Post a Comment Print Share on Facebook

This is how it sleeps in a sleep spa

Is there a pool or a gym? Can you book a massage here? At first, so the employees at reception tell us, curious residents and other passers-by entered the brightly colored lobby of the "Hästens Sleep Spa" and asked such questions.

- 76 reads.

This is how it sleeps in a sleep spa

Is there a pool or a gym? Can you book a massage here? At first, so the employees at reception tell us, curious residents and other passers-by entered the brightly colored lobby of the "Hästens Sleep Spa" and asked such questions.

But the hotel in the Portuguese university town of Coimbra, which opened a year late at the end of May, has nothing of the sort to offer. "The spa," says hotel director Diana Simões, "in our case is the bed."

Various institutions, hotel operators and the media have been conducting surveys for decades to determine what is really important to hotel guests. With similar results: After location, value for money and cleanliness, sleeping comfort ranked first.

After all, what good is it if you live in a stylish designer hostel in the most beautiful part of the city, but you can't get any rest at night? Because the bed springs creak with every movement? Because your body sinks so deep into the mattress that you can hardly turn? Because the bed is too short, too hard, too uncomfortable?

Smart hoteliers have recognized the problem: It doesn't matter where and what you save on - it shouldn't be on the bed. And so it happens that many a guest examines his bed frame in the morning because he would like to have the same thing at home.

Luxury hotel groups such as Four Seasons, St. Regis or Anantara have long had business segments in which the trade in beds and mattresses is flourishing. And bed manufacturers have discovered hotels as the secret showrooms for their products.

The Swedish luxury bed manufacturer Hästens is now doing this quite officially - with the first and only sleep spa to date. The "Hästens Sleep Spa" is located in the traditional university town of Coimbra, in a romantic hilly landscape halfway between Porto and Lisbon on the Rio Mondego.

It is best known for its spectacular baroque university library. And not unimportant: It was Portugal's capital between the 12th and 13th centuries. The sights also include the remains of a medieval city wall at the Torre de Almedina.

The fact that Hästens just opened a sleep spa in Coimbra is pure coincidence. It is based on the coincidental encounter between Hästens CEO Jan Ryde and António Quaresma, founder and president of the Portuguese group O Valor do Tempo, which has made it its mission to protect and save Portugal's historic companies and their traditional products.

Senhor Quaresma has slept in a Hästens bed for many years. Obviously good. Because when he acquired a former bank building on Coimbra's Largo da Portagem in 2018 and decided to set up a luxury boutique hotel in the central square, he ordered 15 Hästens beds worth around 450,000 euros.

15 beds at once – that's striking. Curious, Jan Ryde calls Portugal, he and Antonio Quaresma meet and agree to work together.

Anyone who enters one of the 15 rooms in Coimbra's "Hästens Sleep Spa" first stands in the bathroom, which was designed as a homage to the famous Biblioteca Joanina. Books wherever you look: the walls of the shower cubicle, the toilet and the rest of the walls are decorated with pastel-colored book spines made of Portuguese marble and inscribed with real gold titles. From Thomas Mann to Charles Dickens to Franz Kafka, all the great names in world literature are represented.

Only behind it does the sleeping area begin, the focus of which is of course one of the typical blue and white checkered Hästens beds. An impressive part, no question!

The Herlewing model, created in a limited edition in 2018 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the "Blue Check" pattern, consists of 38 handmade layers of cotton, wool, linen and hand-plucked horsehair, 1750 steel springs and a pine wood frame. Altogether a good 65 centimeters high and a production effort of up to 600 working hours.

Sleep expert “Dr. Edie Perry” on the room TV: what happens if the bed is too soft or too hard? On the one hand, it is difficult to move or, on the other hand, you move far too often.

It is learned that the average person turns over 20 times in their sleep and that this is good for the blood circulation. It is understood that a straight, neutral sleeping position is important for relaxing muscles and that relaxed muscles are important for relaxing the mind. A mattress should be made in such a way that the bed partner can move without you feeling anything.

The guest has a choice of pillows, which differ in filling, height, weight and cover. “Pillow menu” on the bedside table provides orientation with precise descriptions. If you are unsure, pick up the phone - and an employee will bring several pillows to the room to try out.

Even the kitchen crew is wired to sleep. In the Nordic-style restaurant on the 5th floor, the dishes, which change almost every day, are selected accordingly and expertly explained: The soup made from roasted pumpkin contains the relaxation minerals magnesium and potassium as well as alpha-carotene, which makes it easier to fall asleep.

The chickpeas in the hummus are said to be involved in the formation of the hormones serotonin and melatonin, which regulate the sleep-wake cycle, and the Portuguese sardines contain tryptophan: an amino acid that puts you in a good mood and promotes restful, healthy sleep. It is difficult to judge whether all of this actually works with pinpoint accuracy.

But it helps that, contrary to Portuguese custom, you don't eat too late and don't eat too much or too heavy. The good mood – which is not only due to the tryptophan but also to the delicious menu – also helps.

The delicious red wine from the Douro Valley is not explicitly used in the Sleep Spa as a sleep aid, but it does help you fall asleep relaxed. Only the opposite effect, that one often wakes up with too much alcohol in the second half of the night, should be considered by the guest on their own responsibility - just so that the high accommodation costs of at least 500 euros per double room are not taken away from the justification.

Otherwise, however, it is difficult in the Sleep-Spa not to appear rested, relaxed and well rested for breakfast the next morning.

Participation in the trip was supported by CBR Boutiquehotel. You can find our standards of transparency and journalistic independence at axelspringer.de/independence

"Alpenloge", Scheidegg, Germany

"Our guests sleep longer than they expected," says Anja Engelke, co-owner of the hotel, which is located in a school building from the 1930s in the Allgäu four-country corner. When furnishing the nine rooms and suites, attention was paid to a high quality of sleep: "We tested a lot."

Ultimately, the decision was made in favor of beds from the manufacturer Schramm in Winnweiler in the Palatinate. In his workshops, hardened springs are sewn into each mattress by hand to ensure permanent elastic adaptation to the body. There is also: gourmet kitchen, sauna with a view, winter sports in front of the door. Double room from 279 euros, alpenloge.com

"Coco-Mat Athens BC", Athens, Greece

"Sleep on nature" is the motto of Greek label Coco-Mat, and company founder Pavlos Efmorfidis means it. His mattresses, pillows, covers and Co. are made from 100 percent renewable natural materials such as coconut fibres, algae and wool and are found in the beds of the best hotels worldwide - from the exclusive "Aman Venice" in Venice to the cool "The Flushing Meadows" in Munich. So the idea of ​​opening our own hotels was obvious.

The youngest and most luxurious property of the group is housed in a modernist ten-story building in central Athens. "Here, potential customers can test our beds while they sleep," says Efmorfidis - and then buy or order them on the spot. There is also: Roof terrace with pool, Coco-Mat wooden bicycles, Acropolis view. Double rooms from 130 euros, athensbc.com

"Tschuggen Grand Hotel", Arosa, Switzerland

When furnishing this five-star hotel in the mountains of Graubünden, interior designer Carlo Rampazzi insisted on high-quality, ecological Swiss beds. All mattresses are from Elite, the brand has been handcrafted for 125 years. Custom-made products are supplied to the hotel industry.

The mattresses are extra long and, according to the company, can be continuously freed from almost 100 percent of bacteria, mites and viruses using a special cleaning process recognized by the European Allergy Research Center (ECARF) foundation. There is also an impressive wellness area, award-winning gourmet cuisine, and our own mountain railway. Double room from 377 euros, tschuggen.ch

The Westin, worldwide

All hotel groups in the luxury category have dealt with the subject of beds, and many have their own, custom-made sleeping systems supplied by well-known manufacturers. Westin's "Heavenly Bed", introduced in 1999, has received numerous awards and is used by guests in the chain's hotels worldwide. All production details should serve the deep relaxation.

There is also: a "Sleep Well Menu" developed by nutrition experts as part of the room service, a soothing lavender balm on the pillow and a "Heavenly Dog Bed" for four-legged travel companions. Double rooms, for example in “The Westin Hamburg”, from 195 euros, westin.marriott.com

Villa Arnica“, Lana, South Tyrol (Italian)

When Klaus Dissentori took over Villa Arnica, surrounded by vineyards in the eastern part of Lana, in July 2019, he had the property, built in 1925, renovated with a feel for its history: old parquet floors were sanded down, terrazzo floors repaired, vintage sofas reupholstered. In contrast, the "Beautyrest" mattresses by the US manufacturer Simmons Bedding Company, which are in the beds of the ten rooms and suites, are modern.

American Zalmon G. Simmons is considered the inventor of various technologies that have improved the quality of sleep. In 1870 he developed the first mattresses with springs. There is also: pool, garden-to-table kitchen, adults-only. Double room from 310 euros, villaarnica.it

This article was first published in December 2021.

Avatar
Your Name
Post a Comment
Characters Left:
Your comment has been forwarded to the administrator for approval.×
Warning! Will constitute a criminal offense, illegal, threatening, offensive, insulting and swearing, derogatory, defamatory, vulgar, pornographic, indecent, personality rights, damaging or similar nature in the nature of all kinds of financial content, legal, criminal and administrative responsibility for the content of the sender member / members are belong.