Wow, Hotel ‘Pillow Menus’ can Really make your Head Hurt

Smart hotels are so determined that you sleep well, they have created a range of different pillows to suit every weary head and sleep type. Many moons ago, before we got distracted by the manifold pleasures of in-room surround sound systems, personal plunge pools and ever-more extravagant mini-bars, providing a good night’s sleep was the sine qua non of the great hotel. Oh, happy days, the modern hotel traveller, besieged by winking smoke alarms, the clink of ice machines in the hallway and the whirring of the elevator in its shaft might be inclined to opine. All too often the most exciting modern hotels, the ones found in the glossy magazines, are so focused on the flash and the extras that the simple requisites of a good night’s sleep-namely a dark, quiet room with a comfortable mattress-gets forgotten. Increasingly, however, hotels are again attempting to sell sleep as the ultimate luxury. Some hotels, such as The Benjamin in New York, now even retain a dedicated "Sleep Concierge" to make sure guests get the perfect 40 winks.

For side sleeper relief many country house hotels in Britain and Ireland, set in sleepy bucolic surrounds, sleep is a key part of the offering. Lisnavagh House, for example, a Gothic revival mansion set in the south east of Ireland, runs weekend ‘sleep retreats’. Ancient wooden shutters and thick granite walls keep out noise and light. However, what has become one of the most fashionable ways for hotels to telegraph that they are serious about sleep these days is to provide guest with a so-called