Top hotels bring the experience home

That feather-soft pillow, the plush bathrobe, the mattress you meant to Google before you left the hotel room, you can now either take them home or order in.

- Varuni Khosla

That feather-soft pillow, the plush bathrobe, the mattress you meant to Google before you left the hotel room, you can now either take them home or order in. Hotels across India are turning rooms into retail showrooms, selling everything from the bed you slept on to the scent sprayed in the lobby.

At ITC properties across metros, you can walk into a boutique to buy a pashmina throw, crisp bed linen, sink-in pillows and more. 'Merchant of the East'-branded Assam, flavoured tea leaves, plucked fresh from the nearby garden, are on sale at The Postcard Hotels & Resorts. Guests can purchase massage oils at Ananda in the Himalayas. And Taj Devi Ratn-Jaipur offers its ceramic tea sets at the spa.

What started as an occasional gift hamper or a spa kit for guests during the pandemic has expanded into curated collections. Hospitality chains are quietly building a business from in-room comforts. The price tags aren't cheap. Mattresses can range from ₹100,000-225,000, body oils upwards of ₹1,000 a bottle, and designer duvet covers costing as much as ₹30,000.