We first visited the trend of sleep tourism in 2024, noting the way in which hotels had become arbiters of sleep, going beyond the bed to provide their guests with the sleep amenities and treatments that would enhance their sleep. Sometimes, these efforts were intended to make their guests’ stays more enjoyable. Other times, sleep improvement was the destination.

Sleep tourism, the trend of traveling to locations in search of great sleep, has not slowed down in the two years since this article first appeared. We thought it was time to revisit the topic to share the latest in traveling for sleep health and wellness.

How Do I Sleep Well When I Travel

We found varying degrees of focus on sleep ranging from hotels providing guests with pillow options to spa-like retreats devoted entirely to improving guests’ sleep with an array of treatments from wellness screenings to IV therapy.

1. Beginner: Individualizing Pillows and Bedding for Better Sleep

If you’re traveling for a reason other than to address sleep issues, you’ll still want to sleep well during your hotel stay. As part of the focus on great sleep, hotels are adopting programs expanding their pillow selections and giving guests the option to select the pillows that meet their specific needs. We created our Pillow Butler^®Program for our hotel clients over a decade ago to include a Pillow Menu to be placed in guest rooms from which each guest could select the pillow to suit their sleep style: a side sleeper could select a firmer pillow while a back or stomach sleeper might select something softer. Guests who preferred an alternative to down and feather pillows could make that choice.

This individualization of bedding is what we offer to our retail customers through our Pillow Butler® Quiz. We ask the same questions that would be asked by the hotel’s sleep concierge to match you with the pillows that will best suit the way you sleep. You should continue to sleep well on the right pillow when you travel. If your hotel doesn’t offer a pillow menu, that doesn’t mean you have no options. Simply ask about the pillow options when you make your reservation or at check-in. Chances are good, particularly with the focus on providing guests with quality sleep, the hotel will try to meet your needs.

2. Intermediate: Offering Amenities to Support Bedtime Rituals for Better Sleep

Luxury hotels in the United States and abroad have partnered with specialists and companies to provide services and amenities to enhance their guests’ sleep beyond the pillows and bedding. These can range from providing meditation recordings and bedtime teas as part of turndown service to preparing evening baths and providing in-room massages.

The Park Hyatt New York offers a 1 Bedroom Sleep Suite by Bryte featuring The Bryte Balance Smart Bed, which provides “sleep-inducing audio with soothing motions within the mattress to help you sleep,” as well as a diffuser with essential oils and sleep masks. Guests at The Cadogan in London can take advantage of The Sleep Concierge, an exclusive service that includes a meditative recording created by Harley Street Hypnotherapist and Sleep Expert Malminder Gill, as well as a choice of pillows and weighted blanket, bedtime tea, and scented pillow mist.

Hotels seem to be offering the elements of the bedtime rituals we have long supported, whether at home or away, to help you fall and stay asleep. We’ve shared some of our favorite bedtime rituals that can be done in the 90 or so minutes before you plan to lie down to sleep, including bathing, breathwork, meditation, drinking a cup of tea, reading, and journaling. There is no reason to forgo your rituals while you’re traveling as hotels are now incorporating them into the amenities and services they provide for their guests.

3. Advanced: Focusing on Lifestyle Changesfor Better Sleep

Beyond personalized pillows and in-room amenities, there exist spa-like retreats focused entirely on the mind and body with the primary goal of improving sleep health. These programs can be day- to week-long stays and include consultations with sleep experts, wellness screenings, sleep tracking, and a host of other services designed to diagnose sleep problems and improve guests’ sleep when they return home. 

Canyon Ranch offers sleep retreats over several nights, which include medical consults, overnight sleep studies, and lectures by sleep experts, as well as sleep-related services and amenities. The usual luxury accommodations and meals are included, but the focus is on your sleep journey. Miraval Arizona hosts a resident sleep and dream specialist offering private sessions, workshops, activities, and meditation practices to improve guests’ sleep health. The Equinox Hotel New York offers The Sleep Lab experience. It includes a room optimized for sleep with “temperature, lighting, sound, and ambiance intuitively tuned to your natural rhythm.”

Forbes focused on “10 Wellness Destinations to Visit for a Good Night’s Sleep.” The ten hotels identified go beyond the basic recommendation of “a sleep hygiene routine that includes dimming the lights, skipping screens and keeping stress levels low at night” to offer holistic programs specifically designed to improve sleep. Most of these destinations offer teams of wellness experts to consult with guests, as well as spa treatments that will encourage sleep such as natural hot springs, something we enjoyed during our visit to Indian Springs Calistoga.

Like these holistic escapes, we believe you can improve your chances of having a great night’s sleep with the choices you make during your day, beginning the moment you wake. Instead of reaching for your phone, open your eyes to flowers on your nightstand and expose yourself to morning sunlight. Exercising will make you feel better during the day, as well as improve your sleep at night. Avoid heavy meals too close to bedtime and give yourself 90 minutes to perform the bedtime rituals that will allow you to wind down and encourage sleep. If you have chronic sleep problems, do not hesitate to contact your doctor to rule out any health issues.

How Do I Find the Best Hotels for Sleeping?

You can find online reviews of every aspect of a hotel. What about reviews focused solely on how well guests have slept? Now, you can find that, too.

Malminder Gill works with luxury hotel brands to help their guests deal with sleeping challenges. She uses a “Five Cloud rating system” to review hotel sleep experiences from the mattress and bedding to the soundproofing of the room. Sleepjunkie recently analyzed Tripadvisor reviews of hundreds of hotels to find the “Top 200 Best Hotels for Sleep in the U.S. [2026 Survey].” Some of the conclusions might not be surprising, like the fact that “many of the top-ranked hotels for sleep are in natural locations,” while others might be a bit more unexpected, like the fact that “[s]ome of the best sleep reviews came from modestly branded properties.” You can also look at a particular hotel’s “Sleep Quality” rating on Tripadvisor.

Sometimes you have no choice because you didn’t make the reservation or you made the reservation at the last moment, so you must take what you’re given. However, if you’re making the reservation and paying the bill, you’ll want to ensure you’re getting the quietest possible room to protect your sleep. Call the hotel. The concierge and front desk attendant know which rooms are quiet and which rooms have resulted in noise complaints. Don’t let them make you think you’re crazy to ask. If you arrive and your room is loud, complain.

If quality sleep as part of your self-care routine is a high priority at home, you don’t need to give that up when you travel. On the contrary, take advantage of the pillow selections and sleep amenities available in most quality hotels. You should sleep as well on vacation as you do at home.

If planning a holistic escape poses a challenge, we believe you can create a relaxing environment for sleep at home. Read our articles on bedtime rituals to see the ways you can treat yourself to many of the amenities offered by hotels at home. If you get the chance to visit a holistic sleep retreat, DM us on Instagram (@downetc) and let us know your thoughts on how it changed your sleep. We’d love to share it with our readers.

We wish you nourishing sleep whether you’re home or away.

-The Team at down etc 5 Ways Light Can Affect Your Sleep

Bedtime Rituals for Better Sleep

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About down etc For over twenty years, down etc has collaborated with hoteliers and professional housekeepers in hotels around the world to manufacture and provide pillows and the bedding that will offer hotel guests memorably great sleep. Through our retail website, we seek to provide products that will result in the same quality sleep for our customers at home. We believe in the restorative power of a great night’s sleep, whether at home or away. That’s the reason down etc wrote the book on it, Roll Into a Perfectly Made Bed: All You Need to Know About the Art of Bedmaking.

DISCLAIMER: You should not rely on any of the foregoing as a substitute for, nor does it replace, professional medical or health and wellness advice, diagnosis, or treatment by a healthcare professional. If you have specific concerns or a situation in which you require professional or medical advice, you should consult with an appropriately trained and qualified specialist, such as a licensed physician, psychologist, or other health professional. Never disregard the medical advice of a physician, psychologist, or other health professional, or delay in seeking such advice, because of the information or content offered or provided on the Site. The use of the Site and all information and content contained thereon is solely at your own risk. Originally Published February 1, 2024; Updated February 6, 2026