As a travel writer, I sleep on dozens of hotel mattresses every year. But on a recent trip to the Catskills, I did something I’ve never done before. I climbed into bed during my serene, hillside stay at The Henson, then immediately jumped out to check the tag on the sheets—they were just that soft. I found out that the microfiber bedding was from Fresh Culture, a brand I hadn’t heard of before. And to my surprise after a quick Google search, I uncovered that the sheets are available on Amazon and only ring in at $12 for a queen size.
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Further investigations revealed the sheets are designed specifically to be sold in large quantities to hotels, but individual fitted and top sheets are also available on the e-tailer. The double-brushed material gives the sheets a plush and silky feel I’ve found in most high-end hotel bedding. Backed by thousands of five-star reviews, the fitted sheet comes with a slip-resistant elastic band and is available in standard or extra deep options up to 21 inches that other satisfied sleepers applaud for fitting and staying put on their thick mattresses. After getting the online scoop on these sheets, I immediately clicked “add to cart” and crawled back in bed for an incredible rest.
Husband-and-wife team Ely and Danielle Franko painstakingly restored every inch of the property on their own, converting a dated ski hostel to a 16-key property that Architectural Digest editors called one of their favorites last year. Every piece of furniture is unique and sourced from vintage resellers and local markets, and the couple plastered each sheet of wallpaper on their own. So I knew if they endorsed these discount sheets, they really were that good.
But the co-owners laughed when I complimented the sheets of all things—that was the only aspect of the hotel they didn’t have total control over. Like many smaller boutique hotels, they use a hotel linen service to provide sheets and do laundry off-site. When Danielle learned she wouldn’t be able to have the percale weave cotton sheets she’d typically opt for, she spent countless nights researching the merits of all types of sheets.
She likes that microfiber is durable and less susceptible to wrinkles—extremely important when you are making dozens of beds per day and each one needs to look and feel perfect. Plus, the fabric weight of Fresh Culture’s sheets is 120 grams per square meter, while 100 is typically considered high quality for microfiber sheets.
“If you’re coming to a hotel, you want to have the best sleep,” says Ely. “So we took the bed and all the choices around it very seriously.”
The rest of the products used for the bed were easy picks. The bed pillows are Casper’s original pillows, which I also ended up buying after the trip. The unique pillow-in-pillow design provides support that’s cozy and cloudlike rather than stiff and truly firm.
The Frankos wanted even the smallest room at the inn to have a king-size Dream mattress from Casper—the exact model they chose for their own bedroom, which they said is perfect for a hotel thanks to its soft yet supportive feel that can please everyone.
“Everything ties back to the theme of creating the inn that we want to visit,” says Ely. “We knew firsthand how comfortable the bed was, so it was an easy extension to provide that to all our guests.”
Since check out, I’ve spent dozens of nights in my own bed with touches pulled from the products at The Henson. I’ve been impressed that the least expensive element holds up to washing and wear while still feeling luxurious. The fact that climbing into bed and feeling the soft sheets always makes me think of a crisp fall weekend getaway to the Catskills makes it all even dreamier.
