Editor and travel journalist Mark Hooper on seeking a good night’s rest

Join us in Pillow Talk with Mark Hooper, a multi-award-winning editor and travel journalist, as he talks to us about travelling to the ends of the earth to seek a good night’s rest.

Image of a colourful sky with dark clouds and a sunrise peeking through the clouds

The multi-award-winning editor and travel journalist, Mark Hooper, knows a thing or two about quality, restful sleep. Throughout his career, he’s had the pleasure of staying at some of the most prestigious hotels in the world, working for The Times, Wallpaper* and the Robb Report. Having travelled to the ends of the earth in seeking a good night’s rest, he reveals the one thing that helps him re-energise and prepare for the next adventure. 

 

Bedding Down

by Mark Hooper

It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. As a travel writer, it was the kind of gig you dream of. The opportunity to visit somewhere still relatively untouched by the march of Western consumerism. A week-long journey deep into the heart of inner Mongolia to live amongst nomadic herdsmen in a traditional ger on the shore of Lake Hövsgöl. 

“As a travel writer, it was the kind of gig you dream of; the opportunity to visit somewhere still relatively untouched (…)” 

It’s not the sort of trip that screams ‘comfort’, but that was partly the point. To go truly off-grid in one of the bleakest, but also most beautiful spots on earth. Our host even gleefully told us that, in the winter months, it gets so cold that the ice on Hövsgöl is so thick that trucks from neighbouring Siberia use the smooth, frozen surface as the main thoroughfare into Hatgal. The Mad Max-esque town at the southern tip of the lake that connects with the larger market town of – I’m not making this up – Mörön. Better yet, at night they’ll park up on the ice, dig a pit under the engine and light a fire in it to prevent the parts from freezing up. Health and safety be damned. 

A traditional ger on the shore of Lake Khovsgol, Mongolia

Left: Mark’s traditional ger for the week, Right: Lake Khovsgol, Mongolia

 

The spirit of adventure

It’s a place that encourages the adventurous spirit. With barely any horse-riding experience, I was convinced to take a mule up the foothills of the Sayan mountains. While an excursion onto the lake via speedboat resulted in us running out of petrol at the furthest point from land and having to swim to shore. Eventually, we found ourselves stranded near a place that seemed to be called Toilet (I only later discovered it was spelt ‘Toilogt’). 

That said, the nights in our gers, heated by a central chimney and surrounded by utter silence, were peaceful and cosy. Which can’t be said for our journey back. Having made our way to the local, dirt-track airport for our connecting flight back home, we watched, mouths agape, as the double-propeller plane made its approach… and lifted back into the air as the pilot decided the recent rains had made it too muddy to land. Enquiring about the next flight brought a resigned shrug – same time, next week. 

So, our international flight left the capital, Ulaanbaatar, for London via Irkutsk and Moscow in exactly 24 hours’ time. After a brief discussion with a local driver, we worked out that was roughly how long it would take us to drive there. There was, however, a potentially quicker option. And that was to drive as the crow flies – across the semi-desert steppes and dried-up river beds in a vintage Land Rover with little in the way of suspension. 

What followed was the most uncomfortable night of my life. Constantly bumped and stopped suddenly in our tracks. We emptied our rucksacks and tried as best we could to cocoon ourselves on our spare clothing. Serving less as pillows than as crashmats, anything to protect us from concussing ourselves against the hard metal around us. 

 

Seeking a good night’s rest

To cut a very long night short, we made it to the airport before our plane took off, but not before they’d closed the gate. Despite our pleading – and our bruises – we were met with typically Mongolian, seen-it-all-before, nonplussed stares. There was another flight next week, what was the rush? 

“What ensued, after one of the worst nights of my life, was one of the best – deep, blissful, uninterrupted, trouble-free sleep, on a friend’s spare mattress in their city apartment.” 

When I did finally wake up – with a start, bracing myself for another bump – the slow realisation that I was safe and secure, wrapped up in a duvet with a soft pillow under my head, was more than simply reassuring – it was the reward of something that had been denied that made it all the more satisfying. 

 

The impact of sleep

I have spent years trying to recreate that good night’s sleep. Clinical trials have proven that uninterrupted sleep can improve everything from stress levels and mental health to blood pressure. It can also improve our memory and even help build antibodies and regulate hormones that can affect our weight. But, better than that, it has made me appreciate sleep as I never did before. I’d always been something of a night owl, staying up far too late for fear of missing out on an experience or an adventure on my travels.  

Now I embrace it as something to look forward to and to re-energise me for the adventures of the next day. It’s made me realise that the bed is one the most important items you can spend money on in the house. After all, we spend almost half our lives on it and, speaking from experience, a life free of back pain is worth every penny. 

 

“I’d always been something of a night owl, staying up far too late for fear of missing out on an experience or an adventure on my travels. Now I embrace it as something to look forward to and to re-energise me for the adventures of the next day.”

The Greenwich Hotel

Savoir is now bringing the luxury of handcrafted sleep to The Greenwich Hotel

 

Bespoke luxury

Of course, one of the other benefits of being a travel writer is you get to sample some of the most comfortable beds in the world, in some of the world’s most prestigious hotels, from the Savoy in London to the Peninsula in Tokyo. It is, after all, the USP of hotels – there are countless dining options, live events, gyms and spas we can visit in a new city if we want to, but the one thing you come back to at the end of the day is the comfort of a good bed. A rested customer is a happy customer, and they’ll come back again and again just for that feeling of waking up feeling ready for the day ahead. 

It’s no surprise that the Savoy’s founder, Richard D’Oyly Carte, was so exacting in his standards that he had his own beds created especially for his hotel, having found none that matched his criteria for luxurious sleep. The very same bed – the Savoir No.2 (aka The Icon) – is still made to today, using the same materials: hand-teased horse tail, fine, soft lamb’s wool, with hour-glass springs providing a gentle give that you’d never find in a vintage Land Rover. Made to order for each customer – or hotel – the No.2 offers a level of luxurious comfort befitting of guests including Winston Churchill to Marilyn Monroe. Savoir is now bringing the luxury of handcrafted sleep to The Greenwich Hotel in downtown Manhattan, with their beds found in all 88 guestrooms and suites. If only they’d do the same in Mongolia… 

 

Find out more about seeking a good night’s rest and join us on our journey, as we explore the impact of a good night’s rest and the importance of quality sleep.