Check out this IKEA & YUST hotel collab!
I found out about this special spring offer back in early 2024 and immediately thought of my bestie, who LOVES that era. So, I suggested we book ourselves a little getaway there for her bday. The website had been good at not providing too many pictures of the room. Just enough to make us want to see more. And let me tell you: we saw A LOT more!
First, let’s talk about the hotel itself. Actually YUST is a chain of hostels! But wow, I would not have thought so. The design and services are beyond what I have experienced in most… hotel chains!
As soon as we stepped in, we realised why IKEA had chosen YUST as a partner for this specific activation. The design of the hotel totally suits the retro aesthetic of the products they clearly want to promote. It’s all beautifully coherent from the lobby, to the room floors and rooftop terrace. My favourite part: columns clad in flower patterned glass plates.
In terms of service, the hostel offers:
- a restaurant
- several meeting rooms
- a communal chill out area with non-stop coffee
- a small auditorium
- an outdoor firepit seating area
- a laundry room (with pac man machine)
- a shared kitchen
- a rooftop terrace with a bar.
The staff is always on hand and the hostel also communicates via WhatsApp throughout the duration of the stay.
Top marks in my eyes!
Let me now turn to the IKEA room itself. Actually, I invite you to look at the pictures as my words won’t do the collab full justice. What I can say is that it most definitely delivers on the experience scale! My friend and I were giddy our entire stay.
Besides the impeccable care given to the overall look, what I appreciated the most were the smaller details: the record player and records, the vintage books including a “vintage” ikea catalogue… and as we had a family room: the integration of kids features.
IKEA is well known for its continuous activation initiatives. I love how broad they go with these. Some are clearly more about highlighting certain products (such as here), others are aimed at easing customer access (such as their smaller store formats and now “phone booth”), but they also at times address social issues. As a retail enthusiast, I cannot but praise them for this… and keep wanting to see what they come up with next!
For those interested, the hostel will keep the retro rooms beyond the set deadline. So if, like me, you like to live fun and unique experiences, I recommend you check it out here.
Are you as passionate about retail and retail design as me, then please get in touch. I’m always very happy to share thoughts.
