How to Buy Best Hotel Quality Sheets
I think you'll agree with us when we say:
Buying new bed sheets can be confusing and exhausting - there are a million choices at a million different price points.
You have to consider the fabric type, the thread count, the weave type, among other considerations before purchasing your commercial bed sheets.
And it can turn out to be a really (really!) daunting task.
But you don’t have to worry anymore, because we’ll help you buy the best hotel quality sheets the easy way.
Here’s what we’re about to discuss with you:
- What hotel quality sheets are
- The best materials to choose for your hotel sheets
- Which thread count sheets are better
- The proven best hotel sheets
- Where to buy your hotel sheets
In the end, you will have all the necessary information to help you shop for your hotel quality sheets. Sheets your accommodation property could really use.
Sounds good? Let’s do this!
What Are Hotel Quality Sheets?
Hotel quality sheets are finely manufactured bed sheets. Bed sheets built for commercial use. The right bed sheets are insanely comfortable: think luxuriously soft, smooth, and crisp.
A standard set of hotel quality sheets includes:
- Fitted sheet/ Bottom sheet: It is an elastic-lined bed sheet that fits tightly around your mattress
- Flat Sheet/Top sheet: the simple bed sheets that sit between you and the comforter or duvet
- 1 or 2 Pillowcases: a pillowcase is used to cover a sleeping pillow, and sometimes decorative or bolster pillows
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As you look to buy your bed sheets from wholesale bed linen suppliers, it is good to know which sizes you want. Use this helpful bedding size chart.
How Do I Pick the Best Commercial Bed Linen Material?
Bed linen material is the fibre used to weave your bed sheets. Depending on your personal preference, you’ll pick hotel sheets made from specific fabrics or a blend of materials.
Therefore, to help you make an informed choice, we’ll highlight the most commonly used fabrics along with their advantages and disadvantages.
1. Silk
Silk is the most luxurious, most comfortable, and most lustrous fabric you can get for your commercial bed sheets. Simply stated, silk is the queen of fabrics.
Silk is a natural protein fibre produced by silkworms. And it takes an elaborate silk production process.
You can watch this video to learn how silk is produced.
Advantages of Silk Bed Sheets
- Hypoallergenic: Silk sheets are safe for use by people with allergies. That’s because silk has a natural protein structure
- Breathable: Silk has natural temperature regulating properties. That means in winter, your silk bed sheets will keep you warm and cosy. And when summertime comes you’ll still sleep comfortably cool
- Super absorbent: Silk bed sheets absorb perspiration and let your skin breathe while you enjoy your sleep - dries quickly without feeling damp
- Robust: Although silk appears delicate, its smooth surface resists oils and odours.
- Takes colour well: Therefore, you can expect to get your commercial bed linen in a wide array of colours
Disadvantages of Silk Bed Sheets
- Expensive: Silk bed sheets belong to the luxe range of bedding. Therefore if you opt for silk bed sheets expect a higher price tag.
- Requires high attention care: Silk sheets require delicate care. That means you will either hand-wash or machine-wash your silk bed sheets
Since silk bed sheets require high attention care, you can watch this video showing you how to take care of your silk bed sheets.
2. Linen
Linen is another luxurious fabric that is also pretty expensive.
Can you imagine that your linen bed sheets came from this beautiful flax plant? (photo above).
Although the processing of linen from the flax plant is a time and effort consuming procedure, the end product is usually very luxurious, strong and gorgeous linen.
Linen is one of the oldest textile fibres with its origins traced to Switzerland’s prehistoric lake dwellings.
Fine linen fabrics have been discovered in the ancient Egyptian tombs.*
Let’s now take a closer look at the characteristics of linen fabrics. To help you distinguish your linen fabric from other fabrics.
How to Identify Linen Fabric?
- Linen has a body; course natural-looking texture. Springs back after crushing it in your hand and letting it go
- Linen feels cold and may feel damp because it absorbs moisture firm the environment
- Linen has a nubby texture. Even if your linen fabric has a smooth surface and a shiny jacquard weave, it will have shorter nubby fibres in the weave commonly known as ‘lint’
- Most traditional linen fabrics are available in white or off-white colours
- Linen is stiff after washing
- Linen wrinkles easily and is difficult to iron smooth
- Linen is crispier than cotton
Advantages of Linen Bed Sheets
- Comfortable to sleep on: Linen fibre is a natural vegetable fibre with a high amount of air porosity holes meaning you get breathable bed sheets
- Linen is stronger than cotton: in fact, twice stronger than cotton. Therefore, you will get the same comfort as cotton as well as the strength of the linen fabric
- Hand Washable and dry cleanable: so, no hassle when it comes to cleaning time
- Crisp feeling: linen has a distinct outlook and crisp feel
- Absorbent: you get to sleep nice and dry as linen sucks in all your night perspiration. Absorbency also helps linen dye well.
- Available in a variety of weights: From lightweight to heavyweight, you get to choose your preferred fabric weight for your sheets.
- No static and pilling problems: static electricity and pilling problems are the least of your issues with linen bed sheets
Disadvantages of Linen Bed Sheets
- Wrinkles easily: unless treated with a special finish
- May shrink after washing: if you don’t buy the size right, your linen bed sheets may no longer fit your bed
- Poor elasticity: Linen tends to stretch without recovering its shape
3. Bamboo
With bamboo sheets, you get to sleep in unbelievably silky soft and smooth bed sheets while still conserving our environment. Why? Because bamboo sheets are deemed as an eco-friendly option.
However, in the market, there are good quality bamboo sheets and bad quality bamboo sheets. You need to learn how to distinguish between the two.
Here’s how:
a) 100% Bamboo Sheets
100% bamboo sheets are the standard. Sleeping on 100% bamboo sheets will offer you crazy softness and smoothness.
Therefore, if you are buying something that isn't a 100% bamboo viscose or 100% bamboo rayon, you really are setting yourself up for a bad pair of sheets.
Pros:
- Absorbs moisture better than cotton or other cellulose-based fabrics
- Doesn't build up static electricity
- Doesn’t insulate body heat – great for summer or hot climates
- Dyes easily
- Less likely to pill unless if of low quality
- Tolerates lower ironing temperatures
- Wrinkles
- Poor strength when wet
b) 100% Bamboo Lyocell
In most ways, it is very similar to 100% bamboo. Therefore, buying bed sheets of this material will yield similar results.
Pros:
- Absorbs excess perspiration and releases it into the atmosphere
- Odour resistant
- Soft on the skin
- Anti-bacterial
- Hypoallergenic
- Anti-static
- Costly compared to other sustainable alternatives
c) Bamboo Cotton Blend, Bamboo Polyester, Bamboo Microfiber
With these fabrics, expect to get sturdy but cheaper bed sheets at the expense of softness and comfort.
Notably, bamboo sheets are not the most durable option in the market - linen is, but doesn’t feel like bamboo.
Pros:
- Stronger fabric
Cons:
- Less sustainable
- Not as soft as 100% bamboo viscose fabric
d) Bamboo linen
These bed sheets are made with both bamboo and linen. Therefore, they have a linen look with bamboo breath-ability and softness.
Pros:
- Durable
- Sustainable
Cons:
- Stiff (not soft)
- Wrinkles easily
4. Polyester
Polyester is a synthetic fibre derived from coal, air, water, and petroleum.
Developed in a 20th-century laboratory, polyester fibres are formed from a chemical reaction between an acid and alcohol.
In this reaction, two or more molecules combine to make a large molecule whose structure repeats throughout its length.
Polyester fibres can form very long molecules that are very stable and strong.
Advantages of Polyester Bed Sheets
- Durable
- Soft and Crisp
- Resistant to stretching and shrinkage
- Washable or dry-cleanable
- Dries quickly
- Wrinkle resistant
- Abrasion-resistant
- Resistant to staining
Disadvantages of Polyester Bed Sheets
- Low absorbency
- Prone to static and pilling
- May irritate the skin
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5. Cotton
Cotton is one of the most popular choices when it comes to bed sheets.
The cotton fibres vary from short staple to long staple (which refers to the length of the individual fibres). The longer the cotton staple the better quality the sheets will be.
| Cotton type | Features | Remarks |
| 100% Cotton/ Standard Cotton |
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Cotton is a natural product which can be either carded or combed to make the fabric smooth |
| Pima/Supima Cotton |
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Originates mainly from the USA and Australia |
| Egyptian Cotton |
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Mostly originates from the Nile delta in Egypt |
| Cotton Percale |
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This differs from standard cotton due to a combing process which takes place to ensure the loose fibres are ‘combed’ off |
| Cotton Poplin |
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Ideal for a busy lifestyle without compromising on quality |
Poly Cotton Blend
Made from a blend of durable polyester and soft cotton. Polycotton bed sheets are comfortable and easy to care for.
Poly Cotton blends are mostly available in ratios of:
Here’s what you can expect with polycotton blend bed sheets:
What Thread Count Do Hotels Use?
Thread count refers to how many threads fill a defined area of your bed sheet.
In Australia, this area is generally 10 square centimetres.
Though a high thread count is often used as a way to signify quality, the ideal thread count depends on the type of material being used.
Simply put, despite popular opinion, higher thread count does not necessarily equal better quality.
The table below will give you a good idea of what thread count you should go for depending on your budget and personal preferences.
| Thread Count | Quality |
| 200-220 | Good |
| 230-280 | Very Good |
| 300-400 | Excellent |
| 500-600 | Premium |
| 600+ | Luxury |
Fabric Weave: Are Percale or Sateen Sheets Better?
Fabric weave refers to the technique used to make your sheets, i.e. how they are woven together.
The common fabric weaves for bed sheets are percale and Sateen.
What’s the difference?
You’re Ready to Buy Your Best Hotel Sheets
We’ve come a long way - having discussed hotel quality bed sheets materials, the ideal thread count for your bed sheets and what fabric weave to pick.
With that in mind, you are ready to buy your hotel sheets like a PRO.
Head over to Australian Linen Supply, who are linen wholesalers Australia, and buy your best hotel sheets.
Happy Shopping!
Image by Vijaya narasimha from Pixabay
Image by ming dai from Pixabay
