Between the sheets

LEST anyone think a bed's a mere bed in the world of hospitality, there's what amounts to mattress wars afoot in five-star hotel land.

LEST anyone think a bed's a mere bed in the world of hospitality, there's what amounts to mattress wars afoot in five-star hotel land.

Perish the property that doesn't appreciate the importance of puffy-fluffy beds that look like layer cakes with their cloud-soft mattress toppers, high thread-count cotton sheets (Egyptian, please) and duvets filled with squishy-soft feathers, preferably hand-plucked by pixies from the breasts of just-born ducklings and goslings.

Then there are the de rigueur pillow menus, with customised styles that read like factory-fresh cars with their eco-friendly features, neck-support chambers and "800 fill power".

Hypoallergenic, stomach-soft, snore-relief, overfilled firm (firm but not hard), super-sized cuddler, the cradling maternity model, memory foam contour (developed by NASA for astronauts) and a pillow filled with buckwheat hulls, cypress chips or even water ... where will pillow options and the attendant bedding hype all end?

Well, it started for the Westin Hotels group in 1999 when it launched its "10-layer" Heavenly Bed, "anicon that (has) inspired countless imitators (and) jump-started the hotel retail phenomenon". Westin reports that in the past decade more than 75 million guests have "tucked themselves into Heavenly Beds atWestin hotels around the world, including USpresidents, Hollywood royalty and professionalathletes".

There are about 97,000 Heavenly Beds in about 65,000 Westin guestrooms worldwide. Apparently more than 30,000 beds, 32,000 sheets and 100,000 pillows have been sold to guests and it's this try-before-you-buy extension of the hotel experience that must have given conventional mattress retailers the shakes.

Of course, competitors have followed Westin's charge and other branded hotel bedding kits include the Marriott Revive, Sheraton Sweet Sleeper and Sofitel MyBed. It has to be admitted that after a weekend of happy sequestration at the Sofitel Queenstown, in New Zealand's South Island, Departure Lounge acquired the Sofitel MyBed: not the actual bed but the mattress topper, duvet and pillows. In winter it's divine, like sleeping in a bowl of warm whipped cream, but it's too hot for the Sydney summer, when it's more like being squashed in a waffle iron, so off it all goes, looking like a defeated souffle, to the top of the wardrobe.

Lounge has been out of her cot for so many long years she can remember when duvet was a foreign word. Lounge's mother spoke regularly of "doovers" when she couldn't find the word she was searching for, be it a small kitchen appliance or powder puff. It therefore took Little Lounge a while to work out a duvet was a feather-filled bedcover and not a missing doover at the bottom of mother's capacious handbag.

Westin's merchandising success has been so far-reaching that items are not just tailored to grown-up guests. There are Heavenly Cribs for wee babes and, as the ultimate in indulgence, the Heavenly Dog Bed, billed as a "soft, relaxing place for one lucky dog; designed with signature white-on-white stripe and grey piping; embroidered with the Westin bone on one side and paw print on the other; silver zipper closure for easy washing". www.westin-hotelsathome.com; [e-mail].

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THE perfect venue to try the Heavenly Bed is at the Westin Sydney, which occupies historic premises within the former GPO building plus a 31-storey modern tower with eyrie-like views across the CBD. The award-winning property opened in 1999 so there has to be some sort of feng shui synergy with the Heavenly Bed's 10th birthday. Best prices at present are the Early Bird&The Worm early-booking deals. Book 30 days in advance and save up to 40 per cent; good rates are also available when booking 21, 14 or seven days in advance; all include free buffet breakfasts for two. There are also weekend packages covering three nights for the price of two. [phone] or 1800 656 535; www.westin.com.au/sydney.  

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FINDS of the week: The Australian Himalayan Foundation is celebrating the 25th anniversary of the first Australian ascent of Mt Everest, by Tim Macartney-Snape and Greg Mortimer, with a fundraising dinner on September 18. Mortimer will deliver the 2009 Sir Edmund Hillary Memorial Address and proceeds go to the foundation's community projects in the Himalayas, including one of the leading education programs in rural Nepal. At the Sofitel Wentworth Hotel Sydney; tickets from $150 a person, with corporate tables, hosted by eminent adventurers, available. www.australianhimalayanfoundation.org.au.

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OLYMPIC gold medallist Catherine Freeman has launched a charity initiative in conjunction with P&O Cruises. Every P&O Cruises' voyage from Australia will offer a Walk the Decks session in which passengers can make a voluntary contribution to the Catherine Freeman Foundation's scholarship program, which gives Palm Island girls the opportunity to study at boarding school on the mainland. The initiative was launched by Freeman and Sydney Swans stars Michael O'Loughlin and Adam Goodes aboard Pacific Dawn at Sydney's Darling Harbour earlier this week. Sounds a brilliant way to donate to a worthy cause and shift some buffet ballast. www.pocruises.com.au.  

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LOUNGE loves: Shanghai's historic Peace Hotel is being restored to its full art deco grandeur and the refurb will be unveiled next year by management company Fairmont Hotels & Resorts. Among the eight restaurants and lounges will be a revamp of the much-loved Jazz Bar, a Shanghai institution since the 1930s. The famed Peace Hall, refreshed and ready for action, will retain its sprung-wooden dance floor, surely a keeper of secrets from the age of cabaret and gala parties. Given the amazing rate at which Shanghai's spiky skyline changes and old buildings make way for new, the restoration is a miracle. www.fairmont.com.  

LOUNGE loathes: Waiting so long for the No.1 Ladies Detective Agency television series based on Alexander McCall Smith's Botswana books. It aired last year on the BBC. Why the delay in Australia, where the Scottish author's books are such big sellers?

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DEALS OF THE WEEK

Singapore Airlines' sale; new travel passes from Air Pacific; kids stay and eat free in Brisbane; London hotel rooms for less than $200 with bonus extras; $1000 a couple off European river cruises.

These and other money-saving offers are featured in Travel&Indulgence's holiday deals, updated daily: www.theaustralian.com.au/travel/dd