Human Bed-Warmer Service Offered in UK Hotels

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed)
Jan 23rd 2010 at 6:01PM

Three Holiday Inn hotels in Britain are doing a trial this month of a very strange new take on a very old-fashioned service: they're offering human bed warmers.

Yes, on a cold winter's night you can have a Holiday Inn staff member climb into your bed and pre-warm it for you to the optimal temperature of 68º F (they carry a thermometer). Details on exactly how this service plays out are a little sketchy but we do know the staff member will wear an all-body fleece sleeper suit while they're in your bed and cover their hair, plus they'll get out before you get in. Unless they fall asleep, of course. Then you might have to give them a nudge.

Holiday Inn spokeswoman Jane Bednall told Reuters "It's kind of like having a giant hot water bottle in your bed." Um, no. It's kind of like when you sit in a chair that's still warm from the last person and you can't help but feel a little dirty.

So why not just use one of those old-fashioned bed-warming pans that looks like a frying pan with a lid and a long handle? Slip that between the sheets with some nice hot coals inside and that bed will be nice and toasty in no time, minus the creep-factor. Or even an actual hot water bottle would work. There's something very luxurious and pampered about having a staff member come warm the sheets right before you get in (like you're royalty or something) but there's something distinctly not luxurious about having a stranger show up in a giant Snuggie with feet and a hair net ready to climb into your bed while you're brushing your teeth.

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Tags: bed warmer, bed-warmer, BedWarmer, holiday inn, HolidayInn, hotel, hotels

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Services

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Cindy Jan 25th 2010 10:15AM

Why don't they use the really old-fashioned way and use a bed warmer? Those are the metal pans that you fill with coal and hold with a handle. That will save from having a strange person in your bed with all their germs.

Kimberly Jan 25th 2010 11:03PM

Wow... a stranger "warming" your bed for you... NOT cool. But I guess that would hide the fact that they didn't wash the sheets after the last guest so I guess that works in the hotel's favor.

Yon Jan 25th 2010 6:49PM

In the US, this practice is heavily taxed, regulated by the local police, the local clerics, and several federal agencies on top of the morality police. In Muslim countries, they use women that have been first wiped clean of the blood from the last Coran assigned beating. By the way, what is the bed warmer's job title? Are they organized yet? AFC-CIO, here we come!

matt715 Jan 25th 2010 9:05PM

This is VERY creepy & gross. But this is happening in the UK, where so many weird things are already happening, so what do you expect.

Patricia Jan 25th 2010 9:53PM

YUCK!!!! Put an electric blanket on the bed.

jeff Jan 25th 2010 10:30PM

Can I pass?........no thanks, maybe next time...........

LINDA Jan 25th 2010 11:59PM

UGH!!!!! IAM SORRY TO SAY I DO NOT WANT A PERSON OTHER THEN ME TO WARM UP MY BED !!!!!!

joe t Jan 26th 2010 4:10AM

yuk

djmco Jan 26th 2010 5:42AM

Can my bedwarmer be the hostess with the mostess?

Larry Klamerus Jan 26th 2010 5:53AM

Just a plain STUPID idea !!!!

callingangels63 Feb 9th 2010 7:45PM

does anyone know how much they charge for this service?I have to find this out for a friend its our little joke plz help thanks

susan Feb 16th 2010 6:23PM

Having spent a lot of time in English hotels, I will tell you that they make a habit of turning off the central heat at approx. 10 pm. Odd, considering that is about the time when you are soon climbing in bed, lying motionless, and need the heat most so that you can fall asleep. Conversely, the allow the radiators to run all day while you are out being a tourist, or conducting business. They are certainly one of the dumbest countries I have ever visited. And CHEAP.