UK: London serviced apartment operator Cuckooz has launched The Zed Rooms – apartments designed to give guests the best night’s sleep possible.
Cuckooz has teamed up with mattress and bedding company Simba and “experience and atmosphere curators” Studio Stilton on the project, which is located on east London’s Commercial Street.
The Zed Rooms have been nine months in the making, and have been designed to address the “first night effect”. The first night effect is a natural reaction discovered by scientists over a decade ago whereby one half of the brain acts as a “nightwatchman” in unfamiliar surroundings – potentially resulting in a poor night’s sleep.
Designed to encourage REM-rich slumber – the type of sleep which increases brain activity, promotes learning and creates dreams, the rooms “engage with every sensorial touchpoint of the body; constructing a holistic ecosystem that enhances your sleep from the moment you step through the door, helping you to power down, recharge and fight fatigue”.
Each apartment has two rooms – the Woom and Loom Rooms. The Woom Room features an intricate cocoon-like bed which has been designed to mimic the safety and security of a womb, so you “sleep like a baby”. The Loom Room is home to a four poster bed, “designed for dreaming and draped with luxurious ethereal fabrics”. Both rooms feature Simba’s Hybrid mattress and temperature regulating pillows and duvets.
Other features include muted lighting, blackout blinds, sound absorbing curtains, and the Scent to Sleep range of products from Neom, which uses a blend of 19 essential oils – including English lavender, sweet basil and jasmine.
Fabienne O’Neill, co-founder of Cuckooz, said: “The disruption of the accommodation sector, how we travel, where we stay and what we accept as the norm when spending time away from home has been a long time coming. At Cuckooz we strive to be at the forefront of innovation within the hospitality sector and to push the boundaries when it comes to guest experience. Design and wellbeing are at the heart of everything we do, which is why the collaboration with Simba and Studio Stilton was such a natural progression for us.”
Hotel design contributor and resident sleep psychologist at Simba, Hope Bastine, said: “Sleep is an all-encompassing experience and every element matters. The Zed Rooms are an elaborate infrastructure of symbiotic components, geared entirely to honing quality sleep. Fine tuning you overnight to navigate whatever life throws at you the following day.”
