The Victory Hotel is perfectly located in Gamla Stan, the Old City, and is a charming 45-room hotel, named after Lord Nelson’s flagship, HMS Victory.
In June 2004, Edward F. Nesta and I visited Stockholm, Sweden and stayed at the Victory Hotel, a Relais & Chateaux hotel, perfectly located in Gamla Stan, the Old City, and owned by the Bengstsson family. General Manager Mats Bengtsson gave us a personal tour of his charming 45-room hotel, named after Lord Nelson’s flagship, HMS Victory.
The hotel has a decidedly nautical theme, and each guestroom is named for a Captain. Outside every room there is a picture of a different Captain and his ship, and inside the room there is the Captain’s history as well as an original painting of his ship. Mats’ parents have been collecting Swedish Maritime antiques and folk art for a number of years, and the hotel is filled with interesting pieces of history. Their collection is indeed so vast, that sometimes the Seafarer Museum borrows pieces from the hotel for their exhibitions. Their 12 conference rooms hold the largest collection of figureheads in Sweden with over 30 figureheads. The hotel is also rich in history, with the largest Swedish silver treasure found there in 1937, consisting of 18,000 silver coins and 85 pieces of decorative silver found in a corner under the floorboards! Today the silver treasure is on display at the City Museum of Stockholm and the Myntkabinettet (the Coin Museum). When the hotel was in the process of excavating to build a swimming pool, they found the remains of a 14th century medieval fortification wall, thus ending their plans for the swimming pool. The remains of the fortification wall can now be seen in their restaurant, Restaurang Leijontornet. In addition to their restaurant, they also have a very nice bar, Leijonbaren, where the staff is knowledgeable, friendly and professional. Maijtin Sonefors, the barman, in addition to making great drinks, also acted as our very own concierge, providing us with “insider tips” and area information. Read about our wonderful dinner at Restaurang Leijontornet in our Restaurant section, and sample the recipes from the restaurant in Chefs’ Recipes.
The guest rooms are a mix of antiques and state-of-the-art technology. Our non-smoking king-bedded room was named for Captain Nils Peter Hultën, and there were photographs of Captain Hultën, his wife as well as an original painting of his ship. Plants and more photographs graced the wide windowsills, and there was a Bang & Olafson CD and tape player, perfect for listening to Edward’s new CDs, although the Front Desk also has CDs available for loan. We were quite comfortable with a television, loveseat, mini-bar, and pants press. Our antique desk, was technology-equipped with telephone, modem line, and Internet/LAN line yet also retained its original charm with a silver tray containing two crystal glasses and an antique crystal decanter filled with port. Our bathroom had double sinks, make-up mirror, hairdryer, robes and slippers and Carven amenities from Paris. Other amenities at the hotel include a sauna, and a Business Center that is open 24 hours per day, which was perfect for checking my email late at night.
Please read Chefs’ Recipes where Executive Chef Robert Aronsson shares his recipes from Restaurang Leijontornet. We also have other interesting articles on Sweden in our Destinations section on Kalmar and the Glass District and Stockholm, and in our Restaurants, and Music Scene sections.
For more information on Stockholm and Sweden, please visit: www.stockholmtown.com and www.visit-sweden.com.
Victory Hotel
Lilla Nygatan 5,
Gamla Stan
SE-111 28 Stockholm
Sweden
+46 (0) 506 40000
www.victory-hotel.se
© November 2004. Luxury Experience www.luxuryexperience.com. All rights reserved
