Last updated November 20, 2023
There is joy and excitement when checking-in to a hotel room. However, there is a great comfort of feeling at home with the warmth and familiarity it can provide.
When traveling, we can create our environment to offer the best of both worlds by making a hotel feel a bit more like a home rather than a foreign space.
Five Ways to Make a Hotel Room Feel Like Home
Here are some hotel travel tips to make a hotel room feel like home.
1. Bring Travel Size Everything
Take your comforts at home along with you for the travel adventure. Bring a travel size of everything that you use daily from skincare, toothpaste and deodorant to a nail file.
If you have sensitive skin, pack your skincare products to keep a consistent regimen. Here are some helpful hints for packing travel-size essentials:
- Keep a checklist of the items you use daily. When you’re ready to pack your suitcase, check items off your list so you don’t forget anything.
- Refill and reuse product containers that you already use at home.
- If your favorite brands don’t come in travel sizes, not to worry. You can purchase or re-purpose other smaller-than-3.4 oz containers to use instead.
- After returning from your trip, refill your toiletry bag with the items that were used so that it is ready to go for your next trip.
Bonus tip: By refilling and reusing containers with your favorite products, you reduce or eliminate single use plastics offered in hotels.
2. Give Yourself a Ritual
A ritual can set the tone for the day. It has the power to impact how you feel both mentally and physically. This can be helpful to keep you grounded while traveling and makes for an easier transition when you return home.
Rituals are unique and individual to each person, and something that may come with a bit of trial and error. Whether I am home or away, my morning ritual looks like this:
- Wake up at the same time
- 10 minutes of meditation
- Drink two cups of warm water with lemon
- 5-10 minutes of yoga or just general wiggles to wake body up
- A fresh cup of coffee
All of this happens before even checking my phone. My email inbox and social media feed can wait. I religiously set the tone for the day ahead.
Maybe the above isn’t for you. Perhaps you prefer journaling, reading, listening to a podcast, taking a walk or having a special cup of tea. The important thing is to develop a routine and stick to it no matter what. Especially when you desire to make a hotel room feel like home.
3. Get Proper Rest
Getting good sleep is essential to our well-being. This stands true regardless of the location and the circumstances.
How you sleep dramatically affects how you feel throughout the day. Sleep hygiene affects your mental, physical and emotional wellbeing. It also affects your entire outlook on the day ahead.
Some elements may be out of our control. Such as sleeping in a bed that isn’t our own. However, there are some tips and tools that can make it easier to get a solid night of quality sleep. Whenever I travel, I make sure to pack:
- Eye mask
- White noise machine (there’s an app for that)
- Earplugs
- Self-massage tool like @selfkaire (or, do some stretches in bed before turning off the lights)
This helps me to create a no-noise zone when I’m ready to head to bed. I’m not at the mercy of whatever city (or neighborly noise) that may happen in the hotel.
4. Keep a Clean Room
Maybe Mama was right to insist on making your bed first thing in the morning. Personally, I believe keeping a clean room creates a clean mind. Who doesn’t want to wake up to a clutter-free space to start the day?
When you arrive at your destination, put away your clothes, hang them or put them away in drawers. Layout your toiletries and tuck away items you don’t need such as your suitcase or snack bar items—except when just touching them incurs a charge.
When you wake up, make your bed and put any trash in the bin. Even if someone is going to clean it up for you in a few hours, it will feel good to set that “clean tone” for yourself first—and is a sure-fire way to make your hotel room feel like home.
5. Bring Your Favorite Healthy Snacks
I always pack healthy snacks wherever I go. In fact, I never leave myself at the mercy of whatever may be available on the road.
I have two suggestions to accomplish this: you can get the foods you need heading to a nearby grocery store; or pack some of your favorite nighttime snacks, breakfast bars, raw nuts or evening teas. Ritual “foods” can give you a sense of comfort that reminds you of home.
Hopefully these tips help you to make a hotel room feel like home. Do you have any tips or rituals you implement when traveling to feel more at ease?
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