WRAP UP IN THE BEST FLUFFY TOWELS!

FORGET the mini bar, the room service and the king- size bed. There’s one hotel luxury we’d all raid the bank to have at home: the fluffy towels. And don’t shops know it. Linen aisles are awash with towels that promise wonderful fluffiness.

But what makes a super-fluffy towel? It’s partly to do with the weight — or grams per square metre (GSM) of the towel. The higher the number, the heavier and more absorbent it is. Manufacturers have also been dreaming up clever techniques to make towels feel luxurious, such as not twisting the cotton (Zero Twist) to make the towel extra soft or using hollow fibres for extra absorbency.

Other factors include the cotton used. Egyptian has long, thick loops for extra luxury, while Indian Suvin cotton is silky soft. TESSA CUNNINGHAM checked out the best towels the shops have to offer. She washed each one, then hung it out to dry for two hours before tumble-drying to get fluffy.

BEST FOR HAIR

The White Company Hydrocotton bath towel, 100 per cent hydrocotton, 500gsm, €36.33, thewhitecompany.com THE fancy ribbing gives this towel serious wow factor. But, although it looks fantastic, it’s disappointingly lightweight. Perhaps that’s because it’s a miserly 500gsm. And, at just 70 x 125cm, it’s barely bigger than a hand towel. The website promises ‘low twist’ technology, which hollows out the core of the cotton yarn, making the towel feel thicker and softer than normal. Apparently the yarn is treated with poly vinyl alcohol which dissolves, leaving a cotton yarn with no twist and a hollow core — making it extra absorbent. I wrapped it around my head after washing my hair, and my hair was practically dry in minutes. But it’s so skimpy I wouldn’t want to be caught answering the door to the postman in it. TIME IN TUMBLE DRYER: 6 mins 2/5

THE ALL-ROUNDER

Marks & Spencer Luxurious Egyptian Cotton bath towel, 100 per cent Egyptian cotton, 650 gsm, €22, marksandspencer.ie M&S boasts i ts towel benefits f rom StayNew technology. It sounds scientific but just means they’ve used mature cotton fibres which last longer than normal fibres to keep the towel feeling new. It certainly works. This towel is so light, my partner jumped at the chance to tote it to the gym for a week. Six washes later, it was every bit as soft. It’s also one of the largest we tried — a generous 68 x 137cm, so no danger of an embarrassing changing room moment. TIME IN TUMBLE DRYER: 5 mins 5/5

THE BIG ONE

House of Fraser Luxury Hotel Collection, Zero Twist cotton bath towel, 100 per cent cotton, 500gsm, €48.91, houseoffraser.co.uk ANYONE who spots this in my bathroom will think I pinched it from a five-star hotel. At 70 x 140cm, it’s so big it almost fills the bath. And, although it’s only 500gsm, it has Zero Twist cotton to make it soft and quickdrying. Just 30 minutes after my bath, it looked brand new again. However, while it’s fluffy and washes well, €48 is too steep. TIME IN TUMBLE DRYER: 8 mins 3/5

WORTH MARRYING FOR

Yves Delorme Etoile, 83 per cent cotton 17 per cent modal. 700gsm, €141, amara.co.uk YVES Delorme has been the epitome of French luxury since 1845. Posh Parisian mothers still pop in for their daughters’ wedding trousseaux. You can see why. If it meant I could stock up with these, I might be tempted down the aisle again myself. The pile is so luxuriously deep and soft, it’s like being swaddled in a sheepskin rug. However, it is so thick it needs five minutes longer in the tumble dryer than its rivals and is still slightly damp four hours after my bath. As I could fly to Paris for the same price, I won’t be stocking up any time soon. TIME IN TUMBLE DRYER: 12 mins 2/5

LIKE WHIPPED CREAM

John Lewis Cotton Suvin Blend bath towel, 55 per cent cotton, 30 per cent modal, 15 per cent Suvin cotton, 650gsm, €39, johnlewis.com MY DEAR old mum would have loved this towel — once she’d got over the shock of the price. The packaging promises ‘superior luxury’ thanks to the use of Indian Suvin cotton which traps extra air during tumble drying to give super-absorbency. It’s so soft, I feel like I’ve been wrapped in cream. At 70x140cm, it’s one of the largest I tried. TIME IN TUMBLE DRYER: 7 mins 4/5