Eloise was ahead of her time. Nearly 70 years after the publication of Kay Thompson’s classic children’s book, homeowners across the country are craving a life of Plaza Hotel-style five-star luxury. Part of it comes from wanting to re-create the relaxed, happy spirit of being on vacation. And part comes from social media. Influencers in waffle-weave bathrobes sipping wine on sunset balconies create some serious FOMO. Here’s how builders and decorators are bringing hotel style into the home.

Every bathroom a spa
The quest for a spa-like bathroom isn’t just an HGTV cliché. Clean, open, and uncluttered, resort spas are inspiring all manner of bathroom upgrades, from freestanding tubs to steam showers with his-and-her rainshower fixtures. The 2021 Bathroom Trends Study from home improvement hub Houzz reports that 41% of homeowners are using their bathroom for rest and relaxation, with 68% incorporating soaking tubs. Meanwhile, real estate giant Zillow says that featuring the words “steam shower” in a home’s listing can help boost the sale 30% above the expected price.

The remodeling site fixr.com predicted that spa elements would be the strongest bathroom trend in 2021. Fixr.com focused on major bathroom features such as soaking tubs, performance showers, saunas, and bidets, but the little things count as well, such as fluffy white towels and cozy bathrobes. Search for “spa robes” on Amazon and you’ll get over 2,000 results.

The bed’s the thing
While plenty of space-crunched folks use the bedroom as a place to work, exercise, and snack, a hotel guestroom focuses primarily on one thing: sleep. A bedroom that is all about the bed can vastly improve your quality of life.

Aside from decluttering, the easiest way to bring that vibe into your home is investing in a mattress with a hotel pedigree. The most famous hotel mattress, Westin’s Heavenly Bed, was introduced in 1999 and is said to have started the hospitality industry’s fetishization of bedding, which soon crept into residential bedrooms. Westin’s all-white bedding experience includes
a pillow-top mattress and down blankets that come in three versions to suit a location’s climate. If your personal style is strictly 5-star, Four Seasons at Home offers their Signature Mattress, one of the field’s pricier options, at $4,000 for a king.

Already have a mattress you love? Then spring for some hotel-quality bedding. St. Regis pillows, W Hotels duvet covers, Hilton Worldwide flat sheets — there’s plenty to choose from. For the ultimate extravagance, Frette Linens, which you’ll find on beds from L.A.’s Chateau Marmont to India’s Taj Lake Palace, offers a Hotel Collection with double borders that somehow make for sweeter dreams.

Tech talk
Next up: the right touch of tech. One reason people sleep so soundly in good hotels is because the room is dark and quiet. Motorized blackout shades, for years a staple at high-end hostelries, have become a priority for many home-buyers. According to Kitchen & Bath Design News, millennials entering the housing market are asking for a laundry list of tech conveniences they discovered while traveling. In addition to automatic shades, these include USB ports integrated into furniture, televisions hidden in mirrors, and lighting and sound systems controlled via smartphone.

The National Kitchen and Bath Association 2020 survey of industry experts backs this up, reporting that future homes will be full of mod-cons encountered on the road, including smart temperature controls for floors and showers, smart toilets and bidets such as the Washlet shower toilet from Toto, backlit mirrors with electrical outlets, and remote-controlled showers.

Social spaces
Over the last two years, the whole notion of a home’s essential purpose has evolved. For many people, instead of going out for entertainment, the entertainment comes to them.

Top-end condos have long offered personal services such as dry-cleaning and dog-walking. Increasingly, condo buyers want the kind of social buzz encountered in a sophisticated hotel lobby. Case in point: The Leyton, a new condominium development on New York’s Upper East Side, features a 24th floor Brandy Room that takes its cue from top-end boutique hotels. The gathering spaces include a cocktail terrace, solarium, and a communal living room with a circular fireplace inspired by the Hotel Bel-Air, another project from the building’s designers, Champalimaud Design.

Homeowners are also taking the trend outside, to satisfy a need for al fresco entertaining and a desire for yards that feel like a permanent vacation. Cue the demand for statement features (sunken firepits, waterfall walls), weatherproof lighting (outdoor floor lamps, LED defined pathways, and illuminated spheres), infinity pools and open-air showers, portable bar carts and buffets, and comfy furniture previously relegated to the living room.

The sweet smell of vacation
A great hotel lifts your spirit the moment you walk through the door. One way that’s achieved is with a signature scent. While hotels diffuse their fragrance via HVAC systems, homeowners can relive the experience simply by popping into a gift shop or going online. Positano’s glamorous Le Sirenuse resort offers Eau d’Italie, a mix of citrus, bergamot, and black current, while W Hotels from Bangkok to Bogota delight guests with a Corsican lemon and laurel leaf spray. The orange blossoms at Phoenix’s Royal Palms resort inspired its sweet Neroli fragrance. For a whiff of one of New York’s poshest retreats, The Mark hotel offers Frédéric Malle’s Jurassic Flower candle, a magnolia and lavender treat.

Or perhaps you’re a person for whom nothing competes with the smell of freshly brewed coffee. For you, designers are re-creating in-room coffee stations typically found on the road. Single-serve brewing systems like Keurig make it practical, and with enough space in the primary suite you can add a mini fridge or even a wine cooler. Of course it helps if housekeeping comes in later to clean everything up.