Monday, November 30, 2009
6 Tips to get a good night sleep in a hotel
user
When we travel, whether for
business or for pleasure, a hotel stay can make or break our
trip. Traveling in itself can easily throw off our systems,
and as a result, getting a good night sleep is crucial to our
ability to be productive (as in the case of business travel), to
overcome jet lag, to limit
stress and ultimately, to stay in balance.
As a frequent traveler, I'm a bit picky about where I crash
for the night. I've racked up millions of points on
various hotel brands, and as a result, have developed the
'perfect night sleep'
checklist:
- Location, Location, Location: The location of
your room is one of the most important aspects to getting a good
night sleep. Why? Because certain locations will most
definitely be noisier than others, easily disturbing you from a
deep sleep slumber.
- Which Floor: When possible, choose the highest
floor. If you can't get the highest, then try to get on a
floor that is a 'concierge' or 'suite' level.
Higher floor levels often have more suites, so the ceiling heights
may be taller. This is good for 'air-cushioning' the
noise that may come through the ceiling from an above room.
I've had my fair share of nights when I was woken up at 2am
from loud people getting in from a late night of partying.
Also, avoid the first floor, as it will be the loudest and if you
are a female, the least safe. You always want to be sure that
you are at least on the second floor for safety.
- Where on the Floor: The middle of a guest
floor is often the best location, away from the elevators, ice and
vending machines, exit stairs and service closets (linens,
housekeeping and janitor). In particular, guest and service
elevator machinery is loud and can be heard through the walls of
your room. Further, the 'Ding' that lets you know the
elevator is arriving on your floor is enough to drive you
batty.
- Renovations: Hotels go through periodic
renovations. When they do, however, they do their renovations
in stages. They usually renovate one floor at a time, which
means that the hotel may have newly renovated rooms, as well as
old, stinky, worn-out rooms. Always ask for the most newly
renovated, as they will be cleaner, less smelly, and have newer
linens, all helping you to feel more comfortable during your
stay.
- No-Smoking Rooms and Hotels: If you are
sensitive to smoke, look for hotels that are smoke-free.
Although some hotels have non-smoking floors, there are many
smokers who do not abide by these policies, leaving
'non-smoking' rooms and floors smokey. Further,
housekeeping staff will do their best to cover up the smell, by
over-air-freshening the room, which can often make the smell
worse. Smoke-free hotels, however, see less of this and are
often sought after by non-smokers who share your preference.
- Curtains: Most hotel rooms come with two or
three sets of curtains. 'Black-out' curtains, sheers
and decorative curtains. The 'black-out' curtains are
your sleep time friend. As their name implies, they black-out
your room so that light from outside of the hotel can not
infiltrate and disturb your sleep. Use them. This will
ensure that you won't be woken up by police car lights,
billboards, parking lot lights or an earlier than optimal sunrise
time.
- Do Not Disturb: Unless you get a thrill out of
the housekeeper staff finding you in your skivvies, always remember
to put out your 'Do Not Disturb' sign before you go to
bed. This is especially important when you are on
vacation. More often than not, the housekeeping schedule
starts much earlier than your vacation schedule.
- Alarm Clock & Wake Up Call: Unfortunately,
I've had both wake up calls and the alarm clock fail.
Both of which can be very unsettling. Not only does this
cause you to over-sleep, but you may very well miss an important
meeting or sightseeing tour, all while having an adrenaline
hangover that plagues you for the rest of the day. To ensure
your schedule remains on...schedule, call down for a wake up call
AND set the alarm. One of these may fail, but rarely will
both.
Do you have any tricks of the trade to ensure a good night sleep
while traveling? Have you had any bad experiences when you
couldn't sleep or were woken up, only to not be able to go back
to sleep?
Related Topic:
Related: work, wellness, travel, sleep, diy, aging
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Posted by ophelia Wed Jul 15, 2009 11:30am PDT
TIP: If your blackout curtains leave a gap, use skirt hangers from the closet to close them tightly.
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Posted by mommaofsun Wed Jul 15, 2009 12:04pm PDT
A horror story for all...........We went into towm for a local festival and decided to stay in a hotel as we had a few beers and didn't want to drive. The place we got had no working AC, the wallpaper was peeling off of the walls, blood stains on the sheets, no hot water, the toliet didn't flush, the lock on the door didn't work, and the carpet was FILTHY. After an hour, we went out to our van, and slept in the back of it. The only thing missing from that room was a chalk outline of a body on the carpet. It was horrible!!!!
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Posted by Katie B Wed Jul 15, 2009 2:02pm PDT
Buaha... make sure that your maid actually does not disturb you... My husband and I put a "Do not Disturb" sign on the door and she STILL tried to come in... So I would lock your doors too..
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Posted by Jamie Wed Jul 15, 2009 4:18pm PDT
Try bringing the pillow you use at home, I've found that the familiarity helps...not to mention hotel pillows are usually not the most comfortable.
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Posted by ConsciousChange Thu Jul 16, 2009 5:41am PDT
People order a drink close the curtains so its really dark and count sheep. It works everytime.
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Posted by Ummm, Meg Thu Jul 16, 2009 9:10am PDT
if possible, i leave the room fan running. okay, so it's not a "green" idea, but it sure does drown out noise. ear plugs are also a must (i'm a very light sleeper, the slightest noise wakes me). i bring my own pillow and my own alarm clock. i always leave the "do not disturb" sign on the door even when we're not in the room, too many dishonest employees. i wish people would realize when staying in hotels that they are not the only people in the hotel...they walk down the hallways talking and carrying on so loudly, and when it's 2am and others are trying to sleep it's so inconsiderate. also, at most hotels you don't have to SLAM the room door shut. gently close the door, give it a push or pull, try the handle to make sure it's locked. slamming is not necessary!!!! :)
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Posted by opiniononly Thu Jul 16, 2009 10:11am PDT
Sleep on the side of the mattress opposite of where the phone is located. Most folks sleep on the side closest to the lamp and phone. The other side is much more comfortable because it is used less.
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Posted by Suleiman Thu Jul 16, 2009 10:54am PDT
im a real fans of real madrid.barcelona time around u are sorry,and u will trophyless this season. S.A RIMI
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Posted by Jett Thu Jul 16, 2009 1:16pm PDT
An "almost" horror story: My then fiance and I went camping a few hours away from home and on the way back his car broke down right next to a really cheap motel. We got out and called AAA, and while we waited a man who was staying in the motel walked over to us and started talking — about everything. He was really nuts and was telling us about the medications he was taking and how he lived at the motel. He said if we stayed in the motel, we could ride with him later to McDonald's to get dinner. When AAA came, we paid extra for the driver to drive us to a Holiday Inn across town. Who knows what would have happened to us if we'd stayed in that convenient motel.
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Posted by Jett Thu Jul 16, 2009 1:18pm PDT
Jaimefrancis: I bring my own pillow too, because my neck and back will hurt if I sleep on the wrong type of pillow.
Opiniononly: That's a really neat idea! I take it hotel employees never flip/rotate the mattress, huh?
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