There is something wonderful about a hotel where they value you as a customer, where the staff come up to see how you’ve been since your last visit and makes you feel at home, and Grand Hôtel in Stockholm is one of those places. If you are looking for a too-cool-for-school boutique hotel you are in the wrong place, but if you are in the mood for some old-world glamour and top-notch service with excellent food and drink – you have found your eden. I could go on and on about all the wonderful features of this hotel but to make it clear from the start, this is simply the best hotel in Stockholm, and also the best hotel in Sweden, in my humble opinion. It is a brilliant idea to book the hotel through Leading Hotels of the World, it is really worth being a member here as you always get an upgrade, sometimes late check-out and always a gift in your room and a personalised message upon arrival, and in some cases you even get free breakfast. They even have all your preferences on file, which type of pillows you like, what kind of water you’d like in your room, etc. On my to-do list when staying at Grand Hôtel there are a few things: go to the SPA, which is pure bliss, have their scrumptious afternoon tea, and lazily eat their room-service-delivered meatballs in my robe. Another good idea is taking in a cocktail in the Cadier Bar, together with their amazing burger or the bleak roe toast.

The use of the SPA is complimentary for guests, they have a small swimming pool with dimmed lights and an adjacent fireplace, and even small fires in pretty round containers over the water. The relaxation room has soft cosy blankets and headphones, fresh fruit and smoothies are available to try, and a lovely green tea to sip whilst looking in to the cosy fire. There are also jacuzzis, a steam sauna and, of course, treatments rooms with skilled therapists (I once saw Ozzy Osbourne heading in for a massage!), but my favourite feature of the SPA is the beautiful sauna and icy pools in the changing rooms. This is something very Scandinavian indeed: you first go into the dry sauna (which smells lovely from birch wood) and then, when you are hot, jump into the icy pool next to it (which has a lovely mosaic wall) and then back in to the sauna again – you repeat this a few times to get the circulation going. There is also a hair mask to use in the sauna which leaves you hair shiny and scented, and a body lotion and other products to use as you get ready to mosey back up to your room. Staying in the newest part of the hotel (the ‘Burmanska Palatset’), it is very easy to go down to the SPA level in the elevator, but once we stayed in the older part where you have to slink past the corner of the lobby and through a corridor to get to the SPA. This is really not a bother, but we did manage to embarrass ourselves slightly as we came trotting down in our robes and met the Danish Prince and Princess as they were heading to the recent Royal Wedding! They were very nice and said hello as we turned crimson :) We once met John Cleese in the same corridor – this time wearing proper attire, thankfully.

I am going to Stockholm in a few days to stay here as we are having our Stag and Hen party – Part 1 here! My fiancé and I have many friends in common, both boys and girls, and feel like it is rather sexist and stupid to divide it up between the sexes so we are all partying together instead – there will be one party in Stockholm and one in London and we are so excited about it! I have no idea what our friends have planned for us, but it is already so lovely that they have taken the time to organise it, so whatever it is I already love it. <3

Tweet

Add a Comment »