Hospitality’s Healthiest New Trend Is on the Rise

Getting a good night’s sleep is important. Especially when you’re on vacation. When you travel, whether it’s jet lag, unfamiliar surroundings, overstimulation, or lack of exercise from long travel days, sleep can be elusive. And just one night of poor shuteye can torpedo your trip. It doesn’t matter if you’re traveling for business, surfing, skiing, climbing or simple R&R, sometimes getting in a good night’s rest requires the focus of a Zen master. The good news is that from pillow menus to AI-controlled beds, hotels are ratcheting up their sleep game.

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“Sleep is the third pillar of health along with diet and exercise,” says Dr. Michael Breuss (aka “The Sleep Doctor”), a leading authority in sleep health. This means that the repercussions of not having a restful night impact not only your health and mood, but how you interact with friends, family, and even your job. Other than water and air, sleep is the most vital process your body needs to exist and recover. Sleep affects every organ system and every disease state. Sleep affects you physically, emotionally and cognitively. Literally everything you do, you do better with a good night's sleep.”

Related: Catching Up on Sleep Lowers Heart Disease Risk, Study Finds

Breuss, founder of sleepdoctor.com, works with several hotels and resorts (Post Ranch Inn, Six Senses, Crowne Plaza, etc.) on ways that they can better serve their guest’s nocturnal needs. “I think it’s a great idea that hotels, resorts and spas enforce the importance of sleep,” says Breuss. “After all, it's kind of what they sell. While no one is going to cure their insomnia with a hotel sleep program, unless it’s a medical spa/resort with a program specifically designed to do exactly that, I do think that these types of programs help quite a bit.“

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The bottom line is that while it’s relatively easy to adjust our eating and exercise on a vacation, it’s much harder to control sleep. Sure, you can pack ear plugs, noise canceling headphones, an eye mask, and even your favorite pillow or stuffed animal, but a lumpy hotel bed, traffic noise, or irritating in-room lighting can render slumber elusive.

Seeing that an estimated 70 million people in the U.S. suffer from a sleeping disorder, it’s no wonder that many hotels and resorts are doubling down on providing an elevated sleeping experience. There are many ways to approach the sweet spot of slumber. Here’s a list of places that are doing everything they can to ensure you have a restful (and restorative) experience.

Saratoga Arms Hotel: Saratoga Springs, NY

Whether you’re in town for the horse races or renowned mineral baths, the Saratoga Arms Hotel wants you to get a good night’s rest. The Deep Sleep Package (a $99 upgrade) connects you to the hotel’s sleep concierge team. They prepare a personalized sleep experience with a customized room temperature, choice of pillow and blankets (including weighted blankets) a white noise machine, a sleep-inducing essential oils menu, a sleep kit with a weighted mask, earplugs, Melatonin sleep gummies, blue light glasses, calming face masks, lavender shower aromatherapy, and herbal teas.

Miramonte Resort & Spa, Indian Wells: CA

CBD is a popular natural remedy for insomnia. The WELL Spa at Miramonte Resort & Spa offers a CBD Journey to Bliss treatment. Start with a restorative turmeric CBD tincture under the tongue. Next up, is a CBD mineral bath soak infused with lavender and bergamot. After the soak, guests detoxify with a dry brush exfoliation followed by a hydrating CBD rich body wrap. While wrapped, guests can soften and nourish their hands and feet with an exotic blend of palo santo and orange coconut CBD sugar scrub, followed by a relieving foot massage using targeted relief CBD cream. The journey concludes with a skilled aesthetician working to hydrate, brighten and balance the skin with luminous CBD facial oil. It’s hard to imagine not getting a good night’s sleep after all that.

Lanserhof Sylt: Sylt, Germany

Tucked on the island of Sylt in Germany’s deep north, Lanserhof Sylt health resort uses elements of classic naturopathy and cutting-edge medical practices to support travelers seeking rejuvenation and well-being. The Sleep Program here starts with scientific diagnostic methods for each guest, with multidimensional treatment including respiratory muscle training conducted by a Lanserhof physiotherapist, and chronotherapy, which aims to restore the proper circadian pattern of the sleep-wake cycle through sleep hygiene and timed light exposure. You’ll also benefit from guided meditations for stress relief and self-awareness. The suites at Lanserhof Sylt are equipped with FreshBeds that combine individual body temperature control with active airflow technology and an integrated medical HEPA filter. Plus, Human Centric Lighting Technology aligns your internal clock with natural biorhythms.

Historic Davenport Hotel: Spokane, WA

Spokane, WA, is a hip vacation hot-spot, thanks to the newly renovated Historic Davenport Hotel. The hotel offers in-room spa treatments curated by the hotel’s award-winning, Forbes Four-Star rated Davenport Spa & Salon. With the choice of CBD Muscle Recovery Soak, Pamper Me Facial, Deep Sleep & Tranquil Soak, or Love Wellness Soak, these intimate DIY wellness experiences let you relax, rejuvenate, and get a great night’s sleep.

Velaa Private Island: Maldives

This ultra-lux Maldives resort takes the integration of health and wellness seriously—which it should, as there’s bound to be some jet lag involved. A stay at Velaa Private Island includes Cloud 9 sleep pods that incorporate light and sound therapy with gentle swaying motions designed to recreate the feeling of being cradled as a child. Also on the island is a snow room designed to improve quality of sleep and detoxify your body.

Rusty Parrot Lodge and Spa: Jackson, WY

After a day of skiing or hiking in Jackson, you still might not be tuckered out enough to sleep. But don’t worry, the Rusty Parrot Lodge has you covered. This newly rebuilt historic hotel in downtown Jackson offers a cozy, luxurious escape with an impressive Western art collection and arguably the best restaurant and wine list in town. Begin your relaxation at the Body Sage Spa with a Restful Reset Massage designed to calm your mind and promote deep sleep. Have a gourmet dinner at the Wild Sage Restaurant, followed by a bespoke cocktail. Then retreat to your room, where you’ll find a soothing cowboy poem, calming eye masks, bath salts, and a plush teddy bear waiting for you.

Halcyon: Denver, CO

Halcyon, a boutique hotel in Denver’s posh Cherry Creek neighborhood, lives up to its name. The property provides a Hal-ZZZ-on Sleep Kit, which includes chamomile tea service, lavender pillow and room spray, a lights-out call from the front desk upon request, and white noise machines.

Cannery Pier: Astoria, OR

Our canine companions need a good night’s sleep too. Cannery Pier Hotel and Spa in Astoria, at the mouth of the mighty Columbia River and the Pacific Ocean, provides black out curtains and a lovely turn-down service. But more importantly, your dog will get a soft bed and treats. And you don’t pay extra for mother nature’s best sleep remedy—your room is at the edge of a pier, so you have the soothing sound of water lapping against your balcony. No white noise machine needed.

Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge: Jasper, Canada

Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge, surrounded by the awe-inspiring Jasper National Park, has always promised a great night’s sleep—mainly because it’s impossible to not exhaust yourself during the day with hiking, climbing, and biking. Now the resort features extra comfy Fairmont Beds, including a choice between a feather/down duvet or a heavier foam duvet accompanied by pillows that can veer either firm or soft. Guests can request a specific room scent, plus pick from a menu of pillow sprays and scented candles. Add a cup of SleepyTime Fairmont Lot 35 Tea, plush sleep mask, and ultra-soft bathrobe, and catching some real winks is no problem.

Wynn Las Vegas, NV

All of the rooms at Wynn Las Vegas feature the signature Wynn Dream Bed, which was designed exclusively for Wynn Resorts by Sealy. The beds have a luxurious pillow-top layer and patented Posturepedic technology. The Wynn Dream Beds are outfitted with soft linens, while touchscreens control blackout curtains and lights. The resort’s Wynn Living Well program features curated health and wellness experiences ranging from sleep-inducing spa treatments (like the four-handed massage) and NutriDrip IV therapies to in-room wellness videos.

Mission Pacific Hotel: Oceanside, CA

The 161-room Mission Pacific Hotel sits on 700 feet of pristine beachfront near the historic pier in Oceanside. It’s partnered with Eight Sleep to offer rooms with Eight Sleep Pod Pro Cover beds. The Pod Pro Cover features ambient weather sensors that monitor and moderate mattress temperature (each side of the bed has separate controls). The system also detects resting heart rate, respiratory rate, sleep stages, and sleep time; you get a full report in your Daily Health Check report on the sleep app. We love the “gentle rise” technology, which uses gentle vibration at chest level to wake up each individual without sound, while gradually cooling or warming the bed minutes before the set wake-up time—ensuring no disruption to a partner's sleep.

Park Terrace Hotel: New York, NY

If you find sleep elusive, hypnotherapy could be the answer. Park Terrace Hotel on Bryant Park, offers guests their 2023 Wellness Package which includes a 90-minute in-room or virtual hypnotherapy session with HMI Certified hypnotherapist Ginger Gibson, plus a 45-minute yoga class. Other soothing amenities include Rituals Cosmetics’ Ritual of Jing that’s designed to support and enhance sleep. The hotel also has an invite-only Restorative Sleep Studio with Bryte AI-Powered Restorative beds. The sensory network inside the bed detects heart rate and breathing patterns to identify when the first sleep stage has begun. Cooling features engage to lower the body’s core temperature gently, guiding you into the critical stages of deep sleep.

French Quarter Inn: Charleston, SC

The French Quarter Inn—a 50-room boutique hotel in Charleston recently shortlisted as one of the top 5 hotels in the U.S.—offers a “Suite Dreams” package with a “pillow menu” (seven choices) and lavender-scented sachets, eye masks, and “Sleepy Tea” service. Even the lotions here are designed with sleep in mind. Guests also can access an in-room sleep guide with tips curated by SleepSpace founder Dr. Daniel Gartenberg. The inn is so convinced that you’ll sleep soundly that they’ve set checkout time at 1 p.m. Also in Charleston is the Harbour View Inn. The 52-room waterfront retreat offers a Relax & Recharge package with a slumber kit including wireless earbuds, an eye mask, a silk pillowcase, CBD sleep oil, pillow mist, complimentary access to a mindfulness app, and a calming beverage.

Tschuggen Collection Dream Butlers: Switzerland

The Tschuggen Collection features a holistic wellness program called Moving Mountains. The “Rest” element was developed with sleep specialist Dr. Heydy Lorena González to create personalized sleep experiences. A “Dream Butler” helps each guest select a pillow from a curated menu, and then fosters a perfect night’s sleep through a combination of spa treatments, room ambiance, and a specially prepared meal. While guests are relaxing in the Spa, their Dream Butlers prepare the room and set the perfect humidity, lighting, and room temperature for sleep. A scented candle, pillow spray and bedtime book are included in the turn-down service. Theis collection of Swiss hotels includes the Tschuggen Grand and Valsana in Arosa, Switzerland, the Carleton in St. Moritz, and Hotel Eden Roc in Ascona. 

Hilton West Palm Beach: West Palm Beach, FL

This newly renovated Hilton West Palm Beach hotel in vibrant Downtown West Palm Beach focuses on providing an elevated sleep experience for travelers. The nature-inspired hotel features a Sleep Turndown program—providing access to an extensive pillow menu from Casper, curated calming music, and a slew of sleep inducing teas and bedtime snacks. The hotel’s mixologist leads a “Sleeping Beauty” mocktail class. Guests can also participate in monthly sound healing classes.

The Clift Royal Sonesta: San Francisco, CA

The Clift Royal Sonesta offers the Sonesta Slumber Package for guests looking to have a more restful retreat. Sonesta has worked closely with renowned sleep expert Dr. Rebecca Robbins to curate a special assortment of sleep tips, yummy treats, an Oura Ring, sleep mask, and ear plugs, plus a bookmark with sleep tips and QR link to a meditation video. A sleep itinerary also provides guidance for your stay.

Fairmont Vancouver Airport: Vancouver, Canada

Fairmont Vancouver Airport located inside the U.S. Departures terminal at Vancouver International Airport offers triple-pane soundproof windows and a wellness program to promote a night of restful sleep. The program offers sleep-inducing offerings, including a self-guided Nordic style bath experience, aromatherapy diffuser and essential oils, shower steamers, sound therapy machines, and complimentary in-room sleep meditation programs. Guests of Fairmont Gold at Fairmont Hotel Vancouver also get a dedicated pillow menu where you select from various styles and fills such as gel, feather, or hypoallergenic to customize a sleep experience.