Stallmästaregården

The setting on the edge of Hagaparken is picture-postcard pretty all year round, at least if you turn your back on the traffic roundabout at Norrtull. The hotel complex is a cluster of wooden cottages painted pale yellow, and amount to a World Heritage-class sight with Queen Kristina’s arbour and the little pavilion, like a crown jewel, as the centrepiece. This place has been an inn since the middle of the 17th century. Marketing a national monument as a ‘boutique hotel’ almost feels sacrilegious; ‘classic resort’ would be closer to the mark. The restaurant, popularly known as ‘Stallis’ – is a bastion of classic Swedish fine food in Tore Wretman’s spirit. Centuries of quaffing, toasting and generally sending it down the hatch here can be seen in the wine, cocktail, beer and other glass themes that abound in the wood carvings on the outside of the building. In summer non-lodging guests flock to the terrace overlooking Brunnsviken for lunch and dinner, but it’s also open for breakfast. The hotel section was added in period style 20 years ago, and is now beginning to get the right patina. Room interiors evoke bourgeois Östermalm, the congeniality quotient is high, and the sense of history usually compensates for the lack of air conditioning. No gym is needed as there are plenty of lovely walks to be had along Brunnsviken and into Royal Hagaparken..