With the rise of New Nordic cuisine, Stockholm has become a culinary destination with 8 Michelin-starred restaurants – but it’s still possible to eat well for little cash, especially at lunch.
Often listed atop the rankings of best global cities, Stockholm was also the first city to be granted the title of European Green Capital. Fresh ingredients abound from the area’s rivers, lakes, forests, and farmlands.
Here are three Stockholm hotels that won’t break your bank, leaving you with plenty of cash to eat your way through town.
HTL Lounge ©MRNY
HTL: Opened in spring 2014, HTL is one of Stockholm’s newest and most modern downtown hotels. In keeping with the company’s space-efficient aesthetic, all 274 rooms are nearly identical – and, at 135 square feet, approximately equal in size to an interior stateroom on a cruise ship. Guests can use their smartphones as room keys, enabling self-service check-in and, once in the rooms, they can connect their own devices to the LED screen in order to watch and listen to their own libraries.
At HTL, everything is digital, from check-in to check-out, so that it’s possible to be as anonymous as desired – although, that said, the comely staff is as amiable and cheerful as the public spaces, which include a 5,000-square-foot lounge and breakfast area that is both workplace and meeting place for both locals and residents.
HTL at breakfast ©MRNY
The heart and pulse of the hotel, HTL’s lounge expands in clement weather into a secluded outdoor patio with bar and sofas for a total capacity of 650 guests. All courses on the globally-focused food and drink menu are priced under $25.00. A store is open around the clock, featuring a broad range of Stockholm drinks, snacks, and sandwiches – and a digital city guide called Local Everywhere provides personal tips from famous Swedes on the city’s best restaurants and shopping.
In the words of HTL’s designers, the hotel works to “Leave out the unnecessary and enhance the quality of the necessary.”
View onto Teatrebrasseriet from Acoustic Bar at Scandic Grand Central ©MRNY
Scandic Grand Central: Housed in a 130-year-old erstwhile mansion, Scandic Grand Central opened in 2011 with a refurbished modern interior by Koncept Stockholm that offers a lobby living room, a stylish restaurant popular with locals, and a venue called Acoustic Bar for live music and deejays. The commodious rooms are cleverly designed and complemented by white-tiled bathrooms with products from Face Stockholm.
The flagship of Scandic Hotels, which has more than 150 Northern European properties, Scandic Grand Central is located a few blocks from Stockholm’s Central Station and Arlanda Express, thereby providing a perfect base camp for those traveling via rail.
Melody Hotel ©MRNY
Melody Hotel: On the bucolic island of Djurgarden, Melody Hotel offers a winning location right next door to ABBA the Museum and the Swedish Music Hall of Fame. Opened in May 2013, the 50-room boutique hotel features sleek modern suites with terraces and panoramic views of Stockholm.
A restaurant outfitted in red leather is an homage to a classic steak house, with a wide selection of American wines.
