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"IF
YOU CAN BUY THE BATHROBES, THE CANDLES, THE OILS
AND THE UNGUENTS, WHY NOT THE BEDS?"
A good night's sleep
It was Colette who said she'd lost the knack
of sleep and might resort to bashing herself over
the head with the night-light. Perhaps she should
have tried something simpler, like buying a new
bed, before resorting to such desperate measures.
Beds these days may not play quite so public a
part in our lives as they once did (17th-century
French nobles conducted their social lives from
lavishly appointed beds, and Proust wrote his
entire masterpiece A la Recherché du
Temps Perdu from between the sheets), but
they matter. Oh, my goodness, they matter.
Those contemplating buying a new bed will find
it a far from easy process, though. Mattresses
here, mattresses there, bedsteads everywhere.
Which to choose? Might I suggest that a bit of
lateral thinking is in order.
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Grand hotels are above all in the business of
selling a good night's sleep. If they can't do
that, they might as well shut up shop. And so
splendidly soothing have their customers found
their stay in such hotels that they've started
trying to replicate the experience at home.
It seems that it was the Savoy Group of hotels
that first started making its own bespoke beds,
way back in 1905, to ensure its punters had the
most luxurious night's sleep possible. After a
while, regular customers began asking if they
could buy the beds. It's all very logical - if
you can buy the bathrobes, the candles, the oils
and the unguents, why not the beds? Savoir Beds,
as the company came to be known (020 7486 2222;
www.savoirbeds.co.uk),
makes beds which are obviously not your run-of-the-mill
affair. There are handmade to order; the best
that money can buy.
The secret of their comfort mostly lies in the
mattress and the sprung base, but Savoir Beds
(sold in 1997 to a certain Mr Alistair Hughes)
will sell you as little (just the mattress) or
as much as you like. Apart from the mattress and
base, it can make complete bedsteads of almost
any design (bateau lits, upholstered bedsteads,
gilded legs) as well as four-poster hangings,
duvets of silk, linen, cotton or cashmere, pillows,
bolsters and valances.
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A specialist will come to your house to discuss
your needs. The company will even - and this is
perhaps the ultimate carrot - take away your old
bed. Needless to say, prospective customers can
test-drive the beds in the Savoy Group's own hotels.
Or they could visit the showrooms in London and
Cirencester.
Happy owners of Savoir beds, who first enjoyed
their delights in The Savoy, Claridge's or The
Connaught, include Liza Minnelli, Emma Thompson
and the late King Hussan of Morocco. Double beds
start at £2,397, including London delivery.
When it comes to sheets - that other element
of a good night's sleep - many hotels are now
boasting about their thread counts and fancy linens.
And from The Lowell in New York to One Aldwych
in London, Frette is the name they like to utter.
Their spoilt clients enjoy a minimum thread count
of 250.
The Savoy bed (shown in Katja fabric), from £6,644
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