What bed linen, duvets, bedspreads, etc. do guests prefer?

For topics that are specific to the UK and Ireland, please go here
User avatar
enid
Posts: 5599
Joined: Mon Dec 27, 2004 4:47 pm
Location: Labretonie France
Contact:

Post by enid »

Aha - I like the top sheet only being chnaged for a two week stay! One of my Italian scientists asked for a sheet as he was too hot. So many combinations to think :)
la vache!
Posts: 11065
Joined: Wed Feb 16, 2005 7:22 pm

Post by la vache! »

enid wrote:Aha - I like the top sheet only being chnaged for a two week stay! One of my Italian scientists asked for a sheet as he was too hot. So many combinations to think :)
Me too. Something to think about for next year I think! But with 24 beds to make up, I wonder how much extra time that will take in bed making and ironing? Flatsheets have got to be so much easier than fitted ones though.
User avatar
Mountain Goat
Posts: 6070
Joined: Wed Apr 19, 2006 1:31 pm
Location: Leysin, Alpes Vaudoises, Switzerland
Contact:

Post by Mountain Goat »

Flatsheets have got to be so much easier than fitted ones though

You can say that again. I did an advanced course in folding fitted sheets after ironing, and never mastered it.

Part II of the course was that neat little flick of an inside-out duvet cover and the duvet is done - never mastered that either, takes me and Mrs MG about 10mins to do our own.

MG
User avatar
Mouse
Posts: 7277
Joined: Tue Jun 20, 2006 6:47 pm
Location: Balearics
Contact:

Post by Mouse »

Yes LV I often wished I'd gone down the flat sheet route instead of fitted. Easier to iron, fold and not really that much harder to put on the bed.

Re; the top sheet - I too never realised that it was so common or expected.
I have very light summer duvets as I have to strike a balance between guests that want A/C (when you need to be warmer) and those that don't, who probably would be happier with just a sheet.
I admit it was something I should have given a lot more thought to before deciding to go down this route as I wonder if sheets and a bedspread might have been easier? :roll:

Mouse
x
One martini, two martini, three martini floor!
Margaret
Posts: 3574
Joined: Mon Jul 16, 2007 9:46 am
Location: Bavaria and Mid Wales
Contact:

Post by Margaret »

Lakeland do some excellent huge plastic pegs for anchoring duvets into the corners of duvet covers when putting the duvet cover on!
User avatar
Big Sis..
Posts: 8059
Joined: Mon Feb 19, 2007 5:31 pm
Location: Torrevieja and Norfolk
Contact:

Post by Big Sis.. »

Hi All,

I use a top sheet ,and a bedspread and supply blankets.
[though these are only used in the Winter months of course]
It seems to work quite well.
I think its useful to be able to add a blanket[or 2] if need be in the shoulder months.

I use a duvet at home[and have a top sheet and have a bedspread]. But think that a sheet, blanket/s and a bedspread works well for me in Spain.
You are all right!! Fitted bedsheets are a pain to fold, and I too would go for the Flat sheet option if I was starting again.

As always, different options work for different folks!!
Martha
Posts: 2289
Joined: Sun Apr 16, 2006 7:01 pm
Location: Chamonix

Post by Martha »

We got the IKEA all seasons duvets - a summer weight and an autumn weight that popper together to make a thick winter weight duvet.

I thought everyone would want the thick duvets but in fact they are too warm for most people - we found half of them stuffed into the cupboards after our first guests left! The house is very warm so I guess people don't need them.

So we have the autumn duvets for winter, and change them for the summer ones as the weather gets warmer. There are bedspreads on every bed too. The spares are in the cupboard upstairs (we have plenty of storage) so anyone who really felt the cold could add a thick one.

However, a friend of mine who stayed (who is tiny and very slim, so feels the cold) loved the thick duvets. And I think quite a few people have used them, so it is worth having them on hand. For a chalet, it's nice to be able to get under a lovely thick duvet. I sometimes use the big ones if I'm here on my own.

It very rarely gets uncomfortably hot at night here - a thin summer duvet would be the least you'd want.
Chalet la Foret, Chamonix
User avatar
Mouse
Posts: 7277
Joined: Tue Jun 20, 2006 6:47 pm
Location: Balearics
Contact:

Post by Mouse »

it's nice to be able to get under a lovely thick duvet
most definately Firebug...I think it's part of the 'dream' of winter hols...goes along with roaring log fires and glasses of warming red wine :D

Mouse
x
One martini, two martini, three martini floor!
User avatar
Windy
Posts: 3219
Joined: Tue Oct 02, 2007 8:21 am
Location: Windermere UK

Post by Windy »

We have "all season" duvets (Light Summer + Medium Spring/Autumn = heavy Winter). No one had ever used the heavier ones as they all seem to prefer to use my gas for the central heating instead :lol:

For me it was a marketing thing - they are not much dearer but you can tell the guests on the web site how thoughtful you've been by providing them.

It never occurred to me to add a top sheet as well - crikey - reminds me of sheet sleeping bags when I was a boy scout :?

J
Martha
Posts: 2289
Joined: Sun Apr 16, 2006 7:01 pm
Location: Chamonix

Post by Martha »

Thats a good idea Windermere lodge - (or can I call you J, it's a bit less formal? :wink: ) - I think I might put them on the site too.
Chalet la Foret, Chamonix
User avatar
Windy
Posts: 3219
Joined: Tue Oct 02, 2007 8:21 am
Location: Windermere UK

Post by Windy »

You can call me anything you like :P

(Big Sis calls me "Windy" - I think she must know something about my diet)

Best wishes

John
gh
Posts: 742
Joined: Thu Dec 01, 2005 10:44 am
Location: Poitou Charente/Moraira/UK

Post by gh »

Good thread Joanna very though provoking. At ours we make up the beds with duvets, same duvets as fire bug, plus bottom sheets.
We leave a couple of pillows (French), pillowcases and a top sheet in the bottom drawer of the chest in each room for the guests to help themselves, mostly the top sheet gets used.

Coming for hot'n'sunny Scotland :roll: we personally find the duvets too hot for us,we always use a top sheet and a/c in the summer, in winter we are more comfortable with a top sheet if its really cold a bedspread too (not one off those naff swirly pattern ones your granny had) :P can't bear the radiators on in our bedroom on a low setting, makes us wake up feeling like a cold is coming on.

Helen
Christine Kenyon
Posts: 623
Joined: Sun Sep 19, 2004 10:58 am
Location: Glenridding, Ullswater Valley, Lake District, UK
Contact:

Post by Christine Kenyon »

Gosh, I hadn't realised that making up a bed was so complicated. But when I think about it, we sit on the fence and do both.

Fitted bottom sheet and summer or winter duvet (with lovely duvet cover which is washed every change over or mid week for a two week stay) for holiday cottages; fitted bottom sheet, top sheet and thick duvet cover with duvet for winter (duvet cover only for summer) for B&B rooms.

Please don't ask me why there is a difference :) . It's all to do with look and washing convenience. B&B beds get changed a lot more frequently so we're only washing and ironing top sheet and fitted sheet. Duvet cover is washed less frequently - and needs minimal ironing.

Holiday cottage duvets are Helena Springfield (really nice!) or World of Linen (hard to iron but look good!); B&B duvets are Sheridans from Australia - a bloody good deal from John Lewis's with free bathrobes and good discounts 'cos we were buying in bulk. Mattress protectors from a company called Mitre Furnishing in Wales; pillow protectors from Out of Eden in Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria; duvets from Peacock Blue; pillows from Dorma or Out of Eden. I think that's everything!

But thank you for the inside info on certainly nationality's preference for a top sheet as well as a duvet and cover. Will give this some thought.
Christine Kenyon
Posts: 623
Joined: Sun Sep 19, 2004 10:58 am
Location: Glenridding, Ullswater Valley, Lake District, UK
Contact:

Post by Christine Kenyon »

And even sadder ..... I now find myself clicking onto everyone's website to look at their bedding and how the bed is made up.

Message to self: ..... get a life :D
User avatar
Giddy Goat
Posts: 9054
Joined: Sun Jun 12, 2005 7:38 am
Location: UK
Contact:

Post by Giddy Goat »

We've only had one set of Americans stay so far who, since they were rellies of the vendors and got a good deal, wouldn't have mentioned the absence of a top sheet. We have two lots coming next year, so it will be interesting to see if we get any feedback from them. Certainly no-one else has ever commented, and they are given every chance to do so on the feedback form they're sent on their return. A summer weight duvet is supplied, and again, no-one has ever said it is too hot. It does get hot in our region though (in a good year, :( ) so this thread has got me thinking. We don't have A/C, but ceiling fans in all rooms.

We have all white bedlinen, and the beds always look very clean and fresh on their arrival; I can't believe people worry that the duvet covers might not be laundered every time there's a new group. They are, in case anyone is thinking otherwise!
Nostalgia isn't what it used to be
Post Reply