IKEA’s Only Hotel Is Furnished With Flat-Pack Pieces—And Has ‘Rooms’ For Insects
Image via IKEA Hotell
You may be tempted to take a nap on the sea of beds each time you’re at the IKEA store, but there’s only one place where it’s socially acceptable to do that—and that’s the only IKEA-owned hotel in the world.
Opened in the summer of 1964 by IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad, this homey building was originally known as Motell Ikea, inspired by his stopovers at US roadside motels. The businessman was fascinated by their practicality and no-frills charm, and he thought these elements could be carried back home to build a place of accommodation next to the Älmhult furniture store, the first IKEA location in the world. Today, the motel has had two name changes and has been expanded three times, Travel + Leisure reports. It’s now known as IKEA Hotell.
You’d be forgiven for not knowing about this cozy space. Ida-Maria Rigoll, destination sales lead at the IKEA Hotell, tells the travel news outlet that people are often surprised by its existence.
Arguably the best part about this place? Unlike at the retail locations, where you’re made to take home parts of a chair and assemble it yourself, IKEA Hotell’s 254 rooms of various spatial capacities are readily decked out in the brand’s furniture—so there’s no need to make your bed before lying in it. The entire hotel functions as a showroom, and guests who have taken a liking to its fixtures can pick them up at a real store.
Even the pricing model mimics IKEA’s structure. Rigoll explains that IKEA Hotell prioritizes “volume over price,” and that it ensures to keep rates low (a night at one of these rooms begins at US$100) even during peak periods. The first booking of the day will have the same quote as the very last one for the same type of room, meaning that every guest gets a place to stay at a great value.
Design enthusiasts would be most enticed by the nearby IKEA Museum, which takes the spot of the original store from 1958.
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Elsewhere, the hotel includes a restaurant—where the famous meatballs are also served—along with meeting rooms, shared workspaces, a sauna, a gym, and even an “insect hotel” dubbed ‘The Buggingham Palace’.
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The minature shelter has holes drilled in to offer a place of rest for tired, winged guests. Life at home is for everyone, it seems.
Interestingly, when Motell IKEA first opened, it was its swimming pool—a spectacle then—that drew the public in. This pool is no longer around… but hey, swimming around in Swedish meatballs and lingonberry jam is far more indulgent.
[via Travel + Leisure and House Digest, images via IKEA Hotell]
