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In the mid-2000s, Ferran Adrià’s restaurant El Bulli reigned supreme among the pioneers of modernist cuisine. When the restaurant, which is partly responsible for putting gelees and foams and spherified things on pretentious menus everywhere, closed in 2011, Adrià turned it into El Bulli 1846, a museum that was “designed to be the ideal ecosystem for creativity,” as he told Eater in 2017. Now, he’s turning that museum into... an Airbnb, for one night only.
Two very lucky restaurant obsessives will get the “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity to sleep inside El Bulli 1846, atop a plate-shaped bed. The offer is a partnership with Airbnb, which announced the details of the ultra-exclusive stay this week. According to the listing, this experience at a “mythical space that sparked a culinary revolution” is only available for one night, and those seeking to book the stay will have to enter a lottery to be selected for the privilege. Airbnb isn’t charging for the stay, but they’ll have to get themselves to Roses, the tiny Spanish town where El Bulli 1846 is located (car service from a nearby airport to the cliffside building will be provided).
According to an Airbnb spokesperson, the person who enters for the chance to score the free night at El Bulli 1846 must be at least 18 years old, have an active Airbnb profile, and “a good track record on the platform.” Still, I have many other questions, listed below in order of importance.
What the hell is going on with this bed?
When you’re sleeping inside El Bulli 1846, a space that encourages visitors to “reflect on the themes of gastronomy and innovation,” per the website, it’s reasonable to expect that the bed is going to be weird. But this “plated bed,” allegedly inspired by the restaurant’s famous liquefied olive dish, goes far beyond weird. Based on the picture included with the press release, it looks like a 1700s horsehair mattress sitting on top of a napkin. Are those pillows constructed from wood?
Why isn’t Ferran Adrià cooking dinner for his Airbnb guests?
The El Bulli 1846 experience doesn’t actually include dinner cooked by Ferran Adrià. On the one-night stay, guests will travel to an unnamed nearby restaurant that is apparently a favorite of the chef’s, which seems ridiculous when you’re already sitting inside a temple of modern gastronomy. The next day, guests are invited to Enigma, the Barcelona restaurant from Albert Adrià, Ferran’s brother and a fellow big-deal chef. But if I’m traveling all the way to Spain to sleep inside at El Bulli 1846, something better be getting spherified or poofed into a foam inside those four walls.
Why isn’t there a shower?
According to the listing, the stay at El Bulli 1846 will be a slightly smelly one, because there are no shower facilities on the property. That makes sense, because this is a museum that used to be a restaurant, but surely there’s a nearby hotel equipped with bathing facilities? You mean to tell me that the hypothetical winner is going to be forced to meet Ferran Adrià, and sleep inside one of the fanciest restaurants in the world, while smelling like stale airplane peanuts? Brutal. (The listing does note that guests will be provided with a “personal care kit” to ensure their comfort. And yet, I am not super comforted by that.)
No, seriously, what is up with this bed?
Why is the bottom so ruffly? What is its weight capacity? Will there be a blanket (there isn’t one pictured) and if so, will it be edible?
Is this just going to be The Menu: The Reality Show?
There is something ominous about this listing. I am not trying to end up being turned into s’mores by some deranged chef who’s tired of cooking for bratty, boring hyper-elites. As such, I will not be signing up to put my body onto what is clearly just a human-sized plate.
