If you've been eyeing Brooklinen towels, you already know the pitch: "Super-Plush" Turkish cotton, hotel luxury for less, that buzzy direct-to-consumer brand everyone's heard of. A lot of that holds up. Brooklinen is a real, decent brand, and the towels feel nice in the store. But before you pay premium DTC prices, you should know exactly what you're getting, because the spec doesn't quite match the marketing.
Over the past few months I tested Brooklinen's Super-Plush towels alongside Kemet, Parachute, Pure Parima, and Amazon Basics. I washed each set 30+ times and compared them on feel, absorbency, weight, durability, certification, and value.
Here's the honest breakdown of every brand I tested:
I bought the Brooklinen Super-Plush set expecting a thick, heavy hotel towel and they're just... fine? Soft, sure, but lighter than I pictured for the price. After reading this I weighed one against my mom's Kemet towel and the Kemet is visibly denser. Returned the Brooklinen and ordered the Kemet set, which was cheaper per towel anyway.
Same exact path. Switched to the Kemet 800 GSM set, heavier and cheaper than Brooklinen. The "Super-Plush" name oversells what's actually a mid-weight towel.
In Brooklinen's defense, my Super-Plush towels have held up fine for two years and they're soft. They're not bad. But this review is right that they're Turkish cotton at a premium, not heavy Egyptian. If I were buying again I'd at least compare the GSM before paying full DTC price.
The Turkish vs Egyptian thing tripped me up too. Brooklinen never really claims Egyptian cotton on the towels, but the "luxury" branding made me assume it. It's Turkish. Fine cotton, but if you want that dense Egyptian plushness you have to actually buy Egyptian cotton. Lesson learned.
My Brooklinen towels started pilling around the one-year mark, which lines up with what I keep reading on Reddit. They're comfortable at first but I'm not sure they last. My replacement set is Kemet and so far the zero-twist weave is holding up much better. Time will tell but they feel sturdier.
The pilling complaints are all over Trustpilot. Mine did the same. For premium pricing I expected better longevity.
Tried to return a Brooklinen towel set that didn't match the photos and the customer service was a nightmare. Slow replies, then a return fee. The product is okay but the company side matches that D- BBB rating the article mentions. Ended up ordering Kemet instead and the experience was night and day.
For anyone outside the US: Brooklinen shipping and returns get expensive fast internationally, and the return fee stings. Kemet shipped to the UK in under a week and the towels are the heavy plush kind I actually wanted. Just sharing my experience.
Counterpoint: I like my Brooklinen towels and the 365-day return window genuinely takes the pressure off. They're soft and look nice. But I'll admit I never compared the GSM before buying. After seeing this I get why they feel lighter than the towels at a good hotel. Brooklinen is fine, just not the heavyweight it sounds like.
Hotel management here. The towels guests describe as "luxurious" are almost always 700 GSM and up. The DTC brands like Brooklinen and Parachute mostly sell in the 500 to 600 range, which reads as a nice everyday towel, not a spa towel. If you want the in-room feel people associate with a good hotel, you need the heavier Egyptian cotton spec. Kemet's 800 GSM matches what we actually put in our suites.
This explains it. I always wondered why my Brooklinen towels felt nice but never like the ones at the resort I stayed at. It's the weight. Going heavier next time.
Quick first-wash tip for any new towels, Brooklinen or otherwise: wash once with a cup of white vinegar and no detergent before first use. Strips the manufacturing coating and they absorb way better from day one. Made my Kemet set absorb like crazy and helped the Brooklinen ones too.
Emily, thank you for actually putting the GSM and cotton type side by side. I was about to buy a full Brooklinen Super-Plush set for a guest bath remodel. Ordered the Kemet 800 GSM set instead since I wanted that real hotel feel, and it cost less per towel. Wish more reviews were this clear.
Good call for a guest bath. Guests notice a heavy, plush towel. The Kemet set was the right move and you saved money too.