The Guest Room – 15 Tips for a Heavenly Stay

Overnight guests -- Yay!!   However, some folks might say “well…truthfully…nay…we’re not ready…”  

​Whether you love to entertain guests and provide them with accommodations that mimic a 5-star resort, or just “get through it” to provide a reasonable bed for the night, one thing is for sure: having a nice guest room at the ready goes hand-in-hand with summer. You really do want your guests to have a great night’s rest.  Invite them, they will surely come!
 
Here’s some guest room inspiration for you…our hotel room in Lisbon, Portugal from 2 summers ago.   This suite was a delight, and so generously appointed, especially the bath.  

​You might not have as much space as this hotel room to dedicate to your guest room, but it’s always nice to envision a heavenly place that you have stayed at when you embark on designing a special retreat for your guests. 
 
There were several elements which I really enjoyed in this hotel room. First, the draperies were sumptuous silk, and the many layers of drapery, sheers, and shades made for maximum privacy and light control, including blackout for sleep. Second, the room felt special, very European, and while the color scheme was not my most favorite, it had a cohesive design “point of view.”  When you examine your own guest room and recognize that it’s furnished in non-coordinated cast-offs, maybe it’s time to actually think about improving both the style and functionality of the room. Making these kinds of changes will certainly put smiling faces at your breakfast table each morning when guests stay over.
 
For the ultimate in packing in luxurious function for your guests’ every need in a small space, cruise ship cabins are just the ticket for inspiration.  Here is a photo of our cabin on the Crystal Serenity on our latest European cruise.  I particularly liked the sleek and neutral color scheme and tactile touches…and functional amenities everywhere.    And having a cabin steward was pretty nice, too! 

To help you out with your planning here are 15 Tips for a Terrific Guest Room Experience:

1. Room for guest clothes in the closet and hangers of all types.    It’s nice if your guest can actually unpack and hang up their clothes.  We all know living out of a suitcase is less than ideal, and some prefer to hang their clothes up from the git-go.  If you have room in the closet, also stow a folding luggage rack (just like the hotels) and also a portable clothes drying rack.  Your guests might want to dry their bathing suits or things they hand-wash, and it’s awkward for them to hang those things in the hallway bath. Of course, if your guest suite has its own bath, then put the drying rack in the bathroom.
2. Bedside lighting for reading, and a clock on the nightstand.   Please provide at least one nightstand for your guests, even in a small space.  No one likes to have to stow their phone or glasses on the floor.  In addition to tissues, place a small tray on the nightstand to corral earrings, rings, and other small items that could be easily lost. 
3. Easy-to-access outlet for recharging the phone, laptop, and camera.   Have you noticed that nowadays all the hotels are using lamps outfitted with outlets?  If you need to purchase a new reading lamp for your guest room, this would be a feature to look for. Otherwise, perhaps you could put a power strip on the nightstand or on the desk for charging phones and cameras.  You can never have too many outlets in a guest bedroom.   And thinking through electrical access for your guests is a gracious thing…do you really want them hunting behind the bed on their hands and knees?
4. Wifi name and password.  For those homes with Wifi, it’s a kind thing to post the name and password somewhere in the room. Maybe on a piece of artwork with a label affixed to the glass in a lower corner, or a special “welcome” sign you make up in a small standing photo frame on the desk. 
5. Set of towels for each guest and verbal guidance.   If your guests won’t have a dedicated bathroom, then it’s probably best to provide lots of towels and washcloths in a basket in the guest bedroom so they know they are theirs to use.  And, please, kindly tell your guests where you would like them to place their wet items after they take a shower—towel rack, washer, elsewhere? Case in point…I recall early in my marriage we moved to a new house and I didn’t have that conversation with my in-laws who were visiting…three days after their arrival I finally went into our laundry room two floors below and found a heap of once-wet towels that were on their way to being a science experiment…  In hindsight and many, many guests later, I realize I should have communicated better at the start, paid better attention to their needs, and not just relied on the situation I created with having plenty of towels in the guest bath linen closet.  Now I pay more attention (discreetly), say more upfront to my guests, provide better racks and hooks, and wash all towels in the house every afternoon when we have guests.
6. Good mattress, blanket(s), assorted pillows of varying firmness, and nice sheets.  Of course these elements are the standard requirements for a good sleep, and accommodating guests’ individual preferences is the goal.  You should always have an extra blanket in the closet.  I particularly like the Velux blankets which are lightweight but warm, and I also provide a heavier quilted blanket which can be washed.  I would also recommend putting an extra set of sheets in a drawer or closet in the room.  Messes do happen sometimes, and guests appreciate the option of taking care of situations themselves.  Then there’s always the guest who wants to strip the bed and change sheets at the end of a stay, so if there are already sheets in the room, they can do their thing despite your protests. 
7. A place to set a suitcase.  With kids and younger folks, setting suitcases on the floor is okay, I guess.  But anyone college-age and older will appreciate a suitcase rack, bench, trunk, or some other surface to put their suitcase on.  Furthermore, most guests are leery of putting dirty suitcases (from air travel) on a clean duvet or bedspread, so think this scenario through if your guest room has very light colored upholstery and linens.
8. Handy desk items.  An ideal situation is having enough space in the guest bedroom for a desk where you can have a chair, lamp, power strip, and a basket with paper, pens, sticky notes, calendar, envelopes, stamps, tape, and scissors.  Having these things out in plain view makes a guest feel that those items are theirs to use. In situations where you normally employ the guest bedroom as a home office, pay particular attention to your guests not wanting to invade your privacy by rifling through your desk to find a pen…just saying….  Also note that some guest rooms are outfitted with two twin beds with a desk in between, and this desk serves as a nightstand.  This is a nice solution to a small room, provided your guests are okay with twin beds.
9. Nightlights.  Plug a nightlight (that has an actual switch, not just a sensor) into an outlet near the door of the guest bedroom.  Guests can decide if they need the nightlight or not. 
10. TV in the Guest Bedroom.  Not a requirement, but a nice-to-have. Same with providing flowers, bottled water, a coffee maker and snacks and treats. These are all lovely amenities, and you know your regular guests well enough to decide if these items should be incorporated into the design of your guest bedroom.  I personally would stop at installing a fridge and mini-bar, however!   
11. Dresser or desk with drawers.  For visits of longer than 2 days, it’s nice for guests to have at least two drawers to unpack into.  The less cluttered the surfaces are in the room, the more serene they will feel.  Living out of a suitcase is sometimes hard on the senses, and clearing the clutter is necessary for some to truly unwind (and actually feel like they are on vacation).  Line the drawers with fresh white paper for each new guest.
12. Mirror.  A full-length mirror on the inside of a closet is an easy addition that will be appreciated.
13. Books (fiction and non-fiction), current magazines, and local area guidebooks and maps.  A small selection of reading material is delightful for guests. I also like to put a basket of local area guidebooks, maps (yes! the old fashioned kind) and attraction brochures in my guest room - it’s sometimes helpful for a guest to be able to do some research on their own rather than the host bearing all the work of determining the amusement options and itinerary.
14. Chair for reading and relaxing, with a reading lamp nearby.  There’s a reason why an idyllic vacation spot is often called a “retreat.”  Let your guests be able to “retreat” from the hustle and bustle of your house and relax in their room for a bit.  And if there is nowhere to sit other than the bed, that would be hard to do. 
15. Good blackout shades for light control and privacy.  Last, but certainly not least, it’s ideal to provide room-darkening shades, just like a hotel.  In Massachusetts, the sun rises at 5am in June, and I surely don’t want the sun waking up my guests before they are ready. The best bet for no-fuss operation for guests are cordless cellular room darkening shades, like the Lafayette Parasol cellular shades shown in the photo below. These are “Top Down/Bottom Up” or TDBU shades, so when they are down providing privacy, you can still get some light in at the top to peek at the weather or get some ambient light. Cordless operation is the easiest for guests to work…and you can tuck these shades under pretty cornices, valances, sheers, or drapery panels.  

​Of course most of these suggestions are really common sense and adhere to a golden rule of sorts, “Provide for your guests as you would like to be treated as a guest.”  In fact, I often recommend to my clients who are embarking on a guest bedroom renovation that they sleep in their guest bedroom for a night and solely use the guest bath.  There is nothing like walking in your guests’ shoes (or bedroom slippers) to clearly assess your guest accommodations and plan ways to improve their experience in your home. I hope this blog has given you some food-for-thought and impetus to make your home more friendly for your guests.
 
It’s summer, and I know lots of you are headed out on vacation.  Safe and happy travels to you all!  And if you are home and doing the “staycation” thing, I wish you fair weather and a minimum of road construction delays for all your outings and get-togethers.   See you next week on the Center Stage blog!