Planners looking for a unique incentive hotel should check out these quirky options in Sweden. From a jumbo jet to a floating spa hotel, we take a tour of five of the coolest places to stay across the country…
Check out any recent list featuring the most-anticipated hotel openings for this year and you’ll almost certainly come across the Arctic Bath Hotel (main image). The new property, from the creators of the equally quirky Treehotel, is a floating hotel and spa in Swedish Lapland that freezes into the ice in the winter, and floats on top of the Lule river in the summer.
Six floating cabins and six additional land-based cabins are available while the circular-shaped Arctic Bath houses one spa treatment room, four saunas, an outside cold bath, a hot bath, outdoor and indoor showers. The open central patio area of the bath invites guests to sunbathe, ice bathe or sit back to view the Northern Lights or star-filled skies.
The designs are not only locally relevant and striking but are also developed with the highest environmental standards in mind, using local materials and with a minimal, to no, impact on the environment. Bookings are open from February 2020.
You can’t get much cooler temperature-wise than Sweden’s ICEHOTEL – the original and the world’s first hotel made of ice and snow. Founded in 1989, it is reborn in a new guise every winter, in the Swedish village of Jukkasjärvi, 200 km north of the Arctic Circle.
Celebrating its 30th anniversary when it opens again in December 2019, the ICEHOTEL is the perfect backdrop for memorable winter incentives. Inside the hotel, the temperature is never lower than 23 Fahrenheit, regardless of how cold it may be outside. Dress in warm thermal underwear, put on a hat and slip into the cosy sleeping bag.
You can now visit the ICEHOTEL year-round with the launch of ICEHOTEL 365, a permanent structure cooled by solar panels during the summer months, which includes luxury suites, each with private relax and bathroom, and art suites, all sculptured by selected artists.
Jumbostay
Worlds away from the standard functional, but often soulless airport hotel, Jumbostay allows guests to spend the night onboard a real jumbo jet – on the ground. Perfect for plane spotters – as well as anyone who needs to catch an early flight, the jet is parked at the entrance to Stockholm Arlanda Airport, the jet has 27 rooms and 76 beds.
Different room categories can accommodate one to three adults in comfort and as well as a quad dormitory bed option, all with shower and toilet facilities in the corridors. The hotel also features a luxury suite in the converted cockpit with a panoramic view of the airport.
Långholmen Prison Hotel
From an aeroplane to a prison, groups in search of a quirky option in Stockholm should check out this property, which occupies the site of the old crown court prison and is situated on an island in the middle of Lake Mȁlaren.
The unusual rooms are cleverly designed cells that retain many authentic features of the building but with a modern feel and all the mod-cons expected. An attractive atrium gallery dating from 1866 is situated in the middle of the complex, while Stockholm’s most captivating prison museum is open daily, and guided tours are given at weekends.
The hotel is located in a relaxing park environment with jogging trails and a lakeside beach and the on-site Inn, which occupies a 17th Century Manor house, and serves up good hearty Swedish food sourced from local, seasonal and largely organic ingredients.
Salt & Sill
Salt & Sill, Sweden’s original floating hotel, is located in the pristine archipelago of the west coast. The hotel is permanently moored on the small fishing island of Klädesholmen – hence the name Salt & Sill, sill meaning herring. The island lies a 45-minute drive north of Gothenburg.
It offers 23 rooms and one suite with an outdoor Jacuzzi, all with their own entrance and access to an outdoor seating area. In the Salt & Sill restaurant, you can enjoy fresh and newly captured seafood. And don’t miss the famous Herring Platter, which has given the restaurant international recognition.
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