...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'm surprised no one is posting pictures of all these amazing rooms. I love a posh bedroom picture (sometimes they even look like French hotels).

You obviously all have a different class of guest to me, I have 3 spare rooms and none of them are dedicated guest rooms, but then my only overnight guests are family or very close friends (who already know my WiFi code). Here they get clean bedding and a towel, there's always toilet "tissue" in the bathrooms and bottled water in the kitchen.

One thing I'm always pleased to have is somewhere to hang my clothes even if it's a hook on the back if the door.

in the spirit of other threads here over the last day or two:

YABU to put this in AIBU and not a Home Decorating Board (is there a DIY one)

to answer the question: nice bedclothes, nice towels and some toiletries & a toothbrush, extra blankets in case I'm not warm enough, books. A variety of topics. A light that i can switch off from being in bed.

A bit of flat space to put things on, a bit of hanging space and some hangers, a bit of cupboard or drawer space. It's very irritating to be put in a room which is basically a storage room for all the junk your hosts can't be bothered to deal with.

Somewhere to hang clothes. We stay at a friend's house regularly and they are fantastic hosts but their spare room doesn't have any hooks. They have a huge double wardrobe in there but it's rammed with their own things.

If I'm staying at someone's house for the first time the things I appreciate most aren't flip-flops or pillow chocolates, it's knowing what time the hosts like to get up of a morning, and if I'm welcome to use their kitchen to make a drink.

I stayed over at someone's house and they had a lovely glass covered jug/decanter of water and two matching glasses sitting next to it, which was lovely I thought.

A mirror is key as well - can be so awkward staying over and having no face mirror to use to get ready.

Box of tissues. Bedside lights. Spare plug sockets. A small pedal bin.

A spare hairdryer in a drawer is good.

I would avoid anything too hotel like - such as tea, slippers, chocolates. I would find this a bit weird to be honest.

My spare bedrooms are just standard bedrooms with beds and bedroom furniture.
Guests are welcome to use the kitchen and bathroom.
The only thing I do different is put a bath sheet and bucket on the floor beside the bed when they're drunk and hope their aim is good.

Yes so naff!! Unless the OP is planning on running it as a B&B, it all sounds very ‘Hyacinth Bucket’. Surely the people staying over are friends and family, if they wanted a hotel they’d stay in one!

I agree, some of these answers are nonsense 😂

I stayed with friends recently and there was a tray with bottles of water and a choice of painkillers 😁

The bucket is going that extra mile!

I once stayed with friends and the loo paper in the guest bathroom had been folded into a point.

I thought that was going too far ...

If there is a separate guest bathroom I think is nice to leave nice shower gel and some shampoo and hair conditioner in the shower. Possibly toothpaste in case it is forgotten. No other toiletries required though.

Hooks on the back of the door-it’s really annoying having to hang damp towels on furniture. Decent mirror. I have a couple of small sheepskin rugs so it feels nice when they get out of bed. No clutter. Crisp bed linen, soft towels and decent pillows. Carafe of water. It’s not a hotel so I wouldn’t provide disposable slippers or kettle-just tell them where everything is in the kitchen.

Well I see this got even more batshit through the night, a mini cooler for milk and a photo of the guests 😂😂😂😂

100 percent these are the same folks who post on the other threads saying my home is my sanctuary and I never have guests to stay and hate staying at others

people are just writing the stuff they would want in a good hotel or air b n b , not what they would provide their parents or best friend if they stay the night.

It’s total lack of experience in hosting or being hosted posting. I can’t even believe the stuff I’m reading. If I stayed at a friends or parents for the night and they had

tea and coffee in my room,
a mini fridge for my milk
bottles of water
biscuits
choclate on my pillow
fruit
books
puzzles
fresh flowers
a dressing gown
my photo out
maps of the area
magazines
spare chargers all laid out
tourist attraction leaflets
a pair of flip flops for me
a basket of toiletries for me

I’d think they gone utterly mad and were dress rehearsing for running a bnb. It would be so weird.

Keep several sets of manchester by so when they go out for the day, you can switch it all making it look completely different each day. Move all the furniture around as a bonus.

The flip flop/slippers idea is so wasteful.

Buying cheap tat and throwing them in the bin after a weekend?

I did have a delightfully batshit friend who before you went to bed, would go into the guest room and do a 'turn down', put on the bedside light, take the decorative pillows off the bed and turndown the cover - leaving a individually wrapped chocolate truffle on the pillow and a spritz of lavender sleep spray 😁

Agree this thread went completely batshit a long time ago.

If I'm staying with someone I don't want to feel like I've caused lots of fuss. If I came in and found all this fluff and effort I would feel embarrassed and awkward.

Just a bed in a spare room is great.

A comfortable mattress, blackout curtains, and decent pillows that don’t smell of stale sweat are the most important things to me.

As nice extras…

• Universal phone charger plugged in by the bed (saves looking for plug points)
• Packets of ear plugs
• Spare toiletries - toothbrush, toothpaste, face wipes, paracetamol etc.
• Water and glasses - a carafe filled before bed is fine

There are ways of ensuring your guests have everything they need without playing hotels.

You must install a Sonos sound system with a speaker in the guest room, as the guest goes to bed - start to gently play a sleep story from Calm. At the time you would like them to rise - play the Boo Radleys 'Wake up it's a beautiful morning' at full volume. At the first chorus burst through the door bearing a tray laden with a selection of teas and coffees (including decaf option and non-lactose milk alternatives), pastries (including gluten free) butter and jam and a single rose in a vase.

I always thought that first pointy piece was for cleaning your ears. 😆

Wow...thanks for all the comments. I definitely don't want the rooms to be like hotel rooms, I just want guests (family and friends) to be comfortable and want for nothing but I won't be going OTT. I agree a comfy bed is important with good pillows and an extra blanket. A hair dryer, WiFi code, somewhere to hang clothes, a good mirror, bedside lights, a box of tissues and nice towels are the main things most of you have suggested so I'll go with those for now. I may also put a couple of bottles of water out so people don't need to go creeping around in the middle of the night.

agree some of these ideas are a bit batshit, but i never think making your guests' stay easier are wrong.
Me? i have a glass of water by my bedside, lots of people do, therefore i leave a small bottle of water in the room if i have overnight guests.
Towels - we all use towels, so they just get nice clean towels, same as us
All our bed linnen is lovely, they get a set that has been washed, same as us
Plugs: oh yes, it's such a pain looking for somewhere to plug your phone in. Point out where they are, job done.
Etc etc.

(still think this thread shouldn't be in AIBU)

It’s because they’re friends and family that they like it I think… because they know me and that this is the sort of thing I do… I actually forgot one time for one of my friends and was reprimanded 😆
I wouldn’t leave maps or the like though as we are spending the days together. And yes we have visitors a lot because a) our families live a really long way away and b) we have a lot of family sleepovers when our friends with kids stay the night so the parents can stay up drinking and chatting while the kids watch a film/go to bed together.

Don’t put the Wi-Fi on a card in the bedroom! Text it to them when they arrive so they can just copy and paste the password. There’s nothing more tedious than having to type out a Wi-Fi password!