In a seaside town well known for its wonderful selection of B&Bs, Cape May's Peter Shields Inn remains a standout. The early 20th-century Georgian Revival mansion began as a private home, though today it boasts nine individual guestrooms—each sporting Gilchrist & Soames of England bath products and modern amenities such as LCD televisions, as well as one of the city's best fine-dining restaurants. With a prime location overlooking the beach, and afternoon wine and cheese, you'll never want to leave. Rates start at $99 a night. Sonoma County's Auberge on the Vineyard provides an especially unique experience: luxurious, affordable accomodations in the heart of California Wine Country. Its seven rooms are split between an early 20th-century Queen Anne Victorian with a lovely wrap-around verandah and the newer Carriage House, which was completely remodeled in 2010. Occupying an exquisite location overlooking the vineyards of Anderson Valley, this French-inspired, eco-friendly property is known for its special touches: clawfoot tubs in some of the rooms, heirloom antique furnishings and three-course breakfasts that may include Quiche Lorraine or pain perdu.
Rates start at $140 a night. New Orleans's Canal Street Inn is located along the city's most iconic thoroughfare, Canal Street—just a 30-minute street-car ride from the French Quarter and an easy walk to numerous restaurants and a day spa. Built in 1912 in a range of architectural styles, this impressive mansion features a sunken patio and surrounding gardens filled with ancient live oak, fruit, and pecan trees—a welcome respite when you need a break from the Big Easy's endless bustle. Each of its 10 rooms has its own distinct character, whether this includes a stained glass window or a king-size sleigh bed. Rates start at $145 per night. True to its name, Seattle's modern Sleeping Bulldog Bed and Breakfast has a resident pooch: an adorable, wrinkly faced bulldog named Mojo. It also has plenty of perks, including a central location between Pike Place Market and Seattle's sports stadiums, and fantastic views of the downtown skyline. The inn features lots of personal touches, such as freshly baked cookies in the afternoons and Keurig coffee makers in each of its four rooms.
Both innkeepers are Seattle natives and happy to provide insider tips. One is even a former Seattle transit operator. Rates begin at $141 per night. Set on more than an acre of land about a mile north of artsy Taos's Historic Plaza, Hacienda Del Sol offers an ideal getaway for couples or anyone simply looking to unwind. Its 12 large guestrooms are spread among several adobe structures, each with unique details such as latilla ceilings and arched pueblo-style doorways. The rooms themselves are decorated in a Southwest style, all with distinct characteristics like specially woven rugs and locally handcrafted quilts. Two flora-surrounded courtyards overlook Taos Mountain, considered sacred by the Taos Indians, and an outdoor hot tub includes a sign-up sheet for added privacy. Rates start at $160 per night. <p>Your browser does not support iframes.</p> A stunning cedar log inn that's a perfect jumping off point for Whitefish Mountain Resort and Glacier National Park, Good Medicine Lodge offers loads of thoughtful amenities: a ski room for drying your gloves and boots in winter;
a complimentary daily appetizer and glass of beer or wine; and a communal room where you can watch free Netflix on a big-screen TV. Each of the six guestrooms and three suites features vaulted ceilings, solid wood furnishings and custom-made beds, and most have their own private balconies. A menu of hot breakfast entrees is presented to guests each evening so they can choose their morning meal. Rooms start at $105/night. It's only a 15-minute drive to downtown Durham, but the Research Triangle's rustic Arrowhead Inn feels a world away—with its laid-back garden setting and variety of lodging options. This inn definitely goes the extra mile: writing journals and refrigerators are available in every room, and complimentary refreshments such as apple cake and mulled cider are offered every day. Guests have the option of having dinner onsite (for an added cost) Thursday through Saturdays. While the most affordable rooms are within the property's 18th-century Manor House, you can also splurge on a private garden cottage (pictured here) or a log cabin with loft bed.
Rooms start at $159 a night. Situated on 22 acres in the winery-studded Texas Hill Country, midway between San Antonio and Austin, the Blair House is a destination in itself. It features an art gallery highlighting the work of local artists, which is integrated into the first floor of the main lodge. There's an outdoor lap pool and a day spa with a sauna. And Blair House even hosts its own cooking school, with two- and three-day classes offered in everything from Italian cuisine to BBQ. The three guestrooms in the main lodge maintain an airy, country feel. Suites and private cottages are spread among the property. Rates begin at $160 a night. Chicago's Villa D' Citta offers luxury accommodations with Italian flair. Housed in a 19th-century Greystone mansion in the city's Lincoln Park neighborhood, the six-guestroom property boasts a bevy of extras. There's a backyard Jacuzzi and sundeck accessible by a spiral staircase, and a kitchen—fully stocked with Italian meats, imported cheeses and fresh bread—that is always open to guests.
There's even an elevator. Enjoy a made-to-order pizza cooked in the inn's stone oven and served with a complimentary carafe of house wine (for a small fee). Rooms rates start at $129 per night. This brand-new property has all the style and amenities of an inn twice its price. Field Guide, a boutique B&B that opened in October 2015, is an ultra-fashionable inn in Vermont's lush Green Mountains. Feast your eyes on Instagram-worthy guestrooms and common areas created by interior designer Rachel Reider. And enjoy contemporary amenities such as iPads and Apple TV in all rooms, a heated pool and hot tub, Lather bath products, and 24-hour front desk service. Nightly rates start at $139.Mattresses have become so technological – some are even based on research from the US space agency NASA – that they now sometimes go by the name 'sleep systems'. And at up to £40,000 a throw, some even cost as much as a mid-range BMW and command the same sort of social status. But is it really necessary to fork out to get a good night's sleep?
The consensus is that a cheap mattress is indeed a false economy – spending, say, less than £200 is almost certainly not going to ensure a good night's sleep unless you are very young, very light and frequently sleeping somewhere else. Cheap mattresses also need replacing more often, perhaps as frequently as every two years. Spend a bit extra, say, more than £1,000, and you should not need to change the mattresses for 10 years, or, in the most luxurious pocket spring cases, up to 25. "Spend as much as you can afford," advises Andy Hills of And So To Bed. "The minimum should be about £700 on the mattress and bed base combined. It always strikes me as absurd that people will spend £3,000 or £4,000 on a sofa which they sit on for an hour or two some evenings, and much less than £1,000 on a bed where they will spend a crucial eight hours every night." Once you have fixed the budget, the next priority is looking for the right kind of support. "People often ask for orthopaedic mattresses, but all that means is a hard one," says Hills.
"Very few people actually need a hard mattress unless they have crushed a disc. For most other people, they will simply be uncomfortable, particularly for lighter women, creating shoulder pain and pins and needles sensations." Indeed, your body weight will largely dictate the sort of tension you require – the softer ones are better for an eight-stone woman, a firmer mattress will benefit a 16-stone rugby player type. Of course, many suppliers sell combination mattresses with different tensions on either side, catering for couples with greatly varying weights. Always remember to lie down on a mattress in the showroom and ask for professional advice Others sell two mattresses zipped together, a technique much improved on the old days, making it now almost impossible to tell that there is a divide. "We say if couples feel the zip, we'll give them their money back," says Hills. With spring mattresses, the firmness is largely dictated by the number of springs. High-quality mattresses such as Vi-Spring, such as the superb double model, will often have soft cotton and lamb's wool to enhance the springs;
the very best will have horsehair filling, which breathes well and acts like more tiny springs. Vi-Spring offer a comfort promise – try the mattress for up to 90 days, if need be, they will replace it with a softer or harder one. Tempur, a manufacturer of memory foam mattresses using material developed at NASA to relieve g-force pressures during space launches, offers a 60-night free trial. The viscoelastic foam is designed to eliminate pressure points by spreading body weight evenly. The foam cell mattresses, that start at around £1,040 for a double, reorganise themselves constantly to mould to the exact contours of a body, and because they do not harbour dust mites in the same way as more traditional mattresses, they are excellent for asthma sufferers. Although good mattresses are expensive, they are surely worth it for health and happiness, even if it means making savings elsewhere. "People often put up with wakeful nights, constant tiredness and sore backs for a long time before connecting it to the mattress," warns Lucy Benham of John Lewis.
"A good test is sitting on the edge and seeing whether the whole side of the mattress collapses. If so, the mattress needs urgent replacement. "Also, when looking at a new one, remember that quilted ones tend to be of lower quality. Tufted ones, which look like they have buttons going through them, are better as this means the filling is contained to avoid it moving around. Good stitching around the sides indicates that the springs are contained in pockets, which will be much more effective than open spring mattresses. "But always remember to lie down on a mattress in the showroom and ask for professional advice. Choosing a new mattress is a very important decision indeed." Make sure the bed base is suitable for your mattress. A poor base will make even the most expensive mattress uncomfortable. Divan or upholstered ones are best for spring mattresses as the springs in both components complement each other. Memory foam mattresses are better if you have only a wooden slatted base.
To gauge the right tension for you, lie on the mattress in the showroom, and push your hand under the small of your back. If there is a large gap, the mattress is too soft, no gap at all, then it's too firm. Just being able to pass your hand through suggests that the tension is spot on. If the mattress is too hard, your body will try to compensate by frequently tossing and turning during the night, up to 60 times. This will impair your and your partner's sleep. A good mattress will reduce turning to 17 times a night. A too-hard mattress makes the body do the work, rather than the bed. The shoulder and hips cannot sink into the mattress, so they curve towards each other, resulting in a bent and stressed spine. A too-soft mattress lets the body sink into a hammock position, causing hips and shoulders to pinch in, the spine to curve and putting pressure on joints and muscles. Numbness and tingling can follow. The best spring mattresses tend to be pocket-sprung, where each individual spring is kept separate to respond to pressure from your body.
Five of the best mattresses 1. Vispring wembury superb small double mattress, £1550 Made from British fleece wool, cotton and horsehair to added breathability, this Vispring mattress is guaranteed to give you a comfortable night's sleep. 2. Tempur sensation deluxe 22 memory foam mattress, £1899 The NASA developed Tempur material works to redistribute body weight and reduce pressure points while you sleep. The supportive foam layer also cradles the body throughout the night, making sure you achieve optimum relaxation. 3. Sealy Activ Geltex 2800 box top pocket spring, £1150 Sealy combines the latest technology and eco-friendly luxury fillings to provide the ultimate in quality sleep solutions. The mattress is fitted with a gel infused foam to provide pressure relief, body support, and breathability - giving you the best environment to ensure a good night's sleep. 4. Top Dog Mattress, from £645 Loaf pride themselves on selling just five mattresses, and their 'Top Dog' model - filled with cashmere, silk and natural fabrics and boasting double-decker layers housing 2,200 individual pocket springs (for the kingsize version) - is one of the best.