The $20 Amazon Sheets I Found Courtesy Of My Airbnb Host
Last Memorial Day, my best friend and I took a long weekend trip to Miami. “Ooooh, are y’all going to be going out all weekend?” friends and coworkers kept asking me. My response was always the same: “Absolutely not.”
Having barely survived a New York City winter, I was more interested in a weekend of complete and utter relaxation, punctuated by frequent trips to Cuban restaurants. Thankfully, when we made it to our accommodations soon after midnight (due, in part, to a harrowing trip to a budget car rental location and the terrifying traffic between Miami and Fort Lauderdale) I knew I would get my wish.
Our Airbnb was a stand-alone backyard apartment behind the host’s bungalow. The room was mostly relaxing whites and blues, punctuated with green and gold. It was like walking into a sigh. Then, when we collapsed almost immediately into bed, I truly felt the last vestiges of the previous winter fall from my shoulders. The mattress was comfortable, yes, but the sheets were so incredibly soft. We both couldn’t believe it.
Over the weekend, we speculated about the sheet’s providence. “How expensive do you think they are?” we wondered. “Do you think they’re from a department store or from one of those new online stores?” At the end of the weekend, I finally decided it was worth it to ask the hosts.
They quickly responded to my odd request, and shocked us with the reveal: the sheets were from Amazon. On top of that, they were only $20 for a queen set. The reason they are so affordable? They are microfiber, a synthetic blend, that nevertheless can be incredibly soft. While the AT team is divided about how we feel about microfiber vs. cotton or linen, I have to say that I experience none of the complaints often levied at microfiber (namely, that it doesn’t breath). Instead, I mostly found that they felt incredibly soft and luxurious–and what appeared to be shockingly good quality for that price.
When I reached back out to the hosts almost a year later to verify that I had the right Amazon listing for the sheets, they actually told me that the sheets are something guests commonly compliment them on. Amazon customers agree, with words like “soft” repeated again and again in the over 6,400 5-star ratings. One reviewer even commented that they are on the thinner side, making them great for warm climates. No wonder I was so charmed in our tropical Miami getaway.
But, Amazon reviews aside, I will say perhaps the most glowing thing about them is that I’ve stayed in Airbnbs from Austin to Tokyo, and this is the only set of sheets I remember.