a Nordic stay that’s more home than hotel

Standing opposite the Ærø Museum on a pretty street of half-timbered houses, Hotel The Monica looks very much at home alongside its Ærøskøbing neighbours. Colourful doorways are in abundance in this part of town, and The Monica’s is painted, rather fittingly, in Farrow & Ball’s Danish Lawn. For owner Conradsen, it was important for her guesthouse to look exactly as it always had—on the outside, at least—which meant carefully restoring the 1850 private home and adjoining butcher’s shop. Local carpenters and ironsmiths were called in to bring the original terrazzo flooring, wooden beams and shopfront window back to life. Conradsen’s family and friends helped with the interior decoration, setting about with ladders, paintbrushes and seam rollers, much to the amusement of passersby. “It was all hands on deck,” says Conradsen. It’s difficult to imagine the hotel in disarray today, now that every detail is so thoughtfully—down to the hand-picked flower arrangements and line-dried Geismars bed linens. 

Stepping in from the street, you’re greeted with a warm hug and delicious scents from the open kitchen. When taking over all three bedrooms, the entire house and courtyard are yours to roam. The shop next door can be opened out-of-hours, with former model Conradsen on hand as a personal shopper and stylist. Cashmere jumpers from aiayu, knitwear from Guðrun & Guðrun and traditional Danish paper lampshades are just a few of the temptations on offer.

Upstairs, Rooms One and Two abut the library piled high with sought-after hardbacks and curated magazines. Pieces by Nordic artists like Stine Regild and Harald Havsteen-Mikkelsen line the walls and are available for purchase, and a help-yourself drinks trolley keeps you sufficiently lubricated. Conradsen loves it when guests bring their duvets into the living room. “It reminds me of when my children used to snuggle down on cold winter days.” Hosting is laid-back here. 

You might take tea in the courtyard with a blanket and good book, retire to your bedroom with some pre-dinner snacks or gather around the kitchen table to pore over cookbooks and hand-scrawled recipes. Generous helpings are presented on large, sharing-style plates and eaten by candlelight, creating an intimate, supper club setting. “Fridge parties were my favourite way of cooking as a child,” admits Conradsen, who enjoys using up the entire contents of the larder. Growing up in rural southern Denmark, Conradsen used to cycle to the nearest farm to gather eggs and pull up vegetables from the fields—her ‘waste not, want not’ approach is still admirably apparent, though she does lean toward excess when it comes to herbs. Using triple the amount recommended in any given recipe, her small team is often seen picking herbs in the higgledy-piggledy garden to flavour butcher-sourced meats and the finest catches of fish. 

Like The Monica, much of Ærø’s charm lies in doing very little—and, of course, exploring the island’s dune-backed shores dotted with historic bathhouses, fishing villages and extensive cycling trails There are welly boots to borrow in the hallway and hand-embroidered towels, robes and sun hats in each room, should Baltic Sea dips be on the agenda. For the hotel’s Nordic guests, this is one of the most popular ways to start each morning, and you’re encouraged to have breakfast in your dressing gown afterwards (wet hair is smiled upon). Just along the coast, there’s a wild sauna at Kleven Havn, which can be booked in advance and pre-heated for your cold plunge (locals often bring their own firewood). The hotel can also organise foraging trips with a local botanist and guided tours of Hammerich’s Hus, the art-filled holiday home of Danish sculptor Gunnar Hammerich that’s just a few doors down from The Monica.

There’s no need to check-out of The Monica. Because you never really checked in. The only paperwork you need bother with is penning something thoughtful in the guestbook and continuing to indulge in life’s simple pleasures well after departure.