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Original poster

What things make you feel really comfortable when staying over at someone’s house?

143 replies

SteaknSalad · 07/04/2023 17:45

We recently moved into a new house and now have a spare bedroom, so we can have guests to stay over. Our old flat was far too small to ever contemplate this! Our very first guests will be my PILs over this Easter weekend, and I want them to feel really relaxed, welcomed and at home.

What things, big or small, help you to feel comfortable and relaxed when staying as a guest at someone’s home?

OP posts:
Kiitos · 07/04/2023 23:02

I have some guests coming soon so this thread has been a useful prompt, I do quite a few of these already but there are a couple good ideas I’ve taken on board!

I would add, if possible, a motion-sensor nightlight on the landing to stop anyone having to blunder around in the dark in case they get up in the night.

FranziskaSchmidt · 07/04/2023 23:02

A warm welcome.

The End

theysaiditgetseasier · 07/04/2023 23:04

Some of these replies 🤣 it's a friends house not a hotel! I'd be terrified having anyone from mumsnet stay over!

I'm quite content with clean sheets & room, bedside light and plug socket.

I would always bring my own towel & wash bag, ditto a water bottle.

BotterMon · 07/04/2023 23:05

Some (most) of these responses are cracking me up. Fucking hell it's not a hotel or a B&B being offered!

DiscoBeat · 07/04/2023 23:06

We have supplies in guest bathroom: toothbrushes/soap/sanitary products.
Glasses and bottles of water.
Lamps, night lights, clean towels obviously, Wi-Fi code on a card. Hanging space and drawers space for clothes.

DiscoBeat · 07/04/2023 23:08

Oh yes, as a PP said - charger, we have Apple and Android chargers. Also big cushions in case they want to sit up in bed.

Phoebo · 07/04/2023 23:08

Having my own toilet. The toilet is the only thing that puts me off staying with other people

AutumnCrow · 07/04/2023 23:10

A safe bolted to the wall or floor, I'm not fussy.

Wedoronron · 07/04/2023 23:15

God, don't come and stay at our house 🤣

Wedoronron · 07/04/2023 23:16

Phoebo · 07/04/2023 23:08

Having my own toilet. The toilet is the only thing that puts me off staying with other people

Who are all these people with spare bathrooms! MN is a different world.

Wheretheresmucktheresbrass · 07/04/2023 23:18

Phoebo · 07/04/2023 23:08

Having my own toilet. The toilet is the only thing that puts me off staying with other people

Same! Having to use a toilet in a shared dorm at uni...never again.

CovertImage · 07/04/2023 23:19

God, if I went to stay at any of my mates and they had baskets of toiletries and "tea/coffee in bed at a prearranged time" I'd think they'd gone doolally.

goldfootball · 07/04/2023 23:19

housemaus · 07/04/2023 22:12

Me, whose guests either have the option of a (good!) airbed on DH's office floor or the comfier but less private sofa, reading this: 😬

😂 ikr

my sofa is very comfy mind you

goldfootball · 07/04/2023 23:20

Why wouldn’t someone bring their own bloody charger!

Ashia · 07/04/2023 23:23

Everything clean and tidy - if you get that right you’re doing great. I’ve stayed in so many guests rooms that were dusty and full of junk, twice I have even been told “We haven’t washed the sheets since X stayed but he was only here one night so they are clean.” (They stank.)

Optional extras

  • Good quality bedding, not the cheapest polyester duvets available in Ikea and on the world’s worst sofa bed
  • soft pillow
  • hairdryer
  • blackout blinds
  • a place to hang clothes (eg hooks on door)
  • a place to hang wet towels
  • a place to sit down
  • a vase of fresh flowers
  • some spare unopen toiletries: handsoap, shampoo, toothpaste.
  • Don’t put on the dishwasher / dryer overnight if it backs onto the guest room
  • Nothing noisy or light-flashy in the room
RosesAndHellebores · 07/04/2023 23:24

I usually leave a small strip of paracetamol and a bottle of Bisodol in the guest bathroom. We like our guests to enjoy our wine when they stay - sometimes they enjoy it a little too much 😀

evilharpy · 07/04/2023 23:26

A plug socket to charge my phone
Space to put my small amount of stuff (don't care if there is stuff/clutter in the room just please leave me some space to put my own bits and pieces)
A mattress that isn't so soft and worn out it tries to swallow me up
A clean bathroom - not expecting a bathroom for my exclusive use, just one that's clean

yodayoga1 · 07/04/2023 23:35

bellinisurge · 07/04/2023 22:58

I'm not sure what world people live in where guests have their own bathrooms.

OP has said that the guests will have their own bathroom.

yodayoga1 · 07/04/2023 23:38

RosesAndHellebores · 07/04/2023 23:24

I usually leave a small strip of paracetamol and a bottle of Bisodol in the guest bathroom. We like our guests to enjoy our wine when they stay - sometimes they enjoy it a little too much 😀

You sound like my kind of hosts 😂

MrsMikeDrop · 07/04/2023 23:45

I used to have a basket filled of stuff from hotels, mini shampoo etc, toothbrush, toothpaste, shower cap, eye mask. Don't think anyone actually ever used any of it, but it made me feel good was like a little hotel room

echt · 07/04/2023 23:54

What makes me comfortable: bedside light, dressing gown.

What I provide: bedside light, dressing gown, charging hub, lined bin, earplugs, cleared section of wardrobe, shelf space, books and magazines, bottle of water. A well-equipped family bathroom.

I'm another who is usually going overseas or having overseas guests, so know that a dressing gown just takes up packing room yet is so useful for the trips to the bathroom. Mine is a typical Australian house, so the family bathroom is on the ground floor where the spare rooms are and going to the bathroom is a bit more public than in northern hemisphere houses).

CharlotteStreetW1 · 08/04/2023 00:11

I used to run a well regarded B&B and didn't have half this stuff!

Always fresh flowers though.

uncomfortablydumb53 · 08/04/2023 00:19

A warm welcome
That's it

Feemie · 08/04/2023 00:29

BotterMon · 07/04/2023 23:05

Some (most) of these responses are cracking me up. Fucking hell it's not a hotel or a B&B being offered!

These threads always bring out the equivalents of little girls playing with dolls’ houses, and I’m pretty sure these people who are hyperventilating about dressing gowns, bouquets, carafes of water, tea and coffee stations, carefully-curated collections of high-quality toiletries and deep-pile bath sheets etc don’t actually have guests very often. If at all. And are probably very self-conscious about being guests elsewhere. (In true Mn fashion, like the significant minority of posters who feel that ever pooing anywhere other than your own home loo is either impossible or a huge faux pas.)

herlightmaterials · 08/04/2023 00:44

Feemie · 08/04/2023 00:29

These threads always bring out the equivalents of little girls playing with dolls’ houses, and I’m pretty sure these people who are hyperventilating about dressing gowns, bouquets, carafes of water, tea and coffee stations, carefully-curated collections of high-quality toiletries and deep-pile bath sheets etc don’t actually have guests very often. If at all. And are probably very self-conscious about being guests elsewhere. (In true Mn fashion, like the significant minority of posters who feel that ever pooing anywhere other than your own home loo is either impossible or a huge faux pas.)

Show quote history

Gosh, that's harsh. Is everyone staying at a nice hotel playing housies too then?There are different types of hospitality.

You're missing a trick. This is less effort, not more. This is not hassle to maintain and it's more effort to have guests knocking on your door to ask for extra blankets/toothpaste/tampon/hairdryer or suddenly waking the household because they got thirsty at 3am. You pack them off at bedtime and they are SORTED.

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