...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

😂 These replies are too much

Who are you all expecting to come and visit?

I too have a spare room now due to one child moved out, and it's aptly named 'the spare room'. If I am expecting anyone to stay over, then I clear the room of the waiting ironing which is on the bed usually, the ironing board, hoover etc. Oh and the suitcases which haven't yet been properly stored away.

If I went to a friends house and was greeted by a room some of you are suggesting, it would make me feel really uncomfortable tbh. I'm there to see a friend if I'm visiting them, not there for extra slippers, maps and sanpro laid out for me. As for the extra kettle with tea and coffee laid out , c'mon now. A real friend would prefer to sit and have tea with you, I am fairly sure.

I'm impressed if I get a bed and not the floor!

Honestly I would leave a very good chunk of time before I changed dc's bedrooms if they'd recently flown the nest, unless they'd taken everything so the room was bare.

We have no shortage of people staying overnight here and we offer very little. A settee, or the floor - or our bed and we get the floor if we are more able than our guest(s).

@sashh sure! But it's a long trip for a weekend! See my post in the fireplace and woodburner thread, the guest rooms have the same (roo) view.

The WiFi code!

I just decorated our spare bedrooms to look good on photos for if we ever sell the house. We have occasional guests who use the rooms but the idea of maps and chocolates on the pillow is hilarious 😂

Ours have:

A double bed, a set of drawers with all of my out of season stuff it, my own art on the walls and a wall USB charger for phones near the bedside table. If they want a clean towel, the’ll be told where they’re kept. The kettle is in the kitchen 😂

Flowers I get, chocolate on the pillow? Is this a serious suggestion?

I think some of the ideas are thoughtful and kind, but some just seem a bit bonkers. Why do people I know really well (I would only invite close friends and family) need baskets of tampons etc? Personally I would think my friends/family had gone a bit odd if I arrived to find this stuff ready for me.

Just read a few more posts. Some of you are obviously frustrated b and b owners. You will be making your guests really uncomfortable with some of the more extreme ideas.

Long story short the first people we had to stay, I did it as a joke… they loved it and so we just kept doing it… friends expect it now. Everyone finds it funny (and delicious). But I think my friends and I are quite different to many on MN because I once posted in a thread that we all help each other clear up from meals and I got lots of aghast comments, so…

Definitely not a frustrated B&B owner… would hate to own a B&B… and only have people to stay that are happy to see me in my pyjamas!

The only guests who stay with us are the sort to chat for hours every evening. So they have bedside tables, bedside lamps, blackout curtains, spare blanket, 2 pillows each, a v good mattress and bed, clean white towels folded on bed. The rest of my efforts is into ensuring the rest of the room is v v tidy and uncluttered!

Space to put your own stuff. Every time I stay at my in-laws and due to distance it's normally a week plus, all the wardrobes and drawers are full so we live out of a suitcase for 10 days, everything gets lost, mixed up and crumpled. We've 2 kids as well and boat guest rooms full! Even dresser tops have lots of trinkets on them 😂

We're not the only guests - they often have people to stay!

Comfortable pillows
No decorative pillows
Ample towels
Plug sockets
Electric blanket on the bed if they were cold
Extra blanket
Space for suitcase
Water carafe with glasses

My best friend is coming to stay for the weekend, she has the option of the sofa or a mattress on the floor in my DD's room.

Definitely going to leave chocolates on her pillow now

Wow! I want to come and stay at everyone else's houses. Now feeling bad that I normally just change the sheets and out a fresh towel on the bed if we have guests

Would you really like me to wake you up at 3 am to drink tea?

Choice of towels - we have white and navy. Inspired by the time i stayed at a friend’s who had lovely fluffy white towels, had a period and bled on their towels as soon as I got out of the bath.

Laundry basket for them to leave towels.

bedside lamp.

note of wifi password.

clear empty space for them to unpack (eg we have a chest of drawers with spare blankets and pillows in the bottom drawer, too two are empty).

mirror.

If you are in someone else's house, and they are all asleep, you don't make tea at 3am.

That you can do at your own home no problem.

Respect goes both ways.

Not too many things in the room. The guest will come with bags or a suitcase and need space to put these and to lay out their things. For example, space on the bedside table for the guest’s personal items.

Do it! I bet she’ll have a good laugh.

I would find it hilarious in a good way if I stayed at someone’s house and there was a Gideon bible in the guest room 😂

Slippers and a dressing gown 🥰

Decent linen, a throw at the bottom, bouncy pillows, sockets each side of the bed for chargers (thinking of you mum, no spare socket!) Remove evidence it was a young person's room and put up prints or similar

Don't overthink it though, people don't mind

In my guest room I have-

• Extra pillows
• a throw for the bed in case it gets cold
• a small desk with a chair and desk lamp
• full length mirror
• nice towels
• hook for towels/coats
• small table next to the bed with coasters, bedside lamp
• an Echo Dot
• spare coat hangers in the closet

We are just about to put a TV in there as well.

I would love to be a B&B owner, just to decorate and fit the rooms out with all the suggestions, my ideal job

My friend always makes sure there's lovely shampoo, conditioner, body wash, hand wash and moisturiser in the en-suite (molten brown). In lovely labeled bottles. She also puts a kettle in there with tea, milk and a cup.

It depends on how long guests are likely to stay. When we were abroad most of our guests would stay for a few days rather than just one night.

Currently our 'spare' room doubles as my sewing room. The only overnight guests are DD & DSIL. DH has made some nifty adaptations to furniture so that the room can be fit for either purpose.

My sewing table folds down to make a shallow dressing table. Sturdy but shallow shelves mean my sewing machines are out of the way.

The real luxury is a massive cage for their pet rats!