If you were one of the millions of children who grew up reading Goodnight Moon before bed, chances are its iconic green bedroom is permanently seared into your memory. Now, for the next four months, you have the opportunity to sleep in the Goodnight Moon room IRL.
The Goodnight Moon room has been faithfully re-created—down to the red balloon, bowl of mush, and cow jumping over the moon—for a new immersive suite at the Sheraton Boston Hotel. The room can accommodate up to two adults and two children, and a booking in the suite comes with perks like four tickets to the View Boston observation deck, a $150 daily food and beverage credit, complimentary moon and star cookies, and even the supplies to make your own bowl of mush. It’s available to book now through February 28, 2026, starting at $399 per night.
The activation is part of a broader campaign for Marriott Bonvoy’s Sheraton Hotels & Resorts. Marriott partnered with representatives of the late Goodnight Moon author Margaret Wise Brown and illustrator Clement Hurd, alongside ad agency Wieden+Kennedy New York, to create a new ad inspired by the bedtime ritual in the book.
Creating a real-life version of the Goodnight Moon room as part of this campaign is a savvy strategy for garnering engagement, given that other companies like Airbnb and Skittles have recently found success through similar activations. In 2025, peak nostalgia fodder looks like revisiting the cultural icons of our childhoods.
Why themed stays are the next frontier of social media marketing
Real-life versions of pop culture’s most recognizable locations have become a kind of niche tourist destination (and social media gold mine for brands) over the past few years.
In 2023, Airbnb created a rentable version of Barbie’s Dreamhouse, complete with a giant pool and an outdoor disco. The house garnered more than 13,000 press hits and more than 250 million social media impressions. It was so successful that on an earnings call CEO Brian Chesky told investors it attracted twice as many impressions as the company’s IPO announcement.
The following year, Airbnb introduced a dedicated Icons feature, which lets users choose from pop-culture-inspired locations like the house from Disney-Pixar’s Up, the X-Mansion from X-Men ’97, or Prince’s Purple Rain house. Other brands have also jumped on board the themed-stay concept: In May 2024 Skittles unveiled an ultra-colorful Manhattan apartment inspired by the candy itself; and in July of this year Olipop launched a series of hotel rooms in Austin inspired by its soda flavors.
Marriott’s take on the trend taps into Americans’ near-universal memories of one of the most comforting bedrooms ever illustrated.
How the Sheraton Boston re-created Goodnight Moon
Goodnight Moon was published in 1947, and is based on Brown’s own childhood memories of wishing “good night” to the items in her room alongside her sister, Roberta. As of 2017, it had sold more than 48 million copies and been translated into more than a dozen languages.
The book’s repetitive structure is one reason for its choke hold on the psyche of so many young children, but its illustration style is also undeniably part of its staying power. The surrealist, almost uncanny maximalism of the work feels somehow ahead of its time—and it’s inspired plenty of artists, including more than a dozen contributors to a 2021 art exhibition at the New York City studio Fort Makers.
To replicate Goodnight Moon’s iconic setting down to the smallest detail, Marriott tapped Favour Agency, a company that specializes in building immersive experiences. According to Rebecca Payne, Favour’s senior director of experiences, the process started with color-matching every element of the space as closely as possible. While she says it was “easy enough” to pull accurate Pantones for the yellow furniture and green walls, elements like the complementary green blanket on the bed and red carpet needed to be chosen carefully.
“There was certainly some trial and error because time did not allow for every single piece to be fully customized,” Payne explains. “But without that level of detail, the final result would have fallen flat. It needed to be perfect.”
For more whimsical parts of the design, Payne’s team sought out bespoke solutions. The red balloon, for example, is actually a sculpture affixed to the ceiling, while the fireplace is custom-built out of wood pieces and LED lighting. The most important element of the project, Payne says, was to capture the familiarity and warmth of the original illustration.
“What a cozy space Clement Hurd created in his illustrations,” Payne says. “The crackling fire and oversized bed just make you want to curl up and fall asleep.”
