How to Make Your RV Mattress Feel Like a Luxury Hotel Bed

Just because you’ve chosen to explore life on the road doesn’t mean you can’t sleep hotel-style. An RV bed holds much more possibilities than you think - you’ve just got to get creative and put in a bit of effort. In just a few calculated steps, you can make your RV mattress feel just like a luxury hotel bed. And that’s what we’ll cover in this article.

1. Get the Right Linen

One of the coolest things about a hotel bed is the crisp white linen you get to cuddle under. And you can get the same linen for your RV bed. Opt for some that are stark white and made of either 100% cotton or linen, instead of a polyester-mix. 

Aside from adding a touch of glamour to your RV bed, you’ll also experience an air of freshness and cleanliness that wasn’t there before.

You can find white cotton and linen bed sheets at most big box department stores and home goods stores. Worried about having to splurge? Look around online and in-person and comparison shop to find the best possible value.

Splurge on Luxury RV Bedding

If cost is a concern, opting for low-cost bedding may be necessary. But if you have room in your budget, it’s almost always a good idea to opt for the best in luxury RV bedding - high thread count sheets. It’s the sheets that will come in contact with your body when you lie down to rest. And the higher the thread count, the softer the sheets will feel against your skin. 

If you’re wondering what “high thread count” means, it denotes a thread count of at least 300. This thread count is standard in the hotel industry. Any lower than that, and you may not feel as comfy as you catch your Zs. 

You may have thought that you couldn’t get hotel bedding at home - or in your RV - but you can. You’ll find them online or in brick-and-mortar stores that sell bedding.

2. Skip the Typical Comforter

The average comforter doesn’t have much weight to it, and it may not be as warm and cozy as you’d expect hotel blankets to be. The luxury equivalent to the average comforter is the duvet. A duvet is a fabric bag stuffed with down or another soft material.

The difference between a duvet and a comforter is enormous. Duvets are weightier and warmer than comforters. They make you feel like you’re sleeping in fluff.

Duvet Care

Duvets can be super annoying to fluff, and duvet covers are difficult to put on. But once you drift off under your duvet for the first time, you’ll find that it’s 100% worth it. Duvets don’t always come with a duvet cover, so you may have to purchase one separately. These covers eliminate the need to wash your big, bulky duvet itself. You’ll wash the duvet cover instead.  

3. Up Your Pillow Game

Something that hotel beds have no shortage of are pillows. And there are no pillows like hotel pillows. They are feather soft, but hefty enough to feel lush and expensive. It’s not enough to have one high-quality pillow - you need several big, fluffy ones. They’ll ensure that you feel like a hotel guest.

4. Use the Right Bed Base

No luxury hotel RV bed would be complete without a bed base. Ideally, it will sit on a platform or a traditional foundation. The base type you choose will depend on the type of mattress you currently have or are planning on purchasing.

If you have a base already, you might be able to make it work. But if your existing one is missing slats, causing your bed to sag, or otherwise ruining your sleeping setup, it’s time for a new one.

Consider an Adjustable Bed Base

To take things up several notches, you can get yourself an adjustable bed base. Top-of-the-line models enable you to elevate your head and feet independently. And the absolute best ones have massage capabilities, an under-the-bed light, USB ports, and more!

Bases like these will instantly elevate your bed to hotel status, and even higher! Just ensure that your current or intended mattress is compatible with the base you’ve got your eye on. Also, make sure that the base you choose will fit inside your RV without exceeding the vehicle’s weight limit. 

5. Keep your Bedding Fresh

Upscale hotels always ensure their beds are clean and smell fresh. And there’s a good reason for this - there’s something calming and invigorating about hopping into a clean, fragrant bed. It does something for their guests’ mental state and makes them drift off happier.

To keep your bed fresh, wash the sheets once per week. Whenever you wash your sheets, you can also wash your duvet cover. It can be more than a notion to wash a duvet cover and put it back on the duvet, so be prepared for that. Your pillow cases need to be cleaned regularly as well - once or twice a week, depending on how quickly they become soiled or odorous. 

6. Get Yourself a Quality Mattress

No matter what you do to your RV mattress in hopes of making it luxurious, if you don’t invest in a quality mattress, all your efforts will be for naught. But what is a quality RV mattress? 

Quality Construction

The best RV beds are made of polyurethane foam, memory foam, latex, or a combination of these materials. Other bed types just don’t compare if you want to sleep in a bed of luxury. 

Gel Memory Foam Mattresses

Gel memory foam mattresses are made of gel infused memory foam. Memory foam works overtime to relieve your pressure points envelop your body in comfort. With the addition of gel beads in the foam, you also get temperature regulation for cooler sleep and a reduced risk of night sweats. These mattresses are often made of multiple types of foam, from high-density foam to gel memory foam to base foam, and more. They give the mattress a balanced feel. The softer layers are at the top and the more supportive base foam is at the bottom.

Latex Mattresses 

Latex mattresses conform to your body like memory foam mattresses, though to a lesser extent than memory foam mattresses. They are also very good at maintaining their longevity and dispersing heat. You’ll often find latex mattresses that feature memory foam. They work together to create a comfy sleeping space. 

Hybrid and Innerspring Mattresses

Unlike gel memory foam and latex mattresses, hybrid and innerspring mattresses are more of a toss up when it comes to comfort and quality.

Quietness

Hotel beds are not only constructed with high-quality materials, but they usually won’t creak and groan when you move about at night. Rarely will you come across a noisy, old hotel bed in a luxury hotel.

So, if you want to recreate a hotel-like atmosphere in your RV sleeping area, stay away from any RV mattress with that characteristic. Beds with springs are most likely to be noisy, while memory foam and latex beds are extremely quiet. 

The Right Comfort Rating

The average RV mattress veers way too far to the firm side. It’s also thin - so thin, sometimes, that you can feel the bed frame through the mattress. Of course, this would be extremely uncomfortable. That’s not what you want in a luxury bed. 

If you’ve never heard of the term “comfort rating,” it’s time to get educated. A mattresses’ comfort rating is a measure of how soft or hard it is. They range from extra soft (the softest you can get) to very firm (or extra firm). The firmness you’ll choose will depend on your personal preferences and sleep position.

Here are some guidelines to keep in mind based on your sleep position:

• Back sleepers. Back sleepers generally need more support than softness. When they sleep on a mattress that’s too soft, their spine can easily fall out of alignment, causing pressure that leads to back pain and discomfort. Medium firm, firm, or very firm mattresses are a good fit for back sleepers. 
• Stomach sleepers. Like back sleepers, stomach sleepers need quite a bit of support to sleep comfortably. When you sleep on your stomach on a mattress that’s too soft, your hips can easily sink into the mattress and put pressure on your back. So, stomach sleepers tend to do well with firmer mattresses, like medium firm, firm, or very firm. 
• Side Sleepers. Unlike stomach and black sleepers, side sleepers need more cushion than support. The hips and shoulders bear the majority of the weight when you lie down. And if the mattress is too firm, you’ll feel a lot of pressure on each of these areas. But that’s not all - your back could also become contorted, causing pain there. So, opt for softer comfort ratings, like medium soft or soft. 

With the right mattress softness, your RV bed will feel as comfortable, or even more comfortable, than a hotel mattress would. 

So, there you have it - expert tips on how to make your RV bed feel like a hotel bed. We hope you found all the information you were looking for to transform your RV mattress from basic to luxurious!