Travel addiction is a terrible thing. Withdrawals from it are just as bad as with any other addiction. I feel it right at this moment to my very core. Of late, I have had to calm down and get used to spending all of my time at home base, with no firm travel plans in the coming months. This has been essential, unavoidable…and rather unbearable.

I’m not going to make any mention here of our current worldwide situation, as we have heard enough about it. Nor am I going to get into analysis mode of what may transpire when the travel and tourism sectors swing open again. For it is a great unknown, and we, as great travellers, will be as much a part of shaping it as the industry operators themselves.

After careful consideration, I believe my journal is better served looking forward. And boy, am I looking forward to travel again. Yes, it will be very different and watching how it unfolds will be interesting. A brave new world, so to speak. For what we were once used to, and our expectations, will all be turned on their head.

This downtime, where our minds have been opened widely to allow for clearer thoughts, has led me to consider the elements that I value most when staying at the world’s top hotels. It’s no secret my love of the luxury side of things. I covet the most beautiful, architecturally designed suites, and when I stay, I examine every aesthetic of what has been achieved, and also what hasn’t. To spend a night in a grand, classic hotel, or a new establishment that has managed to steal the spotlight, is a joy. It is an indulgence to spend time in your very own immaculate room, one where all you need to do to fulfil your desires is a mere phone call away, with staff to assist with everything. To be made to feel special, like you are the only important guest, is the ultimate test of what makes a hotel great.

When I break down the elements that give me the most satisfaction, there is one that I keep coming back to. The Bed. It is the superstar. The true test of all hotel rooms. Stuff up the bed and everything else fades into insignificance, your stay really won’t amount to much. What is it about the great hotel beds of the world? How do they achieve that most incredible level of comfort? What amazes me is that so many of them really are that good. Countless times, when I’ve crawled in for the first time to sleep, after an outstanding dinner or one too many libations at the hotel bar, it’s that realisation that you are lying in a cocoon so damned comfortable you didn’t believe it could be possible.

Spending time in a gorgeous hotel bed feels like a bigger indulgence than it perhaps is. There is something unexplained about the feeling. That first moment when you sit or lie on it, testing it out, can offer up a rush of endorphins and the great expectation of how wonderful it will be when the time comes to luxuriate in it.

And why do hotel beds seem so gigantic? I always go for a King bed, so that I utilize every inch of it. Or at least, try to. The best hotel beds engulf you, like you are in The Land of The Giants. I’ve slept in some hotel beds that are so massive that I cannot reach any side of them, with my hands or my feet. And I am of average height. The magic first hits you when you stretch across those perfect sheets, everything so very fine.

Thoughts of the hundreds of other occupants of all shapes, sizes and persuasions who have laid under those covers and what foul play or kinky mischief they may have got up to, miraculously never appears in my head. For when I am there, that bed is mine.

I have spent many an hour unravelling hotel beds – checking the brand of the 1000 thread count sheets, the material, the brand of the bed itself. I never seem to find the info I’m looking for. I’ve practically turned a bed upside down, determined to find the brand label of the sheets so I can buy them and ship them home. It surprises me how many perfect sleeps I’ve had in excellent hotels. This of course, leads to frustration that sleep in my own bed is rarely as good. I account that to not being in holiday mode and the stresses of a regular workday. My mental state of mind is heightened to the new and exciting when I’m away from home base.

I can only imagine the lengths hoteliers must go to, to have a great bed in every room. How is it done? When a new hotel opens up does the management team and staff rigorously test out the bed? The way a consumer does when in a department store buying a bed for their home?

Are there varying levels of practice before the final choice of hotel bed is decided upon? Perhaps all of the activities of bed are given a go. Sleeping, vigorous sexual activity, reading with a cup of tea or a glass of Champagne. Doubtful. But something must happen for the bed to pass the test. Hoteliers know that the bed is a clincher for the hotel to succeed and attract return guests.

The Westin Hotels brand springs to mind as the most active marketer of the beds in their rooms. For years they have promoted their signature “Heavenly Beds” as the world’s best hotel bed experience. Described by management as “uniquely designed with plush pillow-top construction for premium comfort and support”, I was sucked into this marketing and booked a night at one of their hotels just to see what all the fuss was about. There is no denying the beds are superb. But I have stayed in many other beds equal to, or better than these in recent years.

So successful is the marketing of Westin’s Heavenly Beds, that the beds themselves are available for purchase online. Doing very well at that!

It’s a very personal choice, of course. Some like firm, some like softer beds. If you are going to have a frenetic bonking session in the bed, then a firmer bed is preferable (to avoid injury) Why then are the beds sometimes unnaturally soft? Perhaps that bed has seen much more action than others. Take a look at the view from that bed. I bet it’s a great view to bonk to. If there are mirrors on the ceiling above that bed, it’s probably best to check into a different hotel.

The importance of the hotel bed has led to the relatively recent and now very common practice of the Pillow Menu. Of all things that divide customers, it is the humble pillow. Personal preference is of utmost importance here and obviously hotels have had to cater for this as one of the never ending demands of their guests. The bed may be grand, but poor pillows will make the experience worthless.

If I consider how many four and five star hotels I’ve stayed in over the past five years, it would number in the hundreds. And I realise that I have spent the same amount of time trying to perfect my bed at home. I’ve bought countless pillows made from every fibre known to man, both natural and unnatural. I’ve purchased blankets made from Alpaca and Merino Wool through to mohair throws to take the chill off, to the very finest thread count Egyptian cotton and 100% Italian linen sheets. One thing I found that really can elevate one’s bed to new heights is that extra layer, the puffy, light as a cloud Feather Bed-Topper. Heralded as “Hotel Quality!”, the “used by the best International Five-Star Hotels!”

But still, I just can’t quite replicate the best beds in the world’s finest hotels. And that’s fine. The decadence of staying in a plush hotel is one of the very best things about travel. The bed is paramount, and it is the reward at the end of your long day sightseeing, finishing a day of business or eating your way through a magnificent dinner. Coming back to your room to collapse into an outstanding bed is pure luxury, on many levels. A hotel bed should reign supreme. If all of the planets don’t quite align and you don’t have a superlative hotel experience, you will still remember a spectacular bed. With so much of our lives spent sleeping, we should give ourselves the very best experience possible, as much as when we are awake. Everywhere.

MR. ROBINSON’S TOP 3 ACCOMMODATION BEDS

1. Avalon Coastal Retreat – Swansea, Tasmania

2. The Upper House – Hong Kong

3. Amanoi – Ninh Thuan Province, Vietnam