Hotels

Ett Hem (A Home) is Stockholm’s finest hotel. The Ilse Crawford-designed space mingles modern swish, antiques, books, tasteful furniture and tactile finishes with the most pleasing results. Sit down in the restaurant and breakfast appears, or wander into the kitchen and pop your head in the fridge before chatting with the chef about what you’re after. 

Owner Jeanette Mix and her staff hold themselves to the highest standards of thoughtfulness and charm. Each of the 12 rooms (yes, only 12 – book ahead) is decorated uniquely: Swedish oak and sheepskin throws; a parquet floor here, a colourful rug there. These combine with planters, Scandinavian chairs and sink-in sofas to create the most superb of stays. The rub? Well, Lärkstaden is a 10 or 15-minute amble from the city proper, a huge distance by the standards of this small city.

Many of the pastel-hued buildings that make up this 78-room hotel are former military barracks that were built in 1699. Södermalm firm Claesson Koivisto Rune has preserved the finishes and dimensions (hence the modular bathrooms incorporated into the rooms without permanent walls). Several rooms once housed bunks for multiple soldiers but today they afford space and calm: modern touches such as lamps by Achille Castiglioni and Pio Manzù for Flos sit tastefully in the age-old rooms. The tennis court outside dates from the days of Oscar II. As for food, chef Magnus Johansson’s breakfast is the toast of the town. 

This plush old hotel has hosted Nobel laureates, notables and the ne’er-do-wells for 130 years or so – and the slightly dated grandeur aside, it’s reassuringly friendly. All 280 rooms are well appointed but try to nab one renovated by Dap or Eye Studio for something fresher and more design-minded.

The pretty Cadier Bar downstairs is named after the building’s architect and is great whether or not you’re a guest; for something more substantial, chef Mathias Dahlgren is on hand to cater. The Rutabaga restaurant is vegetarian and the colourfully tiled Matbaren an informal affair, while the ground-floor Grand Café and street-facing Veranda round out the excellent drinking and dining options. Plus, the subterranean Nordic Spa and Gym is a gem if you fancy a rubdown and a dip.