Hotels realize that if guests can't snooze, they lose
— -- Ericka Nelson, whose husband is a thunderous snorer, knows from personal experience that it can be hard to get a good night's rest.
The general manager of Kimpton's 70 park avenue hotel found an anti-snore pillow in a store. It worked for her hubby, and in March she rolled out a pillowmenu at 70 park avenue, including a PillowPositive model. It props up the neck, she says, and allows users to sleep on their backs or sides with airways open to promote peaceful rest.
"A hotel can have all these great amenities, and everyone (in the industry) keeps trying to find the latest thing. But when it comes down to it, what we're really about is a great night's sleep," Nelson says.
The pillow menu, which has been dreamed up by other hotels as well, is just one way lodgings are helping guests get their zzz's. Counting sheep is so yesterday: In this restless age, sleep aids and enhancement programs are hot amenities at a growing number of hotels, resorts and spas, including W Hotels and Hilton's Conrad Hotels & Resorts.
A sampling:
•Before arrival, 70 park avenue guests can e-mail sleepwell@70parkave.com or call a "pillow librarian" to request one of 15 complimentary rest-inducers. Most popular, Nelson says, is a pillow made with buckwheat hulls, which is said to stimulate acupressure points and increase circulation. Also on the menu are aromatherapy pillows containing scented sachets that aid in relaxation. Turn-down chocolates contain sleep-promoting melatonin. The pillow menu will expand to more Kimpton hotels in the future, Nelson says. Information: 877-707-2752; 70parkave.com.
•Another Kimpton, the Hotel Monaco Chicago, has unveiled a "KN Tranquility Suite," an oasis of serenity with waterfall and soft bamboo sheets. It's stocked with neck pillow, sleep masks, sound machine and named for Karen Neuburger, a designer of sleepwear. Rates start at about $360 a night. 866-610-0081; monaco-chicago.com.
•Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts in North America offer a "Sleep Advantage" program, developed by a sleep expert. Guests get a free kit with ear plugs and eye mask, calming lavender mist, a CD that lulls them to dreamland — even a clip to close drapes to shut out light. Also offered: "Quiet zone" floors. If guests don't receive a requested wake-up call, they get a refund for that night's room cost. 877-227-6963; crowneplaza.com.
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