What is sleep tourism? The hotels offering pillow menus and a sleep concierge

Travelling halfway across the world and shelling out on an expensive hotel might seem overindulgent for a good night’s sleep.

But studies have found that 35 per cent of people do not feel they get enough sleep, so it’s no wonder they are looking to stabilise their circadian rhythms.

This year, ‘sleep tourism’ is trending as travellers increasingly focus their holidays on getting some quality shut eye.

In celebration of World Sleep Day, here are some novel features hotels have introduced to aid sleep.

BLESS Hotel Madrid, Madrid, Spain: For science-based deep sleep

Located in the glamorous Golden Mile of Spain’s capital city, the five-star BLESS Hotel Madrid is looking to science to aid guests’ slumber.

Its BLESS Wellbeing Terrace Villa offers an innovative HOGO Bed Wellness Experience, which claims to be scientifically guaranteed to regenerate the body while sleeping.

The mattress is made from a patented silver and graphite mesh to protect against electromagnetic pollution and eliminate radiation built up in the body.

Don’t worry, you won’t notice a thing while you’re dozing, and it should leave you with a boosted immune system and increased melatonin levels.

Lake Como Sleep Ritual, Grand Hotel Tremezzo, Italy: For natural remedies

As one of the prime properties on a lake loved by A-listers, Grand Hotel Tremezzo ensures guests get five-star shut eye.

Their Lake Como Sleep Ritual is offered at the hotel’s award-winning T Spa.

The 110-minute total body experience employs the beneficial properties of plants and herbs indigenous to Lake Como to promote deeper sleep.

Unplugged, UK: For going off grid

Sleep experts are constantly reiterating the importance of reducing screen time in advance of bedtime, but it’s easier said than done.

Unplugged’s off-grid cabins helpfully offer guests no choice when they opt for a digital detox experience.

On arrival at the eco-friendly hut – there are 17 dotted across the UK including near London and Manchester – visitors are asked to place all devices in a lockbox for 72 hours.

Surrounded by nature and with no access to social media, a sweet slumber is more or less guaranteed.

The best part? They supply you with an old-school Nokia phone in case of emergencies. 

Zedwell, London, UK: For quiet amid the chaos

With 750 rooms in the buzzing heart of London, Zedwell – the UK’s first sleep-centric hotel – promises its visitors a deep, anxiety-free slumber in its soundless, windowless and air-purified cocoons.

You won’t be surprised to discover that Zedwell, whose flagship outpost is located in Piccadilly Circus, is soundproof, so it can provide the peace and quiet its team believe is necessary for a proper rest.

You might be more taken aback by the fact that Zedwell’s rooms have no windows, but this is only so your slumber won’t be disturbed by the light of day.

The hotel isn’t plunged into complete darkness though. Cosy lights of different, soothing colours are set to gently nudge your brain to switch off and relax, while citrus and floral scents encourage you to calm down and forget the hassle of your daily life for at least one night.

Hästens’ Sleep SPA, Coimbra, Portugal: For pure luxury shuteye

Staying at one of the 15 rooms of Hästens’ Sleep SPA in Coimbra, Portugal, is certainly a luxury not everyone can afford, but the experience holds the secret to the perfect slumber.

Hästens is probably the most prestigious bedding brand in the world, whose beds are usually owned by A-list celebrities like Drake.

The boutique sleep-hotel in Portugal features Hästens’s own €50,000 beds, which are designed to be the ultimate in comfort and make the price of a bedroom per night, around €500, sound almost cheap in comparison.

The Sleep SPA in Coimbra also offers customised pillows, in linen or satin, to provide the best sleeping experience, and “Bed Talks” focused on getting you the perfect support for your neck and head.

Mandarin Oriental, Geneva, Switzerland: For the medical sleeping clinic

At the Mandarin Oriental, located only a few steps away from the idyllic Lake Geneva, guests have the opportunity to put their sleeping fate in the hands of professionals.

The hotel has partnered up with experts at CENAS, Switzerland’s first private medical sleeping clinic, to create a three-day programme. By studying your sleeping patterns, they help you to identify possible sleeping disorders and improve your resting habits.

Included in the package is an overnight polysomnographic test that will be analysed by the clinic’s experts. If that’s not enough for you, the spectacular Swiss landscape will do magic for your psychological well-being, even without the perfect night’s sleep.

**Almar Jesolo Resort & Spa, Jesolo,**Italy: For sleep-inducing massages

With its Good Night Sleep programme, the Almar Jesolo Resort & Spa in Italy counts on robust massages to help people doze off at night.

With evocative names such as ‘The rest of the warrior’ and ‘At the feet of Mount Olympus’, the hotel’s massages use traditional Chinese medicine to help you balance the energy flows of your body and head, or so they promise, and grant you a peaceful and restorative sleep.

Plus, before heading to bed you can sip one of their ‘good night’ infusion teas.

Marbella Club, Marbella, Spain: For a lifestyle revolution

There’s nothing as soothing as the sound of waves crashing against the shore, so this beachfront hotel near Malaga, immersed in the stunning beauty of Andalusia, is already set up for a relaxing experience.

But the hotel is only for those who want a real lifestyle revolution.

The Marbella Club offers a sleep-enhancing programme that aims to change your sleeping habits for good. By introducing sleep-inducing rituals into your life – including essential oils and Tibetan singing bowls – it aims to provide the perfect diet for better sleep.

Add in a daily fitness programme and unlimited drinking water, and the hotel basically offers you a guide to living your healthiest life.

The Cadogan, London, UK: For sleephypnotherapy

If you have trouble falling asleep and you’ve tried everything, maybe it’s time to give hypnotherapy a go.

This is the idea behind this London’s hotel’s ‘Sleep Concierge’, which offers guests a sleep-inducing meditation session with hypnotherapist and sleep expert Malminder Gill. There’s also a pillow menu and a weighted blanket to cure insomnia, which affects a large majority of the UK population, according to research.

Those interested can also book a personalised, one-to-one session with Gill.

Equinox, New York, US: For an entire ‘sleep system’

The Equinox hotel in New York has nailed down the science behind a good night’s sleep, which according to them combines luxury bed linens and handmade mattresses designed to be naturally comfortable for our bodies.

The whole ‘Sleep System’ is based on the idea that our bodies know what’s best for them when it comes to sleeping.

The temperature of the bed sheets are regulated to be comfortable in any season, and sound-blocking walls and blackout curtains guarantee that nothing comes between a customer and their sleep.

ITC Hotels, India: For bedtime TV

This hotel chain, scattered across India, features rooms with soundproof walls, blackout shades and motion-activated floor lighting to let you fall into a deep sleep and wake up rested and ready.

While it’s a common sleep tip to cut down on screen time before bed, the ITC’s hotels offer a special Sleep TV channel in their rooms with music designed to help you doze off. Also on offer is the option to customise everything in your room from your mattress to your pillows and duvet.

After a night at ITC’s Sleep Boutique, the hotel chain promises to improve your mood and increase your alertness and productivity. Just in case you were starting to feel too relaxed.

Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar Resort, Nizwa, Oman: For a peaceful retreat

The Al Hajar mountains in Oman might seem a bit too far to go to obtain the perfect slumber, but the location of the Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar Resort, which stands on the rim of a massive canyon, is well worth the trip.

The hotel is an amazing retreat from the stress of city life and it’s literally surrounded by stone walls to keep the world away.

As part of the sleeping experience offered by the resort, called Slumber Guru Package, guests can get in-bed foot massages and relax with baths infused with rose and frankincense scents.