Here's How Spain's First Nap Caf Is Stepping Up The Siesta Game

If Madrid’s summer heat leaves you feeling in need of a lie-down, here’s your answer – the Spanish siesta stereotype just got kicked up a notch with the country’s very first siesta café. Read on for where to catch up on your zzzs.

Though Spaniards may be renowned the world over for enjoying an afternoon nap, today’s busy lifestyles mean that most people rarely, if ever, get that stereotypical 40 winks after lunch.

However, a new café recently opened in Madrid is hoping to change all that, providing an environment where busy Madrileños can squeeze in a quick snooze between business meetings.

Siesta & Go, the first of its kind in Spain, is on a mission to modernise the age-old tradition by offering both private and shared rooms, available to rent by the minute, where customers can have a rest during the day.

Wherever your preferred sleeping place, the café has a range to suit all: a rest in a comfy armchair costs €1.50 (US$1.71) for 30 minutes, a bunk bed is €4-5 (US$4.50-5.70) for 30 minutes (depending on if you choose the top or bottom bunk) or, if you want your own space, a private room is €7 (US$8) for 30 minutes.

Private rooms are equipped with everything you need for a superlative sleep, including pyjamas, slippers, single use sheets and blankets (so you don’t have to worry about sharing with strangers) and a cup of coffee after your nap.

Best of all, there are no shrill alarm clocks – instead, a member of staff gently wakes customers at their specified time.

Siesta & Go is located in Madrid’s financial district

Despite its reputation as the home of the siesta, Spain has never monetised its famous nap, unlike countries such as Japan, where pod hotels are big business in the country’s main cities.

A trip to Tokyo was all the inspiration needed for Siesta & Go’s founder, María Estrella Jorro de Inza, to open the café in Madrid.

“On a trip we took, we realised there were many options: rest centres for women, for men and mixed options,” she told Spanish newspaper El País.

Jorro de Inza says that the café has already proved popular, especially with business people, with the average age of customers between 30-45 years old.

Plaza Manuel Gómez-Moreno, Madrid, Spain, +34 911 99 38 74

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