Sleep under the stars

In a UK first, Travelodge has launched a hotel room which will allow customers to sleep under the stars in the comfort of their bed. 

So naturally, being a thrifty northerner and always being a fan of Travelodge due to their competitive place in the hospitality market, I decided I would test out this unusual art.

A secret technique has been used to create a ‘night sky’ at a dozen Travelodge hotels across the country. Each bespoke cosmic panorama has been created by artist Carl Marshall.

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This isn't me - unfortunately professional camera equipment would be needed to capture the quality of the night sky

Carl and a colleague have artistically transformed a standard white ceiling into a cosmic sky by hand painting individual shooting stars, milky ways and constellations of twinkling stars.  On average it took them three hours to complete one ceiling.     

During the day, the ceilings look plain white but in darkness the stars appear to twinkle and the dust clouds seem to move mysteriously. Whilst the three dimensional effect of the ceiling also appears to fall towards the bed by around three feet, creating a sense of immersion.

Carl Marshall created the ceiling by working in the dark wearing a UV headlight. He covered the ceiling with a base layer of special light-activated paint then used glow-in-the-dark paint that glows blue, green and aqua to add dust clouds, stars and their tails. The paintworks soaks up light during the daylight hours and glows in darkness.

Marshall from Euxton, Lancashire said: "The exact technique I use is a closely guarded trade secret because it is so effective. It is a painstaking process as you have to position the colours perfectly to achieve a three-dimensional effect but the results are definitely worth it.

"The stars twinkle and the dust clouds appear to move as you lie in bed looking at it."

Our visit to the London Central City Road hotel was in February, and unfortunately the gloomy daytime hours affected the quality of the cosmic panorama. The ceiling did come to life at night-time, but unfortunately there were no colours - that is to say it was simply a splattering of 'white stars' above our heads.

On the second day, we ensured that the blind on the window was up early doors until the sun set, hoping that this could affect and bring out the colours, but unfortunately the results were the same as night one.

Our subsequent comments have been received gratefully by Travelodge HQ, with an agreement that the level of light entering the room obviously affects the standard of the night sky. A room containing more than one window would obviously help enhance the artwork.

How a dreary white ceiling can be transformed

        
Travelodge has created the UK’s first night sky panorama hotel rooms in response to findings from its latest sleep study. The hotel chain surveyed 2,000 adults in order to investigate the nation’s most desirable sleeping locations.

Key findings from the study revealed the most desired kipping location for Britons is under a blanket of twinkling stars. Forty two per cent of adults choose a starry night sky backdrop as their most desired sleeping location in contrast to a tropical beach, rainforest and jungle.  

Sleeping by the sea was the second most popular desired kipping spot for Britons followed by a sandy beach in third place.

Delving a little deeper into the nation’s fascination with stars the study also found that that over a half of Britons (52 per cent) think there is something very magical about a starry night.

A third of Britons reported they regularly enjoy looking up to a night sky at bedtime and find counting stars very tranquil and a good sleep aid.

Whilst four out of 10 adults reported gazing up at a starry sky puts them in a romantic mood.           

Shakila Ahmed, Travelodge spokesperson said: "As part of our commitment in helping to ensure our customers attain a good night’s sleep, we are constantly looking at innovative sleep aids. Therefore in response to our latest sleep study, which highlighted Britons most desirable place to nod off is under a blanket of stars, we took the challenge and created the ultimate outdoor sleeping experience indoors.

"Now our customers can gaze into a cosmic night sky of shooting stars, milky ways and constellations of twinkling stars from the comfort of their warm cosy bed.”

Further findings from the sleep study revealed that 28 per cent of British adults would love to sleep under the stars every night because it would help them to nod off easily.

One in 10 Britons would love to transform their bedroom ceiling to a starry night sky so that they can achieve a good night’s sleep. 

The Travelodge cosmic night sky panorama hotel room is available at the following hotels:

• Birmingham Bull Ring Travelodge
• Blackpool South Shore Travelodge
• Bournemouth Seafront Travelodge
• Bristol Central Mitchell Lane Travelodge
• Cardiff Atlantic Wharf Travelodge
• Edinburgh Central Waterloo Travelodge
• Liverpool Strand Travelodge
• London City Road Travelodge
• Manchester Central Arena Travelodge
• Newcastle Central Travelodge
• Newquay Travelodge
• Torquay Travelodge

On summing up, I would say the addition of a cosmic panorama to the standard room are a nice little extra, and when you book your room, it is definitely worth asking if it would be available. However, with teething problems concerning how to maximise its potential, I don't believe it is something you should look to pay extra for, at this stage.