The Fluffies, the UK’s only award scheme to find Britain’s finest hotel towels has revealed its winners for 2014, including the announcement of a brand new category – Best UK Hotel Pillows.
After a meticulous testing process over several months, InterContinental brand, Crowne Plaza, overcame competition from rivals to claim the title of UK’s best hotel towels, whilst Macdonald Hotels & Resorts triumphed in the inaugural Fluffies award for the UK’s Best Hotel Pillows.
The Fluffies – UK’s Best Hotel Towels 2014:
1) Crowne Plaza – 63.7/80
2) Macdonald Hotels & Resorts – 58.2/80
3) Marriott– 56.5/80
The Fluffies – UK’s Best Hotel Pillows 2014:
1) Macdonald Hotels & Resorts – 70/80
2) Starwood Hotels – 65/80
3) De Vere – 58/80
Now in its second year, The Fluffies were developed by Methven, global designer and manufacturer of premium showers and tapware, to identify, highlight and champion hotels with the finest towels. Originally focusing on towels exclusively, Malmaison was crowned the inaugural winner in 2013. This year’s edition has been expanded to include a brand new category, the UK’s Best Hotel Pillows. With both awards, the Fluffies aims to promote luxurious and relaxing hotel experiences, whilst informing customers where they can find the best hotel towels and pillows across Britain.
To discover which hotel offers the fluffiest towels and pillows, independent tests were undertaken at the 20 biggest mid-high end hotel brands in the UK by industry research organisation, the 59club. Using the latest technology available, including digital callipers and whiteness meters, researchers measured bathroom towels and bedroom pillows across four key criteria – thickness, whiteness, area size and overall on feel, condition and smell.
Each hotel’s pillows and towels were tested three times and given an average score; this score was then ranked one to 20 in each of the four categories. A number one ranking received 20 points, descending down to a number 20 ranking receiving a single point. The points total across all four criteria confirmed an overall winner.
In the towel test, Crowne Plaza claimed the highest overall score with Macdonald Hotels & Resorts a close second and Marriott finishing third. Taking the top score in the pillow test, Macdonalds Hotel & Resorts beat its rivals Starwood Hotels and De Vere into second and third respectively. The results were announced at the annual 59club awards event on Monday 24th February at the Belfry Hotel, Birmingham. All five hotels received official certification, highlighting their credentials as the UK’s finest, whilst Macdonald Hotels & Resorts and Crown Plaza also collected the sought-after Fluffies awards from Methven UK’s Chief Executive, Steve Lee.
Steve Lee, CEO Methven UK, said: “We’re delighted to announce the winners of the Fluffies 2014 and wish to extend our congratulations to Macdonald Hotels & Resorts and Crowne Plaza for their awards. After the success of last year, we wanted to expand the Fluffies to celebrate further those elements that enhance the hotel experience and adding the UK’s first award for hotel pillows seemed the perfect choice. Just as we firmly believe the shower experience is improved by, or diminished by, the quality of a towel, a soft, thick and fluffy pillow can make all the difference for a relaxing night’s sleep.
“After a tight contest between some of the UK’s best hotels, our independent adjudicators, 59club, were incredibly impressed with Macdonald Hotel & Resorts’ soft-to-touch towels and Crowne Plaza’s puffy pillows, declaring them both worthy winners. Through the Fluffies, we hope to continue promoting the highest standards throughout the UK hotel industry and offer consumers the definitive guide of where the best hotel pillows and towels reside in Britain.”
Lisa Basford, Director Brand Management Europe, Crowne Plaza, said: “We are thrilled to be awarded winner of UK’s best hotel towel. Ensuring our guests are productive during the working day begins in the morning with a refreshing shower and our ‘award winning’ towels. We have been exploring and testing additional services and features that help our guests refuel, re-energize and be more productive when staying at our hotels. We know our guests are busy professionals and we want to do everything we can to give them that performance edge that helps them be at the top of their game.”
David Guile, Chief Executive Officer of Macdonald Hotels & Resorts, commented: “We’re thrilled to have been awarded the ‘Best Pillow’ award at the Fluffies. We all know how important a good night’s sleep is for our guests and at Macdonald Hotels & Resorts, 2013-2014 AA Hotel Group of the Year, we take the comfort of our guests extremely seriously; it’s encouraging to have these efforts recognised.”
“As well as the award-winning pillow will have also enhanced the specification of our duvets, our beds and our mattress comforters to ensure the most comfortable night’s sleep at a Macdonald Hotels & Resorts hotel”.
Those also tested, in alphabetical order:
- Best Western
- Copthorne Hotels
- Hilton
- Hotel Du Vin
- Jury’s Inn
- Malmaison
- Marriott
- Mercure
- Novotel
- Park Inn by Radisson
- Principal Hayley
- Q Hotels
- Radisson Blu
- Radisson Edwardian
- Ramada
- Thistle
Photo caption: Macdonald Kilhey Court, Wigan hotel room.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
