Hotel Lydmar
In a perfect location, almost dead center in the city in the heart of the quiet neighborhood Blasieholmen you will find Hotel Lydmar. Situated on the waters edge, it is the perfect discreet setting for a discreet hotel. It is hard to believe that this beautiful building was once an old rundown office building, last used for storage by the National Museum.
It’s a bit chilly out as I arrive this early spring morning, but in the summer, the hotel will feature outdoor seating with water front view, sure to attract international as well as local visitors looking to see as well as be seen.
After being greeted by a very friendly receptionist, I am checked in promptly and with detailed instructions on how to use the shower… which peaks my curiosity a bit. On the way up to the fifth floor, the glass door of the elevator provides a peak of the tastefully designed living rooms featured on each floor. In “my” living room on the top floor I find a beautiful saxophone, which, I found out later, is a personal item of the owner Mr. Lydmar himself. It once belonged to his grand-dad.
Mr. Lydmar obviously has a weakness for out of the ordinary art. The attention-grabbing and somewhat provocative photography exhibit throughout the hotel is not for the sensitive crowd but serves as a great conversation starter.
On the fifth floor, beneath the timbered beams where I will spend this lovely evening, I find a large inviting comfortable bed with LOTS of comfy pillows and a huge double down comforter you could just drown in. However, before one does so you better close the curtains to avoid being peeked at from the rooms of the next door hotel.
In addition to the huge bed, the room features a cool looking glass desk, a small modern sofa and a side table filled with beautiful books on nature photography, which takes me away on an imaginary adventure for an hour or so. As I am here to do some work as well, I carry my computer with me. My Mac is happy to find a big enough safe in the room. It’s a perfect match. Needless to say, the entire hotel is a wireless world.
After a relaxed evening stroll along the quayside, I return and sit down in the lobby for a chat with the friendly staff about this and that, and then head in to the restaurant/bar for a night cap. “Welcome to my living room”, is what I’d like to announce, as I plunge down on the brown leather sofa in the restaurant. Again, the friendliness of the staff blows me away. They are informal yet professional, and all smiles.
RISBECKER FACTOR: Everyone at Lydmar seems to love their job. How could you not in this environment. The restaurant attracts not only the hotel guests but also locals who come in for a late dinner or a glass of champagne and to relax to the soft lounge music. I sip my wine and look at the cute couple sitting on the couch next to me gazing into one another's eyes. It’s the epitome of romance.
Tired but happy, I head upstairs to explore the fully stocked mini-bar. It includes all sorts of snacks as well as small and large bottles of wine and bubbles. I contemplate having another glass of wine but wisely decide that the bed is more tempting than another drink at this hour. Before I snooze off, I flip through the tv-channels, including the basic Swedish Channels, international news-channels such as CNN and BBC, and a Childrens Network. But then I just can’t resist picking a movie (Nightmare on Elm Street, the remake from 2010), from the list of 15 complimentary movies. Bring it on Freddie! The room is dark and quiet and I wake up rested, and still alive. Phew!
The bathroom is a modern, masculine design. Besides the high tech shower function (really not that complicated, but further detailed instructions on how to use it will be found in the manual), it features a huge showerhead and products from the model agency Stockhomsgruppen, including conditioner! Yay! But the most interesting bathroom feature includes speakers in the bathroom ceiling, connected to the tv. I can take my morning shower and listen to the morning news at the same time. Nice. The robe and slippers are in place as they should be. And so is the breakfast which I enjoy in the now more quiet restaurant (I woke up late) with a fresh morning paper.
Happy in body and soul, I leave my room key at the reception and head out into the morning sun.
http://www.lydmar.com/
Nobis Hotel
The Nobis group has been active within the hotel and restaurant industry for a very long time. Most know them for their nightclub Café Opera and the Michelin star restaurant Operakällaren.
On 1st of December last year they opened the doors to their first centrally located hotel and the fifth five star hotel in Stockholm. The hotel is located on a square called Norrmalmstorg (The North Square). This square used to be called Packartorget (The Packing square), a place that most people avoided since it was here the fishermen’s catch of the day was distributed.
Today this is one of the main areas in Stockholm, right in the middle of the best shopping, the best restaurants, bars and nightclubs. When arriving at Norrmalmstorg you are surrounded by beautiful buildings from the 19th Century and the Nobis building is impressive. I entered through the automatic wooden doors to a bright and spacious lobby. Here I had two choices; check in via their automatic self-check in system or to address someone at the front desk. I choose the latter option.
The man who helped me was very nice and the check-in procedure was quick. He of coursed assumed that I was not from Stockholm because how often do you stay at a hotel in your own city and asked if I needed any help parking my car, making dinner plans or if I wanted close by tips of happenings for the evening. After declining the need of a porter to carry my small weekend bag, I got my cardkey. I headed for the elevator (which was on the small side actually), walked through the dimed corridors and found my room.
My very spacious room was located in one of the corners on the second floor with a great view over the square and right above the room where the expression “Stockholm Syndrome” was invented. For those of you who do not know the story this was a famous bankrobbery in 1973 where 3 bank employees where held hostage for 6 days , during this time the hostage developed intimate relationships with the robbers. After the dramatical police action to set them free they defended the robbers.
After checking the room out and trying the bed, I entered the bathroom which was lovely. It had a bathtub which is not that common in Stockholm’s hotels. Something I always look for are grooming products and I was happy to see a separate bottle of shampoo and one for conditioner, thank you for this Risbecker factor!
I unpacked my small bag and found that my shirt was wrinkly, I needed an iron. There was no menu on the desk by the phone, is it 9 or 0 to call the front desk? I looked and looked but no luck, so I lifted the phone and to my surprise the telephone was wireless and the menu was of course on the phone. Just because I could, I walked around with the phone and talked longer than I needed to with a man at the front desk, who within 3 minutes knocked on the door.
Nobis has one restaurant, a bistro, a large atrium and a bar.
The bar is covered in gold and mirrors. It is almost as you expect James Bond to enter asking for a Martini, shaken not stirred, since he didn’t, I did.
The bistro has quickly become a hot spot not only for the hotel guests, who can order food from 11.00 to 04.00, but also for ‘outsiders’. A perfect spot for a pre-dinner cocktail, a cup of coffee, a quick snack before a party or a enjoyable dinner with friends. This area of the hotel creates a very friendly, open and vivid atmosphere.
If you want to leave the hotel, there is a large restaurant approx 150 meters away. This restaurant also holds several night clubs and is visited by hundreds of guests during evenings. I was a little bit concerned that this would ruin my beauty sleep. However as I crawled down under the fluffy, crispy cover and closed my eyes, a soft murmur was all I could hear from outside. Pleasantly surprised, I quickly fell asleep.
Breakfast, breakfast, breakfast! There is a special feeling when it comes to hotel breakfasts. This one was one of the best I have ever had. Fresh juices, smoothies, homemade bread, pancakes and number one on the menu, the freshly made omelet!! Teajunky as I am, the tea was served from a fresh pot by the table and after 4 refills I headed back to the room.
The check-out procedure was as smooth as the check in and I left Nobis with a smile on my face.
http://www.nobishotel.se/
Tags:
|
