Grand Hôtel Stockholm

Why book?

This gracious grand dame has possibly the best possible address in all of Stockholm, overlooking Strökajen Harbor in the city’s Norrmalm district, a short walk from the Royal Palace and the Old Town. It draws a well-heeled clientele who come for the location, the elegant and understated guest rooms, the world-class restaurants and spa, and the patina of history.

Set the scene

Approaching this storied hotel, you might think: that looks like something from Accidentally Wes Anderson. (And you’d be right; the Grand Hôtel Stockholm has been featured on the blog.) It’s got it all: quaint European charm, lavish ornamentation, an oxidised copper roof, symmetry, and flags. Inside,

The backstory

The hotel was founded in 1874 by the French chef Régis Cadier (whose name graces the swanky lobby bar) to give Stockholm a grand, continental-style hotel to rival other European centres of commerce and culture. Since the first awarding of the Nobel Prizes in 1901, it has been the traditional accommodation of Nobel Laureates, who are awakened at the hotel on December 13 for the Feast of Saint Lucia by candle-carrying girls in white. It has hosted countless celebrities, politicians, and other cultural figures, some of whom have suites named after them. A major renovation in 2018 restored the building’s iconic facade, which had been modernised in the 1960s, to its original state.

The rooms

The guest rooms are gracious and spacious in the way you’d expect of accommodations originally designed for 19th-century jet-setters. Many have stunning views of the harbour and the Royal Palace. Even with the high ceilings and crown moulding, the appointments feel resolutely cool and modern. Some of the best suites, with attached parlours, take their name and character from dignitaries who have stayed at the hotel, like Ingrid Bergman and Princess Lilian.

Food and drink

The hotel operates half a dozen restaurants and bars, including two by the acclaimed Swedish chef Matthias Dhalgren: the Michelin-starred Seafood Gastro, which offers an epic tasting-menu experience that focuses on Nordic flavours from the sea; the sheer bounty of beautifully plated confections involving fish maw, langoustine claw, and other briny mysteries borders on psychedelic. The French Riviera-inspired Grand Soleil is an excellent place to people-watch while enjoying an octopus salad and Sancerre, and the clubby Cadier Bar is a good place for a cold martini and late-night pommes frites. The kaleidoscopic assortment of breads, including lovely flatbread and rye, at the breakfast buffet deserves mention as well, as does the excellent room service menu.

The spa

The excellent Nordic spa offers a pine-scented sauna, an array of treatment options, and a fitness studio. The Nordic Detox treatment – a deep-tissue massage followed by a heat wrap – is a popular jetlag cure.

The neighbourhood/area

The hotel is in Norrmalm, Stockholm’s main shopping and business district, and close to picturesque Old Town. The Nobel Prize Museum, National Museum, and Royal Palace are all within a short walk, as are many great restaurants.

The service

In the grand European hospitality tradition – formal, polite, and seemingly omnipotent.

For families

The Grand Hôtel is a grown-up-feeling place, but families are welcome and the hotel can arrange a babysitter and activities for little ones.

Eco effort

Though the hotel was built more than 150 years ago, it is surprisingly energy-efficient, and heat and cooling recovery systems, along with other measures–like an invisible solar film on the windows that filters out the sun’s heat energy, reducing the need for cooling in the summer – help further reduce energy consumption. The hotel also emphasises a repair-don’t-replace ethos with building appliances, and uses refillable bottles for all of its toiletries.

Accessibility

The common spaces are wheelchair-accessible, and accessible rooms are available.