Sweet Dreams At Hotel DUXIANA — a new Valpas Collaborator hotel
We caught up with Henrik Ljung, President of DUX International from DUX Beds, to discuss the living legacy of their 90-year-old family-business and their take on hospitality at the Hotel DUXIANA.
In 1926, Henry Ford introduced the 40-hour work week in Detroit, Michigan. That went on to become the standard for the industrialised world. That year, not too far from Detroit in Chicago, Illinois, arguably something nearly as influential happened. A Swedish chocolatier with sleeping troubles, Efraim Ljung had an epiphany after an exceptional night’s sleep at a hotel: he decided to pivot from making chocolates to building the best beds in the world. Just like that, he’s business shifted from stimulants to sedatives, and DUX Beds was born.
“The philosophy of DUX has been since the beginning around comfort, longevity and adaptability — building the most high quality beds that last for a lifetime”, says Henrik Ljung, President of DUX International. Henrik is a fourth-generation Ljung, and together with his siblings Charlotte, Anders and Oscar they all continue developing Efraim’s legacy at the company.
DUX Beds are known for their state-of-the-art, high-quality beds. DUX’s proprietary Pascal System with it’s interchangeable spring cassettes means that the DUX bed can even be customised to individual bed firmness preferences — something unique out there.
Today, the Malmö-based company’s beds are found worldwide via their retail network, as well as at an ever increasing number of best hotels in the world, like the Burj Al Arab in Dubai, or the Quin in New York City. Predicting the next 100 years of DUX’s story, Mr. Ljung wants to make sure that the brand remains “the number one bed manufacturer in the world”.
We’re sitting in the basement of Hotel DUXIANA, DUX’s own flagship hotel in Malmö with Mr. Ljung. Hotel DUXIANA has just become a Valpas Collaborator by implementing Valpas’ in-room technology in all their 21 rooms. In doing so, they are the first hotel in Sweden to delight their guests with a carefree travel experience — the hotel is now a safe haven from bed bugs. In many ways, the underlying comfort the Valpas system inspires in guests, paired up with it’s durable legs that can be applied to any bed base — including DUX’s — match with DUX’s ethos of comfort, longevity and adaptability.
Despite being referred to as “basement”, the space resembles more a contemporary club room with its combination of floor-to-ceiling dark-wood bookshelves, minimalistic Scandinavian design, and smoky atmosphere. “In A Sentimental Mood” by Duke Ellington and John Coltrane plays on the background as we dig deeper into the DUX philosophy to hospitality. “We built Hotel DUXIANA to make DUX beds and the whole DUX experience more available to people”, tells Henrik Ljung. The overall goal of the hotel is to deliver a superior guest experience, which at Hotel DUXIANA starts from their natural advantage: the bed.
Being a 100% family-owned company means both the bed manufacturing and hospitality side of the business can make decisions quickly, without compromise. This enables DUX to keep innovating at both fronts and the first in whatever they do. To be able to do this, while honouring the heritage and expertise the company has in building formidable beds and delivering a good night’s sleep, Mr. Ljung also speaks about the importance of looking closely for other things from outside the company that could add value.
In Valpas, he feels he has found a natural addition to great sleep. “We feel we want to actively advocate a solution like this that is simple and natural and which in the end contributes to greater guest experience”, Mr. Ljung ends.
Great sleep and sweet dreams have certainly the leading role at the HOTEL DUXIANA, but there are plenty of supporting roles for their great guest experience, too. Based on a 19th Century building that has since then been converted into the cosy boutique hotel it is today, Hotel DUXIANA has a refined, timeless elegance to it.
The hotel is equipped head to toe with beautiful furniture built in collaboration with DUX and various Nordic designers. Still, rooms are personal and different, all in their own way — try to book the airy corner room 201 to experience a bath with a view. The locally-sourced breakfast is one of Malmö’s best, and by midday the restaurant transforms into one of the busiest lunch spots in town — that is, if you got any space left after that hearty brekkie. Staff is eloquent and meet everyone passing by the hotel with informal courteousness, contemporary cool.
And once you’ve done with exploring what Malmö and its surroundings have to offer, you find comfort in retreating to and recovering on a DUX bed with Valpas legs.
It’s hard to come up with a better place to spend the night in after that 40-hour work week.
Hotel DUXIANA in Malmö, Sweden, is the flagship hotel of DUX Beds, manufacturer of state-of-the-art, high-quality beds for the most prestigious hotels in the world.
Valpas is a Finnish design and technology company that advances contemporary and conscious travel with new IoT technology. Hotels apply for access here, travelers find your exciting Valpas Collaborator hotel here.
