Amazon Basics Portable Blackout Curtain Review: $20 Hotel Room Darkness That Actually Works

Our daughter's bedtime is 7:30 PM. In June, the sun does not set until after 8:30. At home, we have blackout curtains in her room and the problem is solved. In a hotel room in Charleston during summer vacation, the thin curtains let in enough light that our daughter treated bedtime like a suggestion. She played in the travel crib, sang to herself, disassembled the crib sheet, and finally fell asleep at 9:45 — two hours past bedtime and one hour past our ability to cope. The next morning we drove to the nearest store and could not find portable blackout curtains anywhere. An Amazon same-day delivery of the Amazon Basics Portable Blackout Curtain arrived at the hotel by 3 PM, and that night bedtime was back to normal.

The Amazon Basics curtain is exactly what it sounds like: a piece of blackout fabric with suction cups that stick to a window. No rods, no hardware, no installation beyond pressing suction cups to glass. It blocks light, it packs flat, and it costs twenty dollars. For families who travel with children who need darkness to sleep — which is most children — it is one of those products that feels absurdly obvious in retrospect. Why did we not buy this before the trip?

This product is featured in our Best Travel Sleep Accessories roundup.

Quick Verdict

The Amazon Basics Portable Blackout Curtain is the cheapest effective solution for darkening an unfamiliar room for toddler sleep. At $20, it costs less than a single night of ruined sleep costs in parental sanity. The suction cups work on most glass windows, the 50-by-78-inch size covers standard hotel windows, and the blackout fabric blocks enough light for naptime and bedtime. The trade-offs are real — suction cups can lose grip in heat, the curtain does not cover very large windows, and some light leaks around the edges. But for the price and portability, nothing else comes close.

Who This Is For

• Hotel travelers — most hotel curtains are inadequate for toddler sleep
• Airbnb and rental families — window coverings in rentals are unpredictable
• Summer travelers — long daylight hours make early bedtime difficult
• Naptime protectors — midday naps require darkness regardless of season

Who Should Skip

• Families with floor-to-ceiling windows — 50×78 inches will not cover oversized windows
• Hot climate travelers with south-facing windows — suction cups may release in direct heat
• Parents seeking total blackout — some light leaks around edges; perfectionists may want the SlumberPod instead

Key Features Deep Dive

Suction Cup Mounting

The curtain attaches to glass windows using six suction cups. You press each cup against the glass, push the center to create suction, and the curtain hangs in place. No rods, no tape, no damage to the window or wall. Removal is equally simple — pull the suction cup tab and it releases.

The suction cups work on smooth, clean glass. They work less reliably on textured glass, dirty windows, or windows with films or coatings. Before our first use in each new room, we wipe the glass with a damp cloth to ensure a clean surface. This adds thirty seconds but improves suction cup reliability significantly.

The cups hold well in air-conditioned rooms. In direct afternoon sun on a south-facing window, we have had cups release after several hours as the glass heats up. The fix is to press them back on — usually only one or two release at a time, not all six.

Blackout Fabric

The fabric is a dense, opaque material similar to what you would find in residential blackout curtains. It blocks the vast majority of visible light — not 100 percent, but enough that a bright afternoon looks like dusk through the curtain. For toddler sleep purposes, this level of darkness is sufficient. Our daughter falls asleep at the same time with this curtain as she does with her permanent blackout curtains at home.

The fabric has a moon and stars pattern on the room-facing side, which is a nice touch for a kids' room. The window-facing side is plain and lighter in color. The material is somewhat stiff when first unpacked but softens after a few uses.

Size: 50 × 78 Inches

The curtain measures approximately 50 inches wide by 78 inches tall. This covers most standard hotel room windows and many residential windows. For reference, a standard hotel window is typically 48–60 inches wide. The curtain covers the glass area of most single-panel hotel windows with a little overlap.

For sliding glass doors, double windows, or floor-to-ceiling windows, a single curtain will not provide full coverage. You would need two curtains side by side, or a different product entirely. We have never needed more than one curtain in a standard hotel room.

Packability

The curtain folds flat and weighs about one pound. We fold it into roughly the size of a folded bath towel and slide it into the side pocket of our suitcase. It adds minimal weight and bulk to luggage. For carry-on-only travelers, it fits without issue.

What We Love

Bedtime at 7:30 on vacation. This is the entire value proposition. Our daughter sleeps from 7:30 PM to 6:30 AM at home because her room is dark — a key component of a healthy sleep environment. Without blackout curtains in a hotel, she fights sleep until 9 or later, wakes up overtired, and the next day is miserable for everyone. The Amazon Basics curtain restores her normal schedule in any room. That consistency is worth far more than twenty dollars.

Naptime in bright rooms. Our daughter still naps, and midday naps require darkness. Hotel curtains almost never achieve sufficient darkness for a 1 PM nap. The portable blackout curtain turns a bright hotel room into a nap-ready environment in about two minutes.

No damage, no tools, no hassle. Suction cups mean we can put the curtain up and take it down in any room without touching the existing curtains, drilling holes, or using tape. We have used it in hotels, Airbnbs, a beach rental, and grandparents' houses without leaving any mark.

$20 is an absurd value. The SlumberPod (which creates a darkened enclosure around a travel crib) costs $180. Stick-on blackout films cost $30–50 and leave residue. The Amazon Basics curtain costs $20 and works for most situations. We have gotten more value per dollar from this product than almost anything else in our travel gear.

What We Don't Love

Suction cups release in heat. On a sunny afternoon with direct sun on the window, the glass warms and the suction cups gradually lose grip. We have had individual cups pop off two or three times during an afternoon nap. The curtain does not fall — the remaining cups hold it — but the gap lets light in. Pressing the cups back on takes five seconds but is annoying if you are trying not to wake a sleeping child.

Light leaks around the edges. The curtain covers the glass but does not seal to the window frame. Light seeps around the top, bottom, and sides — a bright border around the curtain. For naptime, this is usually tolerable. For bedtime in summer when the sun is low and angled, the light leak at the bottom can be noticeable. We drape a hotel towel over the curtain rod to block the top gap.

Does not cover large windows. The 50×78-inch size is adequate for standard windows but falls short on sliding glass doors, picture windows, or double-wide hotel windows. In a beach condo with sliding glass doors, we needed the curtain plus the existing (inadequate) curtains working together.

The moon and stars pattern is babyish. This is a minor quibble, but the pattern is clearly designed for a nursery. In a hotel room, it is visible only from inside and does not matter. But if aesthetics matter to you, this is not a sleek product.

Real-World Testing

Hotel rooms (6 stays): The primary use case. We put the curtain up within five minutes of checking in and take it down at checkout. Standard hotel windows in every case were fully covered. Bedtime performance matched our daughter's home schedule every night.

Airbnb (2 stays): Airbnb window coverings are a gamble. One rental had sheer curtains only. The Amazon Basics curtain turned the bedroom into a cave. The second rental had decent blinds but light leaked around the edges — the blackout curtain supplemented them effectively.

Grandparents' house: The guest room has venetian blinds that let in significant light through the slats. The blackout curtain behind the blinds creates complete darkness. We now leave a curtain at each grandparents' house permanently.

Beach rental with sliding glass door: The curtain covered about two-thirds of the glass. Combined with the rental's existing curtains (pulled closed over the remaining third), the room was dark enough for sleep. Not a perfect solution for large windows, but workable.

How It Compares

vs. SlumberPod ($180): The SlumberPod creates a darkened enclosure over a travel crib, blocking light from all directions. It is a far more complete blackout solution and also provides white noise dampening and privacy. But it costs nine times more and is significantly bulkier to pack. For families using a travel crib, the SlumberPod is the premium option. For everyone else, the Amazon Basics curtain provides 80 percent of the benefit at 11 percent of the cost.

vs. Stick-on Window Film ($30–50): Static cling blackout films cover windows more completely with fewer light leaks. They also take longer to install, sometimes leave residue, and are harder to reposition. For a single long-stay location, film may be better. For families moving between hotels and rentals, the suction cup curtain is faster and more reusable.

vs. Gro Anywhere Blind ($35): The Gro Anywhere uses suction cups in a roller blind format, which provides more adjustable coverage and a cleaner look. It costs nearly twice as much but covers a similar window size. If aesthetics and adjustability matter, the Gro is the upgrade. For pure function at the lowest price, the Amazon Basics wins.

Final Verdict

The Amazon Basics Portable Blackout Curtain is the most cost-effective sleep improvement you can make on any trip with a toddler. For twenty dollars, you get a curtain that attaches to any glass window in under two minutes and creates enough darkness for normal bedtime and naptime. The suction cups are imperfect in heat, light leaks around the edges, and large windows require supplementation. None of these limitations matter enough to outweigh the fundamental benefit: your child sleeps on schedule in an unfamiliar room.

We now pack this curtain for every trip automatically. It goes in the suitcase alongside the sound machine and the travel crib sheet — the holy trinity of travel sleep. At $20, there is no reason not to have one.