the Stadshotell is back
Södermalm is chic. It’s infused with an effortless cool, a neighbourhood where you’ll find the streetwear-clad locals, the industrial-fronted restaurants and the artfully graffitied spot to pick up a pét-nat or skin-contact wine. It is to many the rugged, slightly less austere side of the ever-so-orderly Stockholm.
It’s the neighbourhood that contains the beating heart of the capital’s cultural and food-centric agenda. With one take at my clustered map, you’ll stumble across Bacchanale, Duvan, Bar Ninja or Cave Nizza. Wine bars will whip up plates of boquerones, broccoli soaked in beurre blanc and bowls of juicy, plump nocellara olives. There’s the sourdough and pastries from Café Pascal — a place where the few outside tables and chairs are snagged up by the regulars (rain, snow, or shine). Days can be spent stumbling through Siv & Âke’s vintage collections, rifling through the books, magazines and poetry at Nord Books and grabbing a pizza slice fresh from the oven at 800 Grader.
It’s now also the neighbourhood that plays host to Stockholm’s freshest hotel, Stockholm Stadshotell. A name easily remembered, both for its relative simplicity (translated literally as Stockholm’s City Hotel) and for its tremendously, detailed history.
The building at Björnsgårdsgatan was built between 1873 to 1875 in memory of the late King Oscar I, though has remained derelict for centuries. Now, the imposing yet gratifyingly symmetrical façade has been restored to its former glory. Ionic columns stretch up to the pristinely gold-faced clock tower and the multiple, curved black-rimmed windows contrast the pink-hued tone of the stone.
For all the grandeur of the exterior, the simplicity of the name, the dining rooms and the relative laissez-faire aura of the surroundings are a welcomed contrast. Notably, it is also Stockholm’s first “Stadshotell,” a Swedish phenomenon of hotel-building in the late 19th century to support the development of railways. The ground-floor dining rooms were to be open to all; a thriving hub of the city and a welcoming, open community.
It’s only apt that upon entering Stockholm Stadshotell the first door in sight is to the entrance of the Stora Salongen (Big Lounge). To the left is the bistro and open kitchen, where head chef Olle T.Cellton, owner of Babette, rustles up hearty, delicious fare. Plates of warm, marinated goat cheese and piles of sourdough with a generous lump of Swedish butter are served on crockery branded with the hotel’s logo. The tables are dressed in timeless loom-woven napkins from Insjöns Vaveri, a weaver founded and based in the province of Dalarna in 1947. The chestnut wood, muted-velour-khaki sofas and burgundy-tiled flooring continue into the bar to the right. It’s here that oodles of liquor spread laboriously across a mahogany curved shelf. My order? A gin from the craft distillery, Stockholm Bränneri down the road.
All eyes turn to the spiral staircase at the back of the Lounge; it’s illuminated by underfloor, warm-toned lanterns, and contrasts the smooth, glaring white of the banister. Does it set itself up for photographs? Naturally.
If the downstairs exudes that New York-esque diner aura, then the Matsalen upstairs is a glittering, regal escape. The former chapel is now the place to gawp at the hand-painted cloud-like, marble fresco, the golden engravings in the beams and the remarkably long central island. Though it’ll also be the spot to dine on a rotating, always seasonal tasting menu, come February 12th.
Yet this is far from just a foodie haven. There’s collaboration between art, craft and architecture in every direction you look. From the Klara Knutsson intarsia wood panelling, inlaid like a mosaic in the elevator, the Josefina Armchair and Ottoman upholstered in rich wool by Austere, to the Tre Sekel bed frames hugging the DUX beds, fitted in bespoke, artisanal linens from London-based Liv Casas.
No decoration goes unnoticed. The thirty-two rooms range from cosy, well-lit snugs, penthouse suites occupying the entirety of the upper wing to an apartment-style, private-entrance retreat. They balance the undulating scale of luxury, minimalism and comfort. There may be textiles from London, bathroom fixtures imported from Lefroy Brooks in Surrey and Italian marble flourishes, but the rest is resoundingly Swedish. Radiant orange Teenage Engineering sound systems are placed within the cluster of books and pottery in each room and Stora Skuggan fragrances fill the space with a freshly floral, glorious scent.
Stockholm Stadshotell has transformed an indisputably frosty, regal palace into a home. A place where, like the city hotels of the past, becomes a space to eat, sleep and drink. It’s through the communal, open areas, the hearty fare and the surrounding chitter-chat of locals, guests and staff that the charm and creativity of Stockholm’s Södermalm is captured. It’s then only fitting that Gunnar Smoliansky’s poetic photographs of this urban neighbourhood hang worthily on the walls of this magical Stadshotell.
Hannah Rees-Middleton
Wild swimming. Natural wine. Excellent exhibitions. And glorious country walks. These are a few of our editor Hannah Rees-Middleton’s favourite things. Whether she’s bouncing around Mexico, paddling through the Kenwood Ladies’ Pond or ogling another mound of butter at a fabulous supper club, Hannah is always in the midst of something cool. A consummate planner, a lover of beautiful things, a traveller never without a camera and a deck of cards. Hannah is many things (including the perfect resource for perfect travel tips).
