional satin sheet set.
The Difference
So, it all comes down to the difference in fibers, and in how the threads are woven.
Hotel sheets are usually a cotton poly blend – woven in a way to maximize durability and cooling. So why aren’t retail sheets made the same way?
Expectations.
Consumer customers have been trained to believe that 100% cotton is best, and that polyester is bad – which just isn’t the case.
This is further ingrained into our minds because retail sheets are finished at the factory with commercial-grade fabric softeners which make the sheets feel ultra soft and smooth in the package.
But as soon as you wash them, the softener washes out, and you’re left with a product that isn’t as amazing as it was in the store.
