With at least a little more freedom to travel anticipated in the coming months, Sweden is out to attract visitors to both city and country establishments that will be strutting their stuff in the European summer.
One such establishment will be the hotel Villa Dagmar, described as a hint of Italy in Stockholm's trendiest district, and another is one of the new TEN hotels located midway between Stockholm and Arlanda Airport.
Above: images of Gamla Stan, Stockholm's old town, including Mårten Trotzigs Gränd, Stockholm's slimmest street – just 90cm wide at its narrowest point.
I love all things Scandinavian and Sweden's capital, Stockholm, is no exception. A most attractive city, Stockholm is built on 14 islands with more than 50 bridges and abuts the larger Stockholm archipelago of around 24,000 islands on the Baltic Sea.
The cobblestone streets and ochre-coloured buildings of Gamla Stan, the old town, are home to the 13th-century Storkyrkan Cathedral, the Kungliga Slottet Royal Palace and the Nobel Museum. Ferries shuttle passengers between the islands.
Villa Dagmar – a home away from home
On 6 May 2021, the new boutique hotel Villa Dagmar will open the gates to what its owners call a beautiful, modern and creative "home" for global travellers seeking a hotel with both heart and soul in a chic and affluent part of Stockholm, next to Östermalm's Market Hall.
The founders of Villa Dagmar, the Malmström family, have been the successful owners of the renowned Hotel Diplomat – which is at Strandvägen 7C, Stockholm – since the 1960s.
Villa Dagmar's 70 rooms and suites overlook either the street Nybrogatan or the magnificent courtyard, the heart of the hotel. The courtyard is reminiscent of a cosy Italian piazza with a food and wine bar, a restaurant, a flower shop and holistic spa with direct access to Östermalms Saluhall, Stockholm's world-class market hall established in 1888.
Restaurant Villa Dagmar will create a modern, international atmosphere with a menu characterised by Mediterranean cuisine with lots of small enticing dishes.
Prices start from SEK 3,500 (about US$414) per room per night bed and breakfast.
TEN Hotel – a new, affordable hotel for active travellers
If Villa Dagmar is too expensive for your budget you may prefer Ten Hotel, a completely new hotel concept that will open in Upplands Väsby in April.
Ten Hotel is a modern and affordable hotel concept based on a mix of personal and digital service, sustainable materials, design and environmentally friendly technology. It has 194 rooms, all with balconies, high-speed wifi, well-planned lighting, individual air-conditioning and comfortable beds with high-quality bed linen. The hotel's larger studios have small kitchens with dishwashers.
The hotel offers a large, state-of-the-art gym with a sauna, and next to the hotel is a new paddle centre. It is also close to golf courses as well as trails for running, skiing and other leisure activities in the immediate area. Check-in and check-out are done digitally, but staff are available 24 hours a day. In the lobby there is also Ten Café, which offers self-service breakfast as well as light refreshments 24 hours a day.
Ten Hotel opens in Upplands Väsby, just 20 minutes from both downtown Stockholm and the airport, and becomes the brand's flagship with restaurant and bar.
Prices start from SEK 400 (about US$47) per room per night excluding breakfast.
Vibrant Stockholm
Food and drink
Hernö Gin Bar will open a brand new cocktail bar and tasting room this summer at Hornsgatan 1, on the island of Södermalm in central Stockholm with a view of Slussen, the area between Gamla Stan and Södermalm where locks connect the Baltic Sea with Lake Mälaren.
Hernö Gin is Sweden's first gin distillery, founded in 2011 and celebrating 10 successful years throughout 2021. Named the world's best gin in 2017, 2018 and 2019, Hernö Gin looks set to strengthen its position as Sweden's leading gin manufacturer and to lift its profile in the capital. The spirit is made in Dala on Sweden's High Coast, more than 440km north of Stockholm.
In the stylish cocktail bar, visitors will be able to sample dozens of drinks, which make use of the entire Hernö Gin range. In the adjacent tasting rooms, which will have a similar layout to the distillery in Dala, guests can pre-book tastings.
Back on the High Coast, Hernö Gin will also construct a 120-room hotel as part of a longer-term plan to develop Härnösand and the surrounding High Coast into an internationally renowned destination in which – you've guessed it – gin will feature prominently. The hotel is expected to open in 2022.
Brasserie Astoria
After several years of planning and renovation, Brasserie Astoria will open soon in the former cinema on Nybrogatan. Inspiration is taken in part from French cuisine but it will serve a wide variety of international food, as well as wine and cocktails.
Brasserie Astoria opens on 15 March at Nybrogatan 15, Stockholm and bookings are now being taken.
In the regions
Weinbergs Farm Hotel aims to be self-sufficient in vegetables, cider, fruit wine and flowers within three years. Located in the province of Skåne, just outside Trelleborg, the hotel opened a year ago and the farm includes a 20-year-old vineyard.
They have also opened a farm shop called Garaget (The Garage) where leftover vegetables are sold along with jars of jam, local ceramics and furnishings from the hotel. You don´t have to stay at the hotel to visit the farm, you can simply drop in, browse and enjoy a coffee.
Skåne village
Weinbergs is a green oasis surrounded by vineyards and rape fields, on Skåne´s south coast only five minutes from the region's famed sandy beaches, but also within easy reach of Malmö, Ystad and Trelleborg. The hotel is situated in a traditional Swedish farmhouse built in 1859 and has 12 uniquely furnished and decorated rooms.
Photos: Judy Barford