I’m not gonna lie – I was spoiled at a 5-star luxury resort last week.  I reviewed it here.  But when I really thought about it, it was easy to pick out the top 10 items that I loved about the the things in the room – other than the gorgeous furnishing and scenery. I did the math, and figured out that amazing luxury items can be had for a fairly reasonable cost.  So here are my top 10 amazing  items from luxury hotels that you can recreate at home.

1. Candles for mood lighting – Man has long had a fascination with fire, and can bring it into your home safely and inexpensively with something as small as votive candles.  Ikea sells a six pack of Glimma Tea Candle Holders for $1.99 and a 24 pack of Glimma unscented tea candles in a metal cups for $5.99

2. Fresh flowers – Having fresh flowers could be a little pricier prospect but my local Trader Joe’s sells a seasonal bouquet for $5.99.  You can stretch the flowers by adding greenery from your back yard, and even use a bud from the bouquet and  in your bathroom for even more color.

3. Set of nice towels.  Costco seems to have a great set of towels for a very reasonable price of $39.99.  “Made from 100% Egyptian Cotton this towel offers an assortment of five great colors to add a splash to any bathroom. Each towel is complete with a convenient hanger loop for ease of storage after use. This towel set is plush and thirsty and has a wonderful hand and provides an ultimate experience in home comfort!”
6-piece Bath Towel Set Includes:

• 2 Bath Towel (28″ W x 53″ L)
• 2 Hand Towel (16” W x 30” L)
• 2 Washcloth (12” W x 12” L)

4. Water by the bed – Water is good for you. Yet, I never think to keep it by the bed for a last minute drink, or a glass first thing in the morning. The perfect solution is the Cora Carafe for just $10.95 from CB2.  It’s a hand blown glass decanter and the cup doubles as a lid.  And as a bonus – the website points out that “it makes a cool wine carafe too.” Double score!

5. Chocolate – so maybe this one is a little bit of a splurge on the glass bowl, but a little less of a splurge on the chocolate itself.  I keep the Tiffany Woven Glass bowl ($35 at tiffany.com) filled with a $2.99 bag of Hershey Kisses.  If I’m feeling crazy I switch up the kisses with seasonal or holiday themed Hershey Kisses.6. Bottle of wine with nice stemware – yes, sometimes my bottle of wine is a $2 bottle of Two Buck Chuck from Trader Joe’s.  But it always tastes more delicious in fine stemware.  My current favorite wine glasses are Reidel and the sell a versatile wine glass good for red wine, white wine or beer at amazon.com for $19.95 for a set of two7. Assortment of fine coffee and tea – One of my favorite teas is Mighty Leaf Teas. They are lovely loose leaf teas sewn into silk pouches.  I first became aware of these not in a hotel, but in the American Express Centurion Lounge in New York LaGuardia.  You can order a sampler box for $10.56 from amazon.com  (a Chase Freedom 5x bonus category retailer for the 4th quarter of 2014)

8. Making your home smell good – have you ever walked into a hotel lobby and wondered what smells so good?  Chances are they are using an aromathearpy diffuser, creating a continuous stream of that good smelling scent.  amazon.com (another Chase Freedom 5x bonus category retailer for the 4th quarter of 2014) will sell you the white tea by Westin scent diffuser and cartridge for $169.95 which includes free shipping.

9. Lotions and potions you love – one of my favorite scents is the freshness of lemons. The Park Hyatt just happens to use Le Labo’s Bergamont 22 scent in their shower gel, lotions, shampoo, conditioners and soap.  Bergamont is a sweeter orangish yellow cousin to the standard yellow lemon. While layering all of this is a bit over the top, Williams Sonoma sells an Essential Oils Gift Set in Meyer Lemon. For $29.95 you get a Deluxe Hand Soap & Lotion Gift Set includes two stainless-steel pump tops and a caddy. Yum.

10. A robe – nothing says luxury after a hot shower than slipping into a fluffy bathrobe.  Land’s End sells a 14 ounce Turkish Terry robe for $89.00 that “Has two pockets, belt and belt loops, roomy “no-gap” fit, no need to size up.” Perfect!Bottom Line:

With a couple hundred dollars and a little creativity you could add some features of 5-star hotels into your home.  If you spend wisely thru airline and hotel shopping portals, or even on your Chase Freedom at department stores and at amazon.com during the 4th quarter you will be rewarded with even more bonus points!