Hotel owner
Monica K. Conradsen is wearing Tana Shirt – Desert Sand, Sonja Shirt – Moss Green and Harry Pants – Desert Sand
One and a half year ago, 52-year-old Monica K. Conradsen made a lifelong dream come true. She opened her own home-away-from-home and boutique hotel, The Monica in Ærøskøbing, Ærø. A two-bedroom luxury hotel designed as a modern refugee.
Here, you won’t find televisions, but a library from where you’ll carefully select coffee table books to read in the living room or anywhere else you like in the house and a hotel shop selling a meticulously curated selection of scrunchies made from vintage Hermès scarves by Cherished Objects Reimagined, Mason Pearson hairbrushes to name just a few. A place, that oozes Monica – from the personally designed kitchen to the food, she cooks according to season on her big brown glace Lacanche stove with local produces and serves not only to her hotel guests, but also at her café and restaurant.
Where’s your favourite place?
The kitchen/dining room at The Monica.
Why is this your favourite place?
It’s the heart of my hotel. It’s where I treat my guests with scrumptious homemade food. My guests shouldn’t expect Michelin food, but instead solid organic and sustainable food made from seasonal and local produces. Lately, a dinner success has been Beef Bourguignon served with mashed root crop and vegetarian potato and parsnip hash with baby beetroots roasted in garlic and thyme served with a fried egg on top. It’s here I’ll whisk up a pound cake, I’ll serve my guest when they return home after a windy and brisk walk by the sea.
I had a clear vision of the kitchen/dining room and therefore designed the room myself and subsequently had a local carpenter build it. Nothing you’ll see here is only for show. Everything has a purpose. Danish ceramic Hanne Bertelsen especially designed the china you’ll eat of and I painted the room with my favourite colours from the British manufacturer of paints, Farrow & Ball.
It’s only just recently I hired help. Before that I did everything myself: arrange flowers, do the ironing, cook, you name it… Consequently, I think that’s why the kitchen/dining room has become my favourite room – it’s where I’ll meet my guests, both the ones who stay at the hotel and those, who drop in and visit the café or restaurant. In an otherwise very busy day running the hotel, it’s here I get the chance to socialize with the people, who choose to visit The Monica.
Things you usually do when you’re there?
The hotel actually has an office, designed for all the deskwork running a hotel generates. But especially at this time of year (spring, ed.) I take the time to sit at the refectory table in the kitchen surrounded by handicraft, modern design and antiques and plan my day in a ray of sunlight with a newly brewed cup of coffee.
Visit Hotel The Monica HERE