While I have a glass and water carafe next to my bed at home, I've never seen one at a hotel and I travel 100 days a year. That would be a nice touch though.

One things hotels often do that is worth considering is they cover their nightstands in stone or with a plate of glass in order to preserve their quality longer.

One thing that personally drives me nuts is when the lamp, vase, and clock take up all the space on the table. If i can't fit my book next to the reading lamp, what is the point!

there ain't no flowers next to the bed at the HoJos i frequent

I've never stayed in a place with live flowers, and I probably wouldn't even get them for a guest. Pretty, but non essential.
I don't see any reason for a radio or mirror next to the bed, either...

I do provide an alarm clock for guests (no radio) and a carafe with a glass (in the bathroom -- they can fill it and move it to their bedside if desired.) And there are bedside tables with lamps on both sides of the bed. (Plus guests have a private bathroom with their own towels and other amenities.)

My own room has the same -- lamp, clock, phone handset, carafe in bathroom, tissue cube, with just enough room for a book. (My cat often jumps on the bed, gets a little petting, then walks across everything on the nightstand to jump into her cat bed! So the book must be flat!) The night stand has a drawer for miscellaneous little needs. Just what I might want while actually in bed -- everything else is elsewhere in the room or bathroom but out of reach from the bed.

Alarm clocks? Seriously? I'll bet 99 percent of guests have a cell phone with an alarm feature. I think alarm clocks will go the way of wristwatches.

Unless you can HEAR them, wrist watches and/or cell phones w/ alarms are not always useful for many are not loud enough for some of us.

And besides, I love waking up to the radio and thus, music.

I hope that the recent-ish trend toward hotel-style bedrooms is here to stay. Ever since my husband and I adopted this idea and pared down our bedroom to just the essentials and changed the colour palette of our walls and bedding to cool blues, greens and neutrals, we've slept like babies.

My sister came for a visit recently, and we gave her our room. She kidded us for having a "boring" bedroom, but later confessed that she had the best sleep she's had in ages. So yeah, when it comes to bedrooms, less is definitely more in my opinion.

I don't think I know anyone who uses their watch as an alarm. I hope hotels don't phase out alarm clocks anytime soon.

I am not a huge on traveling but I personally have NEVER seen a water carafe, water glass, fresh flowers, etc on the bedside tables.

What you do find though is a lamp, alarm clock (I use my cell for my alarms so it's pointless), a telephone (which again unless it's a local call, it's pointless as well), and a Bible in the drawer.

ciddyguy - Personally, my cell phone has seven ringtones (besides the music I've put on there to play when it rings) - each can be set with the ringtone volume that has about five settings besides off. For an alarm, I pick the most annoying and put it on high - guaranteed to wake ya up.

does anyone know what store the curvy silver lamp in the 3rd picture is from? or where i could find something similar? thank you!

Radio alarms make a good morning. I tend to sleep in too much sometimes, so I have a tibetan singing bowl alarm clock, my radio alarm in my kitchen, and my irritating cell phone alarm plugged in a short distance from the bed (so I have to walk to it if I want the beeping to stop- provided the singing bowl doesn't do it)
I also have a book, lights, water, 1 L of body lotion, notepad & pen, a small quartz/tourmaline point, and my boyfriend's small buddha statue on my night table. Some is hidden on a lower shelf, and other necessities in the drawer. Fresh flowers on occasion.

Can anyone tell me where I can find the white bedside table at Mark hotel? Or something really similar. It's exactly what I need.