Would you pay £542,600 ($660,000) for a bed? Believe it or not, there are many who will.
Swedish bed sellers Hästens markets its handmade beds – which it labels ‘sleeping instruments’ – at this price point, and they sell like hotcakes. Celebrities who are said to own a model include Beyonce, Brad Pitt, Drake, Tom Cruise and Angelina Jolie.
The beds – which have a distinctive checkered pattern, start at £20,584 ($25,000) and feature real horsetail hair – are designed to last. Hästens, a company founded in 1852 in Koping in Sweden’s Vastmanland County, offers a minimum warranty of 25 years, but recommends changing the topper every three to five years.
A quote from the new book by Hästens CEO Jan Ryde, published in January, reveals: ‘We really don’t know how old a Hästens bed can get… we’ve seen Hästens beds that are over a century old. ‘
Swedish bed sellers Hästens markets its handcrafted beds (above) – which it labels ‘sleeping instruments’ – at £542,600 ($660,000) at the top
With such a significant investment being made, Hästens wants its customers to be sure they are ready to make the purchase.
Before taking the plunge, customers are encouraged to ‘really try out (his) beds’ by snoozing in them, complete with a blanket, without a salesperson talking to them, in one of their in-store ‘bed tests’reveals Hästens.
The company also recommends that customers come back and try the bed a second time. Hästens says that ‘there is no such thing as taking too long to test a bed you will sleep in for the rest of your life’.
These two images show the Hästens store on Wigmore Street in London. The company offers a 25-year warranty
Customers are encouraged to try out Hästens beds by snoozing in them, complete with a blanket, in one of their in-store ‘bed tests’. Above is the Hästens store in Stockholm
The Portuguese city of Coimbra is home to the Hästens Sleep Spa – CBR Boutique Hotel (shown in the two images above), where all 15 bedrooms are adorned with Hästens beds
Hästens’ ‘Sleep Spas’ take the experience up a notch. These partner stores, located across the US, offer an even more unique approach to bed testing. The Financial Times visited a ‘Sleep Spa’ in New York and said customers were invited to climb into bed in a ‘dark, lavender-scented showroom’ while wearing a ‘pair of $220 (£183) down duvet boots’ wear before being instructed to ‘swaddle’ and ‘goodbye to bed’. A store representative talks customers through how the body should feel on the mattress during the experience, which lasts about an hour.
After your purchase there is maintenance involved. To keep your bed in the best condition, it is recommended that you turn and turn your mattress 180 degrees over specific time intervals, so that the sleeping surface is adapted to your body and your sleeping positions, reveals Hästens.
If you can’t afford one of these expensive beds yourself, a hotel stay can give you a taste of the Hästens lifestyle.
These two photos show the Hästens Ultimate Sleep Suite at the Lotte New York Palace hotel, where guests can choose from three different Hästens beds to sleep in
The Infinity Suite in ‘The Langham, London’ hotel, which is ‘adorned with a Hästens 2000T bed’ that is ‘made of 37 layers’
The Portuguese city of Coimbra is home to the Hästens Sleep Spa – CBR Boutique Hotelwhere all 15 bedrooms are decorated with the company’s beds and bedding to ensure that the ‘dominion of sleep prevails’.
In London there is The Infinity Suite in The Langham, which is ‘adorned with a Hästens 2000T bed’ that is ‘made from 37 layers and over 200 kilograms (440lb) of carefully selected materials’, the hotel reveals.
And across the pond in New York, there is the Hästens Ultimate Sleep Suite at the Lotte New York Palace hotel, where guests can choose from three different Hästens beds to sleep in. The suite costs from $10,000 (£8,600) per night.