Unique stay: Canadian tourist discovers hostel on Ikea's top floor
A group of tourists was greatly astonished during their trip to Vienna when they discovered that the hostel they had booked was within an Ikea store.
5:36 AM EST, November 29, 2023
Braun, a 28-year-old from Ontario, Canada, embarked on a two-and-a-half-week backpacking journey through Europe with her friends. Among other places, they decided to visit Austria's capital, Vienna. Braun had entrusted the task of booking hostel accommodation to one of her friends, an action she discusses in an interview with Business Insider. They were in for quite a surprise upon their arrival at the hostel.
"We have to go to Ikea?" Braun asked, bewildered just after landing.
The hostel, called Jo&Joe, where they were supposed to stay, was situated on the top floor of the famed Scandinavian store chain. "It felt like we were moving into Ikea," reported Braun.
A short video Braun shared on TikTok shows the delighted tourists navigating through Ikea, heading to their accommodation via the escalator. The video quickly went viral, and internet users fascinated by the location of the hostel joked about the opportunity to play hide and seek inside the store.
The Canadian described it as the most "unique" hostel at which she has ever stayed. She found it "spacious" and "industrial", and added that watching Ikea customers through glass walls provided an additional attraction. "At night, it felt like I was sleeping in a museum," she stated, finding the experience "strange".
The triple room cost them 341 euros for three nights, which is approximately 404 dollars. She also mentioned that the Ikea restaurant offered "cheap and tasty meals".
