"Ett Hem isn’t a hotel. After all, its name means “a home” in Swedish. And the kitchen is open to guests at all hours, to snack on its stash of homemade cakes and healthy treats, and to pour a glass or two of its world-class wines and fresh-squeezed juices. The hotel's winding collection of airy, stylized rooms—decorated with an elegantly comfortable combination of modern and curated vintage that belongs on the pages of Architectural Digest —act like a designer friend’s living room and library, their comfortable chairs beckoning guests to relax with a glass of wine and a good book. An airy conservatory (similarly outfitted) spills out onto a secret garden, a hidden oasis in the lively city, and a gourmet, farm-to-communal-table dinner results in new friends and fascinating conversations. Each of the 12 rooms in the 1910 Arts and Crafts house feels like a private appartement , decorated in celebrity designer Ilse Crawford and owner Jeanette Mix’s signature style. So, no, Ett Hem isn’t a hotel, because it’s so much more."

"From the Adirondack chairs lazily spread across the pier and the seafood restaurant’s waterfront deck, it’d be easy to confuse the Hotel J for somewhere in New England. Even the rooms are decked out in a healthy dose of Americana, with tasteful white cotton and stars-and-stripes accompanying the natural wood furnishings and nautical memorabilia. And the seafood-focused restaurant—which, frankly, feels like a luxury yacht—channels American favorites in its brasserie-style menu. But, fear not, the Hotel J is also very Swedish. Located on Nacka Strand 20 minutes from Stockholm , it capitalizes on the Swedes’ love of boating, especially in the summer months, when the archipelago’s 30,000 islands become day trip and vacation destinations for the entire city. Not only is it affiliated with a local kayak and canoe rental center—just ask if you’d like to spend a day on the water—but the ferry to and from Stockholm stops in front of the restaurant, allowing city dwellers to make pilgrimages to the eatery at will. The hotel’s sprawling, wooded grounds, too, are exceptionally Swedish, especially with the 19th-century summer mansions that dot them; most are used as event spaces now, but don’t let that curb your exploring."

"With its unfinished natural wood floors and clean-lined, understatedly modern furnishings, Hotel Skeppsholmen looks, at first glance, like another ode to contemporary Swedish design, especially considering it was designed by the star team at Claesson Koivisto Rune. But you’d be wrong to think the Hotel Skeppsholmen is new. Its buildings—hidden just 10 minutes from the city center on the leafy island of Skeppsholmen—date back to 1699, and are so fastidiously preserved that no structural changes were allowed during the renovations and no holes could be drilled without approval from the preservation authorities. And that’s just a small piece of the hotel’s dedication to all things authentically and traditionally Swedish; unlike many trendy Stockholm hotels and restaurants, the Skeppsholmen has focused on local cuisine, local designers, local beers, and, of course, local insider knowledge. Now, that’s Swedish hospitality."

"If Stockholm epitomizes cool, then the 19th-century Lydmar Hotel has somehow managed to improve upon that ideal. How many hotels give each floor its own distinctive living room—a private lounge away from the bustling lobby that buzzes with a stylish city’s most beautiful and well-connected denizens? And how often is that lobby also an art gallery, a worthy destination in itself and a gateway to rooms where the likes of Damien Hirst would feel right at home? Surely it’s rare to find a rather small hotel like this—home to three of a city’s hottest bars, including two with unobstructed waterfront views of the Royal Palace and surrounding harbor. Few are bold enough to acknowledge that the best spa in a city that celebrates wellness is located next door in another hotel, and that it would be better to get its own guests unfettered access to that luxurious haven than to try to build its own. The Lydmar is a hotel unlike any other."

"Despite being named after a headmistress of the former Ateneum girls’ school, which occupied the original building in 1910, the luxury Nobis group’s latest hotel, Miss Clara, is no schoolmarm. The iconic art nouveau building was lovingly renovated by celebrated Swedish architect Gert Wingardh, who emphasized original architectural and design styles like dark parquet and stone floors, as well as leather chairs, most made by Swedish craftsmen with locally sourced materials. The trendy restaurant, too, sources all its organic ingredients locally and seasonally, while the hip bar serves creative cocktails with unusual natural ingredients in a city known for its epitome-of-cool nightlife scene. And with a prime location on one of Stockholm ’s prettiest main drags, Miss Clara is right in the heart of the action. So, she’s somewhere between art nouveau and midcentury modern, with dashes of 1970s and industrial loft style thrown in for good measure; in other words, she’s bold and stylish, with feet planted in both past and present. Maybe she is a bit of a schoolteacher still, in the best possible way."

"Nobis From the outside, the two imposing and ornate 19th-century buildings on ritzy Norrmalmstorg that house the Nobis hotel look traditional and almost staid, promising classical opulence. They hardly seem the place that once housed the bank at the heart of the 1973 hostage crisis (from which the term “ Stockholm syndrome” originates) nor do they bring to mind sultry and avant-garde decor by the likes of renowned Swedish design firm Claesson Koivisto Rune. And yet, both of these inform the identity of the Nobis, one of Stockholm’s first luxury design hotels and a new icon of contemporary Scandinavian style and hospitality. From the lobby lounge, whose colorful ceiling is meant to evoke a pixelated vision of a treetop canopy from below, to the inlaid wood that somehow complements the clean-lined decor of rooms, the Nobis feels modern and yet out of another time. Both restaurants channel Italian influences and attract the city’s elite to acclaimed cuisine, inventive drinks, and a lively scene. At every turn, the Nobis defies expectations."

"Stallmästaregården began its life as a somewhat rural stablemaster’s farm. This was before Queen Kristina decided, in 1645, that she wanted to host her midsummer festivities here, at which point the stablemaster rapidly transformed the farm into an inn. Now, despite being within the city limits, Stallmästaregården feels like a rural retreat, flanked as it is by the expansive Royal Haga Park and scenic Brunnsviken Bay, in addition to its own verdant gardens. A painstaking restoration and redesign has left the onetime farm still rustic and homey, true to its 17th-century inn background, while simultaneously infusing it with healthy doses of both midcentury and contemporary Scandinavian design. The true star is the restaurant, an unpretentiously stylish destination that serves gourmet Swedish cuisine to discerning locals and out-of-towners against a picturesque natural backdrop. But the best part comes when everyone goes home and the inn is left to the guests."

"Don’t let the Story Hotel Signalfabriken’s location in Sundbyberg, less than 20 minutes from Stockholm ’s city center, confuse you; this is one cool hotel. Tiny Sundbyberg may be a lively suburb of the capital, but it’s also Sweden’s smallest municipality, and its distinctive character shines through in this reclaimed former manufacturing complex on the town square. An extension of its first hotel, in Stockholm’s city center, the artsy Story brand’s second outpost takes the industrial-chic look even further, with floor-to-ceiling casement windows, doors repurposed as headboards, track lighting, and plenty of exposed brick and concrete. And yet, the look is far from spartan; its signature Scandinavian cool infuses the hotel with a warmth and softness that appeals to both the weekday business travelers (the surrounding area is home to a number of major companies) and discerning weekend tourists looking to explore a local neighborhood. Story knows how to do nightlife and cuisine, and it attracts more than its fair share of the inevitably well-dressed locals to its bar and restaurant."

"These days, a hip design hotel isn’t worth its salt unless it’s also home to an almost painfully trendy bar. But when Story Hotel first opened in 2009, on the border of two of Stockholm ’s coolest neighborhoods, it set the standard to which all of the city’s subsequent boutique hotels would be held. The Story formula is deceptively simple: take one historic building in an achingly cool European capital and strip it down to exposed brick and concrete, and original hardwood floors, before decorating it with a sleek, unpretentious style that epitomizes Scandinavian design. Add a sprinkling of colorful graffiti art, and pair faded Persian rugs with collaged photographs and leather chairs. Make sure some rooms are small and affordable, while others are spacious and decadent. The cuisine needn’t be fancy, but it ought to be high quality, just as the cocktails must be inventive and delicious. And don’t let the DJ-accompanied scene turn pretentious; everyone should feel welcome, and among friends. Story’s formula works, and there’s a reason this original boutique hotel is still one of Stockholm’s best."

"Berns Hotel The Berns knows how to party. A Gilded Age palace of luxury and hospitality in the center of Stockholm , the opulent building began life in 1863 as a restaurant, before transforming into a hot nightlife spot. When it was reinvented as a decadent boutique hotel filled with understatedly luxurious modern decor (there’s that signature Scandinavian style), the Berns combined those pasts, opening not only one of the city’s top restaurants—in a previous iteration, Asiatiska was Sweden’s first Chinese restaurant—but some of its coolest bars and dance clubs, one of its most sought-after concert venues, and some of its most exclusive electronic music clubs. Suffice it to say that, although the gilded, airy main bar and dining room is always lively, filled with attractive, designer-clad Swedes, the building practically buzzes come evening. Not that any of this scene disturbs the rooms upstairs, because the second most important part of a good night out is a good sleep, and the Berns doesn’t disappoint there, either."