Crispy hotel sheets--where can I find them in real life?

December 31, 2015 4:54 PM

I am currently posting this question while lying on crispy, smooth sheets at a Comfort Inn in anywhere USA. When I get home tomorrow, my Egyptian cotton sheets will feel much softer and "fuzzier." Are there crispy "civilian" sheets like those at this Comfort Inn? If so, where can I buy them?
posted by Elsie to Home & Garden (29 answers total)

I bought the cotton percale sheets from LL Bean after asking this question elsewhere and am still very happy with them, a year later. Still smooth and crisp, not too soft.
posted by purenitrous at 4:57 PM on December 31, 2015 [8 favorites]

Ask the manager of the hotel! Compliment them on how much you like the sheets and ask where you might be able to obtain some for yourself. IME this really delights managers and they're usually pretty open to helping you find what you need.

As for me, I LOATHE hotel sheets no matter how fancy a hotel I'm in so I often ask the manager what kind of sheets they are specifically so I can avoid them when restocking my own linen closet but I am a crotchety young person with fabric allergies and sensory issues so my motivations aren't nearly as good as yours.
posted by Hermione Granger at 4:58 PM on December 31, 2015 [6 favorites]

Came in to say what purenitrous said. Those LL Bean percale sheets are the jam.
posted by gone2croatan at 5:03 PM on December 31, 2015

I also have crisp sheets from LLBean. 270 or 280 thread count, pima percale. Don't be scared off by the uninflated thread count; these sheets are both crisp and comfortable, and they're also the most durable sheets I've ever owned.
posted by wryly at 5:12 PM on December 31, 2015 [1 favorite]

This question was the opposite of yours, so you might get some information on what to avoid... There's a lot of info about weave vs thread count.
posted by hydra77 at 5:18 PM on December 31, 2015

I just got an AWESOME set of very crisp, very well-made sheets on Overstock for half what they normally sell for: Luxor Treasures 1200 thread count Egyptian Cotton Sheets. They are sooo nice. Totally worth it.
posted by ananci at 5:23 PM on December 31, 2015 [1 favorite]

I've had some success in maintaining optimal crispness of percale sheets by not using any fabric softener/dryer sheets, which tend to render my linens filmy or fuzzy.
posted by kapers at 5:50 PM on December 31, 2015 [2 favorites]

You can buy the Comfort Inn version - here's one site:
http://www.goavm.com/comfort-inn-bedding-program-c-364.aspx but I've seen elsewhere (maybe here:http://www.pillows.com/choicehotels.html). I know exactly what you mean about the feel of their sheets, but I ultimately decided against buying them myself because they are not 100% cotton, or weren't when I checked. We like the Hotel brand from BBand Beyond instead. Good luck!
posted by Tandem Affinity at 5:53 PM on December 31, 2015

I suspect that a big part of maintaining hotel-crispy sheets is washing them in some kind of hotel-industrial-complex way. I hope that someone who knows more about this end of it than I do will pop in and tell us their secrets.
posted by box at 6:05 PM on December 31, 2015 [7 favorites]

box: it's hot steam irons. The big flat press kind. You can't really do that at home, but ironing your sheets will help them feel more crisp.
posted by crush-onastick at 6:09 PM on December 31, 2015 [7 favorites]

Oh! I once worked at a hotel (big chain, mid range) and they were washed in ultra hot bleachy water, dried very hot and fast, and snapped immediately onto the beds (no ironing but this wasn't the highest-end place)
posted by kapers at 6:12 PM on December 31, 2015 [3 favorites]

I was a maid at a mid-range hotel and ditto to kapers's experience. They were bleached within an inch of their lives and dried in giant industrial driers. We folded them essentially the second they came out and they were hot enough that they kind of hurt to handle.
posted by goggie at 6:46 PM on December 31, 2015 [4 favorites]

i did housekeeping at a mid/upper vacation type place and there was definitely something about our washing process that made them so stiff and crisp. i'd guess super duper hot water, then ironing or starching, but that happened outside of my view.
posted by nadawi at 6:49 PM on December 31, 2015 [1 favorite]

Yeah, it's percale. Crisp!
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 7:29 PM on December 31, 2015

Nth'ing the LL Bean Sheets, here is another recommendation for them from the home goods based sister-site to the wire cutter and they've yet to steer me wrong.

Wash hot, dry hot, leave the dryer sheet out.
posted by VTX at 8:14 PM on December 31, 2015

Hotel sheets are lightly starched!
posted by DarlingBri at 9:20 PM on December 31, 2015 [2 favorites]

I worked in the laundry room at an upscale hotel for one miserable summer. The sheets were washed with industrial detergent, dried to just-damp, and then immediately fed into a massive roller iron that dried them, ironed them flat and folded them. I don't remember any starch. The hot press is what got them to be so crisp.
posted by third word on a random page at 9:32 PM on December 31, 2015

I recently stayed at a Best Western and was amused at the price list in the bathroom for towels, wash rags, pillows, etc. if I wanted to take them home with me. I don't recall sheets being on the list, but they well may have been. You might inquire of the hotel manager if you may purchase their sheets to lessen your search time.
posted by The Almighty Mommy Goddess at 1:27 AM on January 1, 2016

Any percale sheets will give you the crispness. Thread count means next to nothing when it comes to percale.
posted by ImproviseOrDie at 3:19 AM on January 1, 2016

Vermont Country Store sells something called Clothesline Crisp Sheets, though I've heard they've changed manufacturers and the new ones are not as good. I had these years ago and liked them. I did not find the LL Bean sheets crisp enough. This blog may be useful to you.
posted by FencingGal at 5:53 AM on January 1, 2016

amused at the price list in the bathroom for towels, wash rags, pillows, etc.

isn't that to deter people stealing and / or make it easier for them to charge if things disappear? in which case the prices will be artificially high.
posted by andrewcooke at 6:04 AM on January 1, 2016

You might like the ones sold by the Biltmore Hotel. They're so nice that they started selling their towels and sheets.
posted by Ms. Moonlight at 6:08 AM on January 1, 2016

For immediate gratification, go to Target and get some of the Shabby Chic sheets. Note: these may be far girlier than what you prefer. But I've had a set (of subtle striped ones that they don't carry anymore) for probably going on 10 years and they're still wonderfully crisp. They're the ones I want to use when I'm so sick I stay in bed all day, because they keep that "fresh sheets" feeling.
posted by MexicanYenta at 7:16 AM on January 1, 2016

If you can try drying your sheets in the sun on a hot day, avoid fabric softeners, each got and portion of dry in the sun. Also bring the jj bean sheets.
posted by wwax at 8:33 AM on January 1, 2016 [1 favorite]

I have the Garnet Hill 300 count percale sheets And they are AMAZING. They've been washed for two years now and still are wonderfully crisp. After a few years of bad sheet purchases, I got these and am so happy with them. I just wash them normally, then dry them on high heat; they have retained their crispness. I am in menopause and sleep extra hot; I love, love, love them.
posted by djinn dandy at 9:23 AM on January 1, 2016

My mother still uses a mangle to smooth and dry sheets. The awesome crispness of the sheets is one of the best things about visiting home. The quality of the sheets matters too, but I have one set of sheets that are exactly the same as hers, and I can never get them quite as crisp as the ones run through the mangle.
posted by gemmy at 10:57 AM on January 1, 2016 [4 favorites]

I got a few sets of Ralph Lauren sheets on sale at Marshall's and they are so crisp they feel like sleeping on new dollar bills. I love them.
posted by SeedStitch at 5:15 PM on January 1, 2016 [1 favorite]

Dvala sheets at ikea fit this for me.
posted by mchorn at 5:59 PM on January 1, 2016

The LL Bean percale sheets are my favorites. They're well worth the money.
posted by smich at 11:19 AM on January 4, 2016