The 4 Best Hotel Sheets

Springing for a pair of hotel sheets brings room-service luxury to your bedroom. Although a stay at a five-star hotel may feel out of reach, hotel-quality bedding is surprisingly easy to replicate at home. The best hotel sheets are made from pure long-staple cotton with at least a 300 thread-count — but the weave type is a matter of personal preference. Some love a percale weave (which Sferra famously uses, whose clients include the Carlyle, the Peninsula, and the Thompson Hotels) while others need sateen (which you’ll find at the Ritz-Carlton, the Four Seasons, the Waldorf-Astoria, and the St. Regis).

As for the difference between cotton percale versus cotton sateen, percale is commonly described as “crisp,” and it has that clean-feeling breathability with a cool and dry hand. Sateen sheets, as the name implies, feel smooth and silky and have a bit of a luster. While a higher thread count often gets touted, the best thread-count for percale sheets, according to experts interviewed by Wirecutter, falls around 250-300 for a good-quality set; and around 300 to 600 for sateen. Unsurprisingly, most luxury hotels opted for the higher end of that spectrum, and the choices here do too. However, it's important to note that thread-count isn’t the most important factor in purchasing a good set of sheets: cotton quality is where you'll feel the biggest difference.

You’ll often encounter the terms “long-staple cotton” and “extra-long staple cotton.” This refers to the length of the cotton fibers. Short-staple is frequently used for flannel and denim. A long-staple cotton, often used for sheets, is softer and silkier. It’s also stronger, and only gets better with time — so you can imagine how nice extra-long staple cotton must be, especially in bedding. You’ll also run into Egyptian cotton and pima cotton, which are prized for their extra-long-staple fibers. (Pro tip: If the type of cotton isn’t listed by the brand, it is most likely short-staple or upland cotton.)

Ahead, four sets of the best hotel sheets that will make your bed feel like a five-star getaway when you need a staycation.

1. These Luxe 100% Egyptian Cotton Sateen Sheets

Sink into a set of pure Egyptian cotton sheets that have amassed more than 10,000 Amazon ratings for their unrivaled softness and quality. Mayfair Linen's sateen sheet set is made from long-staple combed cotton for a smooth finish, with a buttery 800 thread count that will fit mattresses up to 18 inches deep. "They are genuinely soft. And I'm obsessed with soft," one shopper vouched, noting, "The sheets have a nice thick, hotel feeling (but not super thick, I'd say medium thick). I live in SoCal so if they were to thick I'd probably sweat to death.The pockets are very deep and it engulfs my 13" memory foam mattress. It stays cool, keeps warm and feels like heaven."

• Available colors: 26
• Available sizes/options: 10

2. And These More Affordable 400-Thread-Count Sateen Sheets

For a lighter sheet with the same buttery feel as the linens above, these soft cotton sheets are made from long-staple cotton with a sateen weave in a 400 thread-count that's half as dense as the sheets above (yet no less luxe). They'll fit mattresses up to 16 inches deep, and there's a smart little tag to indicate which end is the bottom. With over 22,000 ratings, these sheets get high marks for being "soft and comfortable," "well made," and "good quality." One satisfied shopper reported: "These are the only sheets I use in my vacation rental business, [...] I embarked on a "perfect sheet" journey a couple of years ago [...] I now have over 150 sets of these sheets, all in white, in varying sizes. I have never experienced any negative issues, each set consistent as the next."

• Available colors: 28
• Available sizes/options: 11

3. These High-End Cotton Percale Sheets

If cool and crisp is what you seek in a good set of sheets, this luxury cotton percale sheet set is made from extra-long-staple Peruvian Pima cotton that is OEKO-Tex Standard 100 certified to be free of harmful substances. Their 415 thread-count falls at the high end of the spectrum for even finer hotels, and they will fit mattresses up to 15 inches deep. "If you're looking for sheets with that 'old fashioned' or 'hotel crisp' percale feeling, these are for you," one shopper raved. "They're "hotel smooth" and soft, but not slippery or drapey like sateen. They're crisp but not stiff or starchy, and lightweight enough to be breathable and airy without being paper-thin...admittedly not the cheapest, but if you're picky about your percale like I am, I think these are worth checking out." If you're willing to pay a little more, you can also purchase the actual W Hotel sheet set in 300 thread-count that will feel lighter but no less luxurious.

• Available colors: 14
• Available sizes: 8

4. Some Budget Percale Sheets

If you want the hotel-sheet feel on a budget, these affordable hotel sheets are made with pure cotton (though not long-staple) that is OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certified nontoxic, and the breathable 300 thread-count percale weave will fit mattresses around 15 inches deep. "I recently stayed at a hotel in Paris that had the most comfortable bedding I had ever experienced in my life. I read the tags on them, which said they were 300 thread count, percale sheets," one Amazon shopper confirmed. "These sheets are CRISP! Thick, stiff, and cool... Just like they use in a 5 star hotel."

• Available colors: 5
• Available sizes: 6

Also Nice: A Crisp White Duvet Cover Set

Finish off your bed with a pure cotton duvet cover set for the final five-star touch. The Pizuna duvet cover is made from 400 thread-count long-staple cotton in a sateen weave that is made in OEKO-TEX Standard 100 factory. "I spend plenty of time in hotels traveling on business and I know good sheets from bad ones. This duvet is so comfortable it's like one you would get in a 4 or 5 star hotel. I definitely recommend," one reviewer vouched. The duvet relies on a button closure, with four corner ties to keep your duvet in place. It comes with two pillow shams for a totally polished look — just add your own accent pillows to the blank canvas.

• Available colors: 29
• Available sizes/options: 12