With its New Global Partnership, Novotel and Calm are Helping Hotel Guests get Quality Zzzzs
As elusive as it can be when we’re snuggled in our own beds at home, deep, restorative sleep can be even harder to come by when we hit the road. No matter how much we try to TSA-Pre and Global Entry our security check-in practices, or how many organic cashmere blankies we pack in our carry-ons, traveling is mentally and physically disruptive. By the time we arrive at our destination and our head finally hits the pillow, we’re often way too wired and jangly to doze off.
Paris-based Novotel Hotels and Calm, the leading app in the relaxation space, have had just about enough of this not sleeping while you travel stuff.
Novotel Toronto Centre
Via a new multi-year global partnership, the two buzzy brands are collaborating to boost sleep, mindfulness and self-care while traveling. Beginning in January 2020 at Novotel locations in Canada, guests will be treated to Calm’s highly touted guided meditations, atmospheric music, nature soundscapes, and 150-plus Sleep Stories, all geared toward instilling a calmer mindset. By the end of this year, more than 530 Novotel properties across 60 countries will have access to the program.
By the end of this year, more than 530 Novotel properties across 60 countries will have access to the program.
And better yet, guests checked-in to Novotel’s Executive Rooms will receive a 60-day Calm Premium subscription, allowing them to continue their relaxation once they’re back home.
To launch the program in a truly special way, Novotel and Calm tapped film actress Eva Green, of Casino Royale and Dumbo fame, to narrate a special Sleep Story christened “Nightfall.” In a first for Calm, “Nightfall,” described as “the peaceful, wondrous process of twilight as it unfolds across the Earth” in two languages—French and English.
Sleep Stories narrated by Eva Green
“Eva Green was the perfect choice for our dedicated Novotel and Calm ‘Sleep Stories’ collaboration for many reasons,” says Nadège Keryhuel, Vice President, Novotel Hotels. “Foremost, she’s a globally renowned, award-winning actress, who has an extremely soothing voice in both French and English, to help people drift off to sleep. Eva also values sleep, commenting, ‘For me, sleep is like my sanctuary, it is a time to rest, to be alone in my thoughts, and it is the foundation of me feeling good every day.’”
“Bottomline,” adds Keryhuel, “her voice and her authenticity really connect to the story.”
According to Keryhuel, the Calm initiative is just the most recent piece of Novotel’s ongoing better-sleep puzzle. The brand has its very own “bed concept,” dubbed the Live N Dream, that includes not only bedding (sheets, duvet, “smart” pillows, etc.), but a special mattress, too. “This mattress was exclusively designed for Novotel,” she notes, “and for those who live, work, or have breakfast in bed.”
What happens if you fall hard for the Live N Dream dream while staying at a Novotel property? Fear not; you can buy the entire kit and caboodle—including the mattress—on the Novotel Store website.
Curious as to what the Eva Green “Sleep Story” sounded like, I listened in—in both languages.
In a word? Enchanting. Although most of us go to bed far later, Green paints a picture of dusk as the ultimate wind-down time after a long, busy day. On a visual backdrop of about a billion twinkling stars (for the record, Calm’s graphics are staggeringly beautiful), Green introduces herself, then slides gently into her narration.
“It was the end of the week, in the beginning of the spring, and the night was about to begin. I stepped outside, and the front door clipped itself closed. A gentle breeze met my face . . . “
Green’s lovely tale goes on for another 30 minutes or so. But chances are you won’t get to the end. Of that, or any other Calm Sleep Story for that matter. Why? Because they do what they set out to do. To help us drift off—and stay drifted.
Dana Wood
Dana Wood is the Contributing Beauty Editor at InsidersGuidetoSpas.com. She has been writing about beauty and wellness for decades, and no matter how many times she taps the words “hyaluronic acid” or “healing modalities” into her keyboard, it never gets old. Dana spent a total of 20 years at Condé Nast, serving as Beauty Director for W, Cookie, and Brides. A transplanted New Yorker, Dana now lives in St. Petersburg, Florida. Her peak spa experience? Dana says it’s impossible to decide between the Coco-Mango Body Buff at the Driftwood Spa at Jakes in Treasure Beach, Jamaica, The Land of Beautiful Waters Anti-Aging Facial at Four Seasons Nevis, and the 80-minute 5 Senses massage at the Spa by JW in Marco Island, Florida.