What bed linen, duvets, bedspreads, etc. do guests prefer?

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Joanna
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What bed linen, duvets, bedspreads, etc. do guests prefer?

Post by Joanna »

I'm wondering what bed linen to provide for our cottage in the North West of England. At the moment we have bottom sheets and duvets.

This year I replaced our medium tog duvets and bought 2 for each bed - a summer and winter weight. My plan is to leave them in the rooms so guests can swap if they are too hot/cold.

One of our guests suggested having top sheets under the duvets - does any one else do this?

We stayed in a cottage in Wales last year that had a lovely bed spread on top of a plain covered duvet. It looked great when we arrived but it did usually end up pushed on to the floor during warm nights since there wasn't anywhere else for it.

Also we've started getting more guests from Australia and the US so if anyone knows what they would expect that would be very useful.

Starting to ramble now - better stop before this gets out of hand!
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Margaret
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Post by Margaret »

All our bedding is from Ikea - pillow and mattress covers, pillows, duvets, sheets, duvet covers and pillow cases.

We have had 14 nationalities staying in our apartments and never had a problem with supplying just thick Ikea duvets and a bottom sheet.
Pillows are a different matter! Every country seems to have a different shape and softness. We have a mix of large, square, soft German pillows and smaller, rectangular, slightly firmer Czech pillows, because some beds are German size and some beds are UK size, for which we can get bedding the right size in the Czech Republic! Even within nationalities, nothing suits everyone. We are now going to add spare pillows in the wardrobes in the bedrooms, as a lot of hotels do.
We had one enquiry from someone who said he wouldn't book unless we provided a bed for him with a top sheet and blanket. When I agreed to do that, he still didn't book!
We chose the duvet covers and pillow cases to go with the decor in each bedroom as that makes a huge difference to the look of the room, but have managed to limit the number of designs so that any one pattern will go in several bedrooms - vastly reduces the amount of spare bedding you need!
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Post by la vache! »

Pillows, duvets, and bottom sheets. However, a US couple who stayed with us in October were shocked there was no top sheet, and so are the French - so sometimes I have to explain that the duvet covers are washed along with the sheets after each booking. I have blankets I offer in winter if it is really cold - I don't have thick winter duvets, the houses are heated and warm, so what is the point?
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Post by Hells Bells »

I have duvets and bottom sheets for the winter, and quilted bedspreads with top sheets for the summer. I am in the middle of ironing all my new Ikea bedding at the moment, which I got in the clearance sale in July.
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Fil
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Post by Fil »

La Vache wrote:shocked there was no top sheet, and so are the French
And so would probably be Portuguese and Spanish...
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Post by Hells Bells »

No-one of any nationality has made any complaints about the bedding. You lot don't half have some picky guests.
'
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vrooje
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Post by vrooje »

We do use top sheets (being American, we didn't think we had the option of not doing so) underneath the duvet, and we always have a spare blanket in the closet of each bedroom.

In the summer, though, some nights all you need is the top sheet -- even a blanket would be too much.
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Post by la vache! »

vrooje wrote:We do use top sheets (being American, we didn't think we had the option of not doing so)
Brooke, do you wash the duvet cover as well as the top sheet every changeover? When my US guests asked me for a top sheet and I explained that I washed the duvet cover at each changeover they said it must be a lot of work, so I wondered if how it worked in the US?
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Post by Nightowl »

I started out in the London one using top sheet and duvet and washing both on every changeover but it was so much extra laundry (most of my lets are 5 or 6 people) and I figured that as the duvet cover is getting washed every changeover, it probably wasn't necessary. But the spare sheets etc are in the cupboard anyway if guests particularly want a top sheet. I haven't noticed anyone has used them and no one has complained or asked for one so I am just going to continue with it.
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vrooje
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Post by vrooje »

At the rental house we wash the top sheets and the duvet covers at every changeover, but at home we wash the duvet cover less frequently than the top sheet. That's what I grew up with -- in fact we sometimes used bedspreads that didn't have a cover, and washing those every week is just crazy -- hence the top sheets. I'm so used to them that I don't really feel right without one.
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enid
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Post by enid »

Just to add my two pennorth - we have bottom sheets and duvet covers and fleecy blanket for winter. I have only one duvet thickness for all year round but I want to change to a summer weight and a winter one.

I really would like to change to the system we use ourselves for a double bed of a double bottom sheet and the 2 single duvets - but then I would have to think about bedspreads.

There we go something else to occupy my mind as I mindlessly paint door frames today :)
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Post by la vache! »

enid wrote:Just to add my two pennorth - we have bottom sheets and duvet covers and fleecy blanket for winter. I have only one duvet thickness for all year round but I want to change to a summer weight and a winter one.
Does the level of winter bookings justify another set of duvets? Do you have the storage space? And is it really that cold in your gites that you need a winter duvet? I only ever use a summer duvet and just add a polaire blanket in winter - even in winter I get so hot that I usually have to throw off the blanket during the night. And I definitely haven't got the storage space for 24 duvets when they are not in use!
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Post by la vache! »

vrooje wrote:At the rental house we wash the top sheets and the duvet covers at every changeover, but at home we wash the duvet cover less frequently than the top sheet.
Thanks Brooke - next time I have US guests I will make sure I buy a top sheet to put on the bed! I have a couple of French ladies who stay every year and they always bring their own top sheet. I can understand how horrified some people are if they think they are sleeping under an unwashed duvet cover with no topsheet in between.
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enid
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Post by enid »

I do have the storage but the gites are warm enough so you're right I don't need two - we only have summer weight ones here - my long letters asked for a heavier tog duvet (but then they haven't been satisfied with anything!!!!) :)
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Rocket Rab
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Post by Rocket Rab »

I'm glad I stumbled across this thread! I wasn't aware that top sheet expectations were subject to such huge geographic and cultural differences!

I used to provide bottom sheet plus duvet cover, but recently started adding top sheets to the combo because:

- lots of folks seem to find them enough in themselves in warmer weather
- for two week bookings I used to provide a second duvet cover to change mid-stay; I don't now, I just provide another top sheet

Everything gets washed on changeover day. Separate summer/winter duvets wouldn't be for me and no one has said anything yet, so I'm not planning on going down that route.

I sometimes add a pretty quilt (it's just a small square) on top of the duvet, but that's just for decoration and I don't do it as a matter of routine.
Nightowl wrote:But the spare sheets etc are in the cupboard anyway if guests particularly want a top sheet.
That's a great idea, Nightowl. I might do that myself to save on laundry...
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