(Bloomberg) -- If you were an Olympian competing for glory in Paris right now, would you rather sleep on a single bed made out of cardboard in a potentially non-airconditioned room? Or a plush king mattress at one of the world’s best hotels? A few days in, athletes are divided.
“To live the full experience, you need to be in the village,” Rafael Nadal told reporters on Monday after a straight-sets men’s singles loss to longtime rival Novak Djokovic. “We are used to staying in hotels or houses with the things probably more comfortable than how the things are in the village,” he said.
“Playing Olympic Games without being in the village is like playing another event,” added Nadal, who has earned almost $135 million in career prize money, and bolstered his wealth further through lucrative endorsements.
“It’s only once every four years, and for me personally, it doesn’t make sense to stay in the hotel, we stay in a hotel every single week,” said Nadal. The 22-time Grand Slam champion and teammate Carlos Alcaraz, a three-time major winner and a village resident, are representing Spain in men’s doubles.
Reigning US Open champion Coco Gauff, competing in the US in women’s singles, doubles and mixed doubles, said on Sunday that she decided to remain in the village despite an exodus by some teammates.
“I was going to move with some of the tennis athletes to our hotel, but I kept meeting all these amazing athletes staying in the village,” said the 20-year-old, who has amassed $15 million in prize money so far, and additional earnings through sponsorships. “Rafa’s staying in the village, so I was like, if he can do it, then I can do it.”
“I stayed in there for three nights I think, but I didn’t sleep basically at all,” Emma Navarro, Gauff’s teammate, told People, in reference to Olympic Village. “I slept cumulatively six hours, so I had to move out and go to the hotel.”
Gauff, responding to a fan on TikTok who commented about the cardboard beds, said she’d improved the situation. “Archery team [lent] me a mattress topper,” wrote the Florida resident.
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Australian women’s water polo player Tilly Kearns also elevated her “rock hard” cardboard bed. “They got us a second pillow,” in addition to a mattress topper, she told fans on TikTok. “I’m so grateful because I was waking up every second hour, I actually thought about going on the floor,” she said. “Already had a massage to undo the damage,” she posted on the platform after her first night on the bed.
It’s not uncommon for certain athletes to favor hotels over village life, in part due to security, fewer distractions and arguably better nutritional offerings. The US men’s and women’s basketball teams, led by the likes of LeBron James, Kevin Durant and A’ja Wilson, for instance, have opted for five-star hotels.
Durant, a three-time gold medalist, told USA Today that he didn’t get a say in the matter, in part because his nation’s basketball team hasn’t stayed in the village since 1992, when it was comprised of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and others. “I don’t think we had a choice,” Durant told the newspaper. “I haven’t gotten into any [cardboard] beds since I’ve been doing this whole thing.”
For anyone looking to decamp to one of Paris’ finest establishments: Royal Monceau, which has counted Lady Gaga and Celine Dion as guests in the past week, has rooms this week for around $2,656, while Le Meurice has rooms for about $2,499.
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