Beige boutique hotel bedroom,

Hotel Bedroom Design – Small Considerations – Big Impact

We are constantly hearing about the guest journey and how to make it great, little extras like a shoe cleaning kit, bottled water in the room, a simple check-in, attentive staff, the general feeling of being looked after and generally guests needs to be anticipated and fully considered. It is of the utmost importance that guests leave feeling happy, content and can’t wait to return or recommend your hotel to friends and family, along with hopefully leaving a glowing online review.

Behind the scenes, hidden within hotel bedroom design, there is a lot more going on than meets the eye; little things, that may not be noticed but if they weren’t there would certainly make your guest experience an average one.

These considerations are second nature to a specialist in hotel bedroom design, but are very easily missed. Not only do they improve the guest journey but many of them make the life of the hotel staff a whole lot easier too.

So, your guest is all checked in and eager to see their room. The key card has blinked green and the guest enters the hotel bedroom.

ARRIVAL

Luggage storage

Within the immediate bedroom lobby area a guest should spot a clear place to store their luggage once unpacked, whether inside a wardrobe, via a purpose-built luggage rack, or under a bed, an area to stow away empty cases or rucksacks rather than them cluttering up the valuable bedroom space is an important feature not to be overlooked.

Hotel bedroom open wardrobe design

TIME TO RELAX

Tea and coffee making facilities

After a long journey, relaxing with a cuppa is high on the agenda. Obviously, tea and coffee making facilities are a must. One thing that is often overlooked in hotel bedroom design is filling the kettle. Always ensure that there is enough space underneath the tap in the bathroom basin for the kettle to be filled easily avoiding spillage and an annoyed guest.

Television

For a double occupancy room, there should be space for both guests to relax and watch a spot of TV. Not only should the TV be easily viewed from the bed but also from any chairs within the room without a guest having to haul it around the bedroom. It’s very common that the TV is either stood on the desk or mounted on the wall above. When this is the case it’s important that the TV is mounted high enough that it isn’t obstructed by anything that may be on the desk for the duration of your guests stay. Equally important is that the TV does not conflict with wall mounted mirrors which can be very off-putting when watching your favourite movie.

EVENING RITUALS

En-suite – Use light colours

Light colours are typically more forgiving of water marks and unsightly stains. Choosing lighter colours for vanity units, furniture and flooring can keep your bathroom looking new for longer and your guests impressed with that squeaky-clean aesthetic.

Install soft close toilet seats and cupboard doors

Soft-close drawers and doors to furniture are a must. Not only will it keep your furniture looking good for longer, but it avoids accidental banging and slamming which might transfer between rooms and disturb others. The same applies to toilet seats which should be fitted with soft close hinges.

Add demister pads to the bathroom mirrors

The benefits of this are for both the guest and the hotelier. Save your mirrors being smeared with a towel while your guest is struggling to see in the steam-filled room after a hot shower. If a bathroom vanity mirror does not demist quickly, impatient guests will simply take their make-up into the bedroom area and use the bedroom mirror which could result in make-up on your nice new bedroom carpet.

Consider the placement of the shower valve

Having a fixed shower screen is far superior to a shower curtain that clings to your naked body in the slightest draught. It requires less maintenance than a glass door, however there is one problem to overcome; many hotels still place the shower valve beneath the shower head inside the fixed door meaning that the guest needs to reach around the glass screen to turn on the shower resulting in a wet (possibly scolded) guest! By placing the shower valve where it can be easily reached or provide a cut-out in the shower door to reach through avoids an annoyed, wet guest.

Vintage hotel bedroom robe hooks

Robe hooks

Whether on the back of the door or mounted on a wall make sure there are sufficient hooks for the number of guests. Keeping robes off the floor or slung over the side of the basin, hung within easy reach for your guest to grab and cover up, clean and dry ready for their next use.

Choose the correct plug

A plunger plug or pivot plug are favourites in hotel en-suite design rather than an unsightly plug with a chain (which inevitably break and look prematurely dirty). A pivot plug is a good choice as it is simple in design, easy to use and requires very little maintenance.

Grab rails

Water and water proof surfaces can be incredibly slippery. Give your guests a hand with grab rails in the bath and shower areas. Which brings us to….

Anti-slip tiles

The last thing you or your guests want is an injury during their stay. Keep wet areas as safe as possible by installing anti-slip tiles. These days the choice of tiles with a high anti-slip rating is vast so there is no excuse to risk an injury.

Heated towel rail

A dual-purpose heated towel ladder provides a handy place for towel storage whilst serving as a space-saving radiator, ideal in smaller bathrooms.

Good lighting

As many guests will shave or apply make-up in the bathroom, good lighting is imperative. Imagine your guest is getting ready for a special evening and misses a spot shaving or make-up isn’t blended due to bad lighting. This could potentially ruin their evening as they feel less than their best and lead to a poor review of your facilities for something that is easily avoidable. Lighting must also meet safety requirements due to the level of moisture in the ensuite. A general bathroom light must be IP67, a zone 1 light, i.e. above a shower must be at least 2.5m from the floor.

Neutral boutique hotel bathroom

BEDTIME

Preparing the room for bedtime should take minimal effort and create a dark, comfortable quiet place conducive with a peaceful sleep. By making their bedtime routine as simple and relaxed as possible the chances of a good sleep are greatly increased. Good sleep = Happy customer.

Curtains

Is there anything more annoying than being woken up by a slither of sunlight glaring through ill fitted curtains? It is important that curtains not only fit the window but allow for an overlap. Blackout curtains are a standard addition to any well-equipped hotel bedroom cutting out any outside light that may otherwise affect a guest’s peaceful slumber.

In addition to this it’s favourable for curtains to be operated by a pull cord or curtain rods. This makes it easy for the guest to use but also avoids curtain poles being yanked down by an over-zealous curtain tug.

Additional occupancy

If additional occupancy is required now is the time that a guest will be pulling out and making the sofa-bed. A sofa bed is an excellent way of adding seating to a living area and an extra bed. This works particularly well in a family room where space is of a premium, rather than an extra bed the sofa can be utilised during the day. A smooth glide contract action will ensure ease of converting from sofa to bed. No guest wants to be battling with a sofa bed mechanism at bedtime. Equally, no-one wants to lose a finger with a difficult to use heavy sofa mechanism.

Beds

Zip and link beds are an ingenious solution for hotels to allow for a change in occupancy from twin to double with a simple zip and a linking lever. It is however important that a zip and link bed is comfortable in both configurations, although a join is inevitable, a huge ridge running down the center of a double bed is simply not acceptable, if this describes your beds it may be time to reinvest in a more comfortable model to avoid uncomfortable guests.

Lighting

Getting the lighting right in a hotel bedroom is a difficult task with many varying factors. Lighting should be bright enough that a guest could apply make-up if they wish and work without straining their eyes but yet there should be an option to have a softer ambience for relaxing too. Having lighting controls by the bed is imperative to enable guests to switch off once they are settled in bed rather than having to walk across an unfamiliar room in the dark, stubbing their toe on the way.

Lights out – time for the peaceful slumber of another content customer!

BEHIND THE SCENES

Technical and maintenance

For the hotel bedroom design specialist, it doesn’t end here; there is more to consider than the times that a room is occupied. What about the maintenance necessities that keep a guest room in tip-top condition?

Access panels

Access to plumbing, heating and air conditioning units is essential, however, it should be done in a way that is discreet and doesn’t affect the customers’ experience. Unsightly toilet cisterns can be hidden with a vanity unit with removable panels or even a back to wall toilet where a simple removable flush panel ensures easy access should it be required.

HVAC units are notorious for being temperamental and causing guests problems. Guaranteeing that maintenance staff have easy access to fix potential issues assists in an efficient repair.

Electronic room controls

We are used to hotel bedroom light being operated by a key card, which is an efficient energy saving feature. In the digital age, however, this can be taken to the next level. A guest can operate lighting, temperature, curtains and “do not disturb” notices from a central panel. Some hotels in the US have even implemented an Amazon echo pre-loaded with hotel specific information. As many of the hotel groups operating in the UK are US-owned companies, this level of bedroom technology is something we will soon see here in the UK too.

It’s the little things that count.

Contact our design consultants today for some creative direction.

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