...to ask you about guestrooms?

[Littlewhitedove]

Our two adult children have recently flown the nest so we have two double en suite rooms that are now spare rooms.
What makes a spare room into a lovely guest room? What added extras would make you, as a guest, feel welcomed and wanted?
I have ordered new towels and added some pretty decorative items but I'd really appreciate some other ideas so I can make the rooms feel extra special.
Thanks x

I would concentrate on doing the basics very well:

• Very Comfortable bed - as big as you can whilst still have a decent amount of room on [both - if to sleep two] sides
• Good bedlinen/pillows/mattress topper
• Bedside table(s) with lamp(s)
• Curtains that block out light well
• Hooks for towels/dressing gown
• At least one available socket
• Bin in bathroom with liner (and small sanitary disposal bags)

If you don't need the room for storage too/have enough room/££:

• Small wardrobe - empty
• Chair
• Desk/dressing table with mirror
• Full length mirror
• No personal items (and don't go ott with things that might be useful - they can ask if they've forgotten/need anything)
• Something to hold toothbrush

Nice to have

• Hairdryer
• Cotton buds
• Cotton wool
• Plant(s)
• Coaster
• Maybe a book of poems/short stories but only one or two

No to (too much for a social guest - need to feel welcome downstairs too and not feel that you've had to go to a massive amount of effort):

• Flowers
• Tea/coffee making facilities
• Food of any kind

A comfortable bed and pillows (two per person)
Bedside tables
Blanket available (especially if your house is cold)
Easily accessible sockets, plus phone chargers if you have them spare
Decent mirror (full length if possible)
A chair
Hooks on the back of door to hang towels etc.
If staying for a few days, somewhere to unpack/hang clothes
Decent towels
Space in the bathroom to put their toiletries
Bin with lid in the bathroom
No ticking clocks
Have toothpaste/shower gel/shampoo in bathroom in case they've forgotten anything

Are you actually planning on having lots of visitors to justify 2 fully kitted out guest rooms?

or are you better repurposing the space for your own use?

I think some folks are convinced and think they’ve been asked what they want in a hotel.

Yes, I think trying to make it feel like a BnB with pillow chocolates and tea-making is both naff and quite mad. Comfortable bed, enough bedclothes, two pillows per person, decent reading light, a window that opens for ventilation, decent blinds or curtains to blot out ambient light, some surface to put things down on, ideally somewhere to hang things…?

And this, absolutely. If someone sleeps over here, they sleep in my study on a futon.

I agree, all these hotel style touches are a bit cringey. They make your friends and family feel like paying guests. It’s a bit odd.

And do you really need two big guest rooms?

can you tell I’ve just downsized? Really? What’s the point of all these bedrooms?

I'm with @Tulipomania , @ComtesseDeSpair , and @WildGooses . My friends and family would think I were bonkers if I started making out they'd arrived at a hotel.
When I have friends staying, I'd hope they know they are very welcome in the kitchen at any time to make a brew. Quite odd to think they would have to stay in their self contained room.

I think @GnomeDePlume has a good point about who is staying though - I like the idea of regular guests having space to leave things so they can 'travel light' whenever they come.

A dressing gown, a packet of shortbread, a pile of bright cushions and an echo dot for music and with a clock on.

I know! A map of the area?! Is this for guests who don't actually speak to you?

I’m strongly suspecting some of this nonsense is from folks who never have friends and family to stay overnight. I mean who does this shit. That’s the stuff you expect in a hotel or an air b n b. Not down your mate or mums house. Good god.

Maps, tea and coffee, fresh flowers, puzzles, flip flops, books, dressing gown, chocolate on the pillow. 🤣

One of the best pieces of advice I ever encountered about guest rooms was that you should spend a night in it once it's set up. That way you know if the bed is comfortable, your pillows are ok, the curtains block light, there are no weird draughts, the plumbing in the ensuite doesn't do unexpected things etc.

Clean, warm and comfortable are the most important things a guest room should be. And honestly, it's not as hotel -- there's no reason why it shouldn't have family things in it too. Your friends and family come to visit you, why would you totally want to remove any sign of you from the room they sleep in? (Not suggesting you store your hypothetical BDSM gear in the spare room wardrobe though 😉)

Extra blankets
2 pillows per person
Selection of books/magazines
Hairdryer
Towels
Basket of travel size toiletries/nail scissors/razors
Favourite photo of guests
Local tourist leaflets

A hairdryer

some spare toiletries: ie toothbrush/ toothpaste, mini shower gel/shampoo/conditioner (ie ones that you have liberated from other hotels), shower cap, sanpro

bottles of water (or even a glass bottle with glasses)

a teasmade/ coffee machine

A map of the area and local tourist leaflets can be handy so that when we chat about what they want to do, they've had a chance to see what's on offer and how far away it is. My idea of distance might not always be the same as theirs.

I make sure that everything I would want is in there... i.e. Comfortable bed, light duvet, fleece blanket to go on top if cold, hot water bottle, fan in case it's hot, bedside light that actually works, window that opens, proper curtains that shut and block out the light, mirror that you can actually see in, wardrobe space and hangers, bin, cosy dressing gown on the back of the door, a little posy in a vase, some books. But most importantly... I make it look like a room that is just for them to sleep in, not a room full of my stuff or lots of little nick nacks, or a room that obviously has another purpose but you are squeezing them in there. If possible I love an en suite as it can be really tricky negotiating the use of a family bathroom and I don't like wandering round somebody else's house in my pyjamas, however I know that's not always possible. I provide my guests with a bottle of water to take up to bed and some biscuits to stave off what my Gran used to call 'nightime starvation'. My mum used to put a small kettle and the makings of tea and coffee in her spare room, but I don't like milk that has been out of the fridge all night so I don't do that.

I have to say that in my opinion anything over and above a comfortable bed, plenty of loo roll and some decent curtains is over-the-top.

Is this a case of one-upmanship? Are fancy guest rooms a ‘thing’ in your circle that you feel you have to keep up with?

If not, your OTT guest room will probably mean you never get any invitations to stay with those whose guest accommodation is a futon-in-the-study.

How flown are the kids? Are they never coming back?

Some of these are mental and wouldn’t even be expected in a hotel.

Spare blankets and pillows and an invitation to use anything in the kitchen would be mine. But then I don’t think I’d ever stay anywhere that wasn’t with people I was very good friends or relatives with.

Decorate the room as you would like it. Wonderful excuse to buy new bedding which is one of my favourite things.

My sister had a card with the Wi-Fi code on it. Found this useful.
also a hairdryer and decent mirror are appreciated.

I always put an extra blanket that can be added or switched out for the duvet, depending on temperature. Feather and non-feather pillows, and be sure to SNIFF them when changing the bedding. It is amazing how an empty bed(room) can get a bit whiffy over time.

In summer, I like to leave a fan available to plug in. In winter, ask if they need a small heater.

I've been made great fun of for providing a basket of towels :( so don't do that.

Lovely to have a proper bed , extra blanket, towels, hook for clothing or chair, we have a low chest of drawers to put a travel bag on with a couple of empty drawers if people want to unpack. Bed side light, no ticking clock. That is it.

Oh please no, chucking away flip flops, I despair 😒

This is all mental. I honestly can’t believe most of these posts. We have mates and family members to stay often and they would be soooooo creeped out by most of these suggestions. These are your best friends. Your mum. Your sister. Not a paying customer after a holiday. In my experience, guest arrives, has lunch, hangs out, has dinner, chat, collapses into bed at some point, gets up, leaves. Im not sure when people are eating chocs on pillows or making cups of tea in their bedroom A clean set of sheets and a towel is fine.

Totally agree, they're feckin mental most of these suggestions! 🤣