In Pursuit of Perfection: Design Your Own Hotel Room

We’ve seen some glorious hotel rooms with fine furniture, plenty of fluffy towels and a stunning view. These rooms, when you’re lucky enough to score one, inspire you to throw yourself on the bed, hugging the crisp, white duvet cover around you and wondering whether you’ll ever be willing to leave. Ever. Sigh.

Oh, and we’ve been in some dumps — you know, the places where you won’t sit on the bedspread or take a shower without flip-flops. You lie in bed, fully dressed, waiting for dawn so you can find different accommodations. (See Hotel Horror Stories.)

Believe it or not, there are some hardy travelers who don’t care that much. No bed bugs and a door that locks: that’s about all they require. Others demand a few more bells and whistles. So we wonder what makes a hotel room ideal. Recently on Twitter and Facebook, we asked: If you could design the perfect hotel room, what would it be like?

The perfect hotel room, it seems, requires something that has little to do with the actual room. “Must have: Amazing view!” tweets TravelWithAAA. Diana Bustamante agrees, writing on Facebook: “Comfy beds, squishy pillows, large tub, small fridge and windows overlooking some incredible sight.” Oh, and add a clawfoot tub to a “big sea view,” according to tripalong on Twitter.

Some designs include practical amenities. Lavida Rei wants ceiling fans. ITravelBritain must have a nightlight switch next to the bed and 120-volt outlets. A mini-fridge, microwave, location near transit, plus a clean bed and working bathroom satisfy bgrmosaic. However, to be perfect, bgrmosaic goes beyond the general and delves into specifics, requesting wood or tile floors, which may be a practical matter if you have allergies.

Several would-be hotel room designers are even more detailed. GoPlanetWare tweets that the perfect accommodations “overlook the water [and have a] glass ceiling, marble flooring, rotating bed, flat-screen TV, dining area, his/hers closets.” And Val_GiveThanks must have a king-size bed, Jacuzzi tub and a balcony with a view. Oh, and a butler.

Remember, we’re designing hotel rooms here, not cinemas or RV’s. Dawn Purtle writes on Facebook that her perfect hotel room would have recliners and a popcorn machine. Dragonflyvans tweets: “It’d have wheels so I put it right next to a river, canyon, cliff or vista.”

Two of our readers claim to have already found their version of perfection. For iTravelBritain it is Sheraton Grand Hotel and Spa in Edinburgh. For DecanterTours, it is Jardins Secrets in Languedoc-Roussillon, France. For holidayisfrance, a family suite that sleeps five or six will do. For us: a great view, comfy bed and a clean bathroom. Throw in a ceiling fan and maybe some fresh popcorn — we’re golden.

What does your perfect hotel room have?

–written by Jodi Thompson