Westin’s world-famous bed is undergoing some changes. I wanted to talk a bit about what a brilliant concept the Westin Heavenly Bed was when it was introduced, and then take a look at what’s changing.
In this post:
The Westin Heavenly Bed is iconic
Before we talk about the changes coming to the Westin Heavenly Bed, I think it’s worth taking a moment to reflect on what a brilliant and innovative concept the Westin Heavenly Bed was, when it was introduced in 1999.
It can be tough for upscale hotels to stand out from the competition, but that’s exactly what Westin did when it introduced the Heavenly Bed 25 years ago. People loved the Westin brand for its beds, and it’s a reason that people would specifically seek out these properties. Westin has referred to itself as “Best in Bed,” which is… an interesting claim.
The Heavenly Bed had a huge halo effect for Westin, and if anything, made the brand appear even more premium than it might have otherwise been considered. For example, Delta used to offer Westin bedding in its long haul business class — what an awesome collaboration for a non-luxury hotel brand. Heck, many people even purchased Westin Heavenly Beds for their homes, so it was a further monetization opportunity.
Westin’s goal with having an industry-leading bed was offering guests a great night of sleep, and that was part of the company’s overall focus on wellbeing. Westins were known for offering good gyms and even letting travelers rent workout gear, and at the time it worked.
The thing is, I feel like Westin has done very little to innovate in the past 25 years, and the brand has become a bit less relevant than in the past. I imagine several factors have contributed to this.
For one, other hotels have greatly improved their bedding as well, and Westin is also hardly alone in being a hotel group with a wellness focus nowadays. Furthermore, as we’ve seen the constant brand inflation at the major hotel groups, there just doesn’t seem to be much effort to actually innovate. After all, us consumers aren’t the customers of the hotel groups, but rather the developers opening new properties are…
The next generation Westin Heavenly Bed
Westin will progressively be rolling out a new Heavenly Bed at properties, featuring upgraded bedding design and materials (or at least that’s the claim — I always question if there’s a secret cost saving consideration). Here’s how Westin describes what went into designing the new Heavenly Bed:
Aiming to set the new standard of excellence for restorative sleep on the road, Westin’s significant development process included testing thousands of products, hosting consumer focus groups and property listening sessions, and researching the evolution of sleep comfort and technology. It culminated in a new, top-of-the-line product with a modernized design and a wider commitment to continue to evolve and improve the Westin Sleep Well experience.
The updated Heavenly Bed features an updated plush-top mattress, silver fiber weave, and added layers of temperature regulating gel-infused memory foam. All bedding has been upgraded to hypoallergenic materials, and the blended duvet insert was created with a mix of materials and wrapped in smooth cotton, in order to regulate temperature and keep guests cool.
Furthermore, the new Heavenly Bed looks different. Historically the Heavenly Bed has had an all-white aesthetic, while the new design includes a charcoal blanket and full-frame piping on pillowcases, to provide a residential feel. The new bed also has a woven blanket with a tone-on-tone pattern.
Additional design updates include sateen linens with a matte finish, and the removal of the bed skirt and bolster pillow.
Bottom line
After 25 years, the Westin Heavenly Bed is getting a makeover. Not only will the bed feel different than before, but it’ll also look different.
Going back a decade or two, the Westin Heavenly Bed was a major point of differentiation for the brand. Nowadays, a great bed has more or less become standard, so I don’t think Westin has quite the advantage it used to have. Still, I’m happy to see this bed modernized.
While these changes sound great, I’m looking forward to trying one of these beds at some point, and seeing how comfort has changed.
What do you make of the Westin Heavenly Bed?
I stayed recently at the Westin in Langkawi. Whilst part of the bedding was good, the stuff you couldn’t immediately see was old and grimy
I hate the Westin bed, the duvet is far too thick and I always wake up roasting hot. The pillows are also way too thick. Of all the places my employer put me for overnights, Westin is by far one of my worst nights sleep. I’m on the road over 100 nights a year.
The Westin chain has follow so far… do they ever build new ones? Where is a really nice one that is left? I am said to see this chain fall from the spg days..
In reading some of the other comments it’s no surprise that the Westin bed isn’t unique. This also reads or feels like an advertisement...
Gary Leff at View from the Wing wrote about this FOUR MONTHS AGO.
The linen is mostly polyester, cheaper, and the pillows brand-wide are now 100% polyester, which is a cost-cutting move. Hotels no longer have to carry feather pillows or any kind of alternative to polyester pillows, which feel like cotton balls. Some of the bed linen is entirely manmade. It's more on par with the cheap linen at a Courtyard or Residence Inn,...
Gary Leff at View from the Wing wrote about this FOUR MONTHS AGO.
The linen is mostly polyester, cheaper, and the pillows brand-wide are now 100% polyester, which is a cost-cutting move. Hotels no longer have to carry feather pillows or any kind of alternative to polyester pillows, which feel like cotton balls. Some of the bed linen is entirely manmade. It's more on par with the cheap linen at a Courtyard or Residence Inn, where housekeepers don't have irons to get the sheets crisp.
Like eliminating toiletries for dispensers or eliminating mouthwash and newspapers, this is all about cutting brand standards to keep owners happy and flying the Westin flag.
I think Lucky glossed over the big picture here: this is all about Marriott being cheap and spinning the Heavenly Bed 2.0 as an upgrade, when in fact they brought down the quality with synthetic materials. My experience with this new bedding was that it felt like polyester and less smooth than the high quality cotton of the original.
The only innovations Marriott seems interested in are related to costs and giving owners flexibility...
I think Lucky glossed over the big picture here: this is all about Marriott being cheap and spinning the Heavenly Bed 2.0 as an upgrade, when in fact they brought down the quality with synthetic materials. My experience with this new bedding was that it felt like polyester and less smooth than the high quality cotton of the original.
The only innovations Marriott seems interested in are related to costs and giving owners flexibility vs innovations that improve the customer's experience.
Seems like only half the story. You usually do better, this doubds line the Points Guy
Can you get details on the sheets and pillows? I’ve heard they are no longer all cotton and no more feather pillows.
The bed is why I gravitate to Westins; they will destroy the brand.
What's the carbon footprint of the Westin Heavenly Bed??? With the heavy duvet I end up having to set my thermostat two degrees colder at Westin's than at other hotels just to prevent overheating... ;)
What many people do not know is that the original heavenly bed was created for the W brand. Starwood decided to mass produce it and market the heavenly bed. Then they came out with the Sheraton Sleeper. The W bed, heavenly bed and the Sheraton Sleeper were all the same mattress with different bedding. As one executive said to me (yes I worked at Starwood corporate) It was like GM with Chevy Buick and Cadillac . Same car's but different grilles and seats.
The new pillows are TERRIBLE. I have Westin Heavenly feather and feather/poly pillows at my house so that when I travel I can feel like I am at home. The new pillows might as well be pieces of bricks and I have to call and demand feather pillows every time since about feb of this year. I'm done with Westin over this.
I stayed at the Westin LAX a few weeks ago which had the new bedding. I think aesthetically it looks like an upgrade, but I definitely share concerns about whether the darker blanket is being cleaned (and since it's not white, it's harder to tell).
2 weeks ago I stayed at the Westin Nova Scotian in Halifax (Canada) and my room already had the new bed.
At the time, I didn’t know it was a new version of the Heavenly Bed. Thanks Ben for letting me know.
If you need pictures of the bed “live” in a room, let me know. I took some.
Anyways, IMO, I believe I prefer the old one.
2 weeks ago I stayed at the Westin Nova Scotian in Halifax (Canada) and my room already had the new bed. At the time, I didn’t know it was a new version of the Heavenly Bed. Thanks Ben for letting me know. If you need pictures of the bed “live” in a room, let me know. I took some.
Anyways, IMO, I believe I prefer the old one.
My room had these new sheets earlier this week, and they were a bit awkward. The fitted sheet had some kind of pattern, which felt like tons of linen pilings from the (foot) scratches. I also wondered if they change out the brown blankets between checkouts. If not, it is a significant downgrade.
Not so much regarding the bedding - but you made the comment that Westin has become less relevant over the years. I blame that on Marriott. The day Starwood got absorbed by Marriott was a very sad day for many - myself included.
This is Bonvoy, so you know this is driven by cost rather than anything else.
What they didn't explicitly say in the announcement, but what has been rumored, is that the sheets themselves will no longer be cotton but will instead be a synthetic blend or just fully synthetic, which is a huge downgrade.
An all-white bed signifies cleanliness. My bed at home is all white, too. Ironically, I’m personally not white, I’m a POC.
The heavenly bed sold for home use is not the same as the one in hotels. People looking for a new mattress should buy an upscale Tempur-Sealy mattress. They also sell under the brand name Stearns & Foster.
Linens and pillows also matter. Most pillows in the USA are made by Downlite. They sell...
An all-white bed signifies cleanliness. My bed at home is all white, too. Ironically, I’m personally not white, I’m a POC.
The heavenly bed sold for home use is not the same as the one in hotels. People looking for a new mattress should buy an upscale Tempur-Sealy mattress. They also sell under the brand name Stearns & Foster.
Linens and pillows also matter. Most pillows in the USA are made by Downlite. They sell direct to consumer. Shipping is slow because they are sometimes making a fresh pillow from scratch. It’s worth it.
I had great luck with the Casper down alternative duvet insert, but they stopped making it after being acquired by private equity.
Be sure to use a premium waterproof mattress protector if you have you-know-what on your bed. Even solo play needs mattress protection if your pelvic floor muscles are strong and you don’t have retrograde.
Bro you and your wife make 8 figures and you sleep on Casper and tempur-pedic like I did in college? Get yourself a Hästens at the very least. Come on, you can have a much more luxurious pretend life than this.
I've had two WHBs at home for several years and, while extremely comfortable, they can't be flipped over to equalize depressions because of the pillow top. Any information as to whether the new version will be sold to consumers?
I just slept in the is the night before last and it was great! Fluffy but not too hot, sheets were soft but not thin. I didn’t know about the new bedding and it had been a while since I’d been at a Westin and it impressed me.