Design as Destination: Hotel Skeppsholmen, Stockholm
Some people plan trips around landmarks. I plan them around beautiful spaces. Design as Destination is my collection of places where architecture, interiors, and thoughtful details are the main attraction.
Design as Destination: Hotel Skeppsholmen, Stockholm
Tucked onto the leafy island of Skeppsholmen in central Stockholm, the hotel feels wonderfully removed from the city without actually being far from it. Across the water, bustling Stockholm glimmers. But once you cross the bridge to Skeppsholmen island and enter the hotel’s long, pale-yellow buildings, the pace changes.
It is a beauitiul and quiet reprieve from the city, almost like being invited to a friends luxury lake house. You step out onto the patio, surrounded by fruit trees, with the breeze rushing by moored boats, and glints of sunshine dancing on the water. All within view of this historic structure, and all within walking distance of the middle of one of Europe’s most design-conscious capitals.
An Island Before It Was a Hotel
To understand Hotel Skeppsholmen, you have to understand Skeppsholmen itself. This is a small, tree-covered island sitting just off central Stockholm, historically the domain of the Swedish Navy. That historical seclusion is part of why it feels so different from the rest of Stockholm today. The island has a stillness that the mainland doesn't.
In the decades since the Navy moved on, Skeppsholmen has reinvented itself as Stockholm's culture and leisure island. Moderna Museet, one of Europe's major modern art institutions, sits at its center, its grounds scattered with outdoor sculpture. Just alongside it is ArkDes, the Swedish architecture and design museum.
You can circle the whole island on foot in well under an hour, past old naval buildings, quiet lawns, and views across the water to Gamla Stan, Djurgården, and Södermalm. It's free to visit, open around the clock. And somehow still one of the least crowded corners of central Stockholm, which was surprising but also welcome.
Hotel Skeppsholmen sits right in the middle of this island. Close enough to be walking to the heart of the city within minutes, but far enough where you have this treasured retreat from the bustle.
A Hotel With 300 Years of Stories
Hotel Skeppsholmen occupies two long buildings known collectively as Långa Raden, or “the Long Row.” They were built between 1699 and 1702 by Nicodemus Tessin the Younger, the architect behind Stockholm Palace, originally as barracks for King Charles XII’s elite Royal Drabants.
Sweden was experiencing severe economic hardship when the buildings were constructed, so new materials were scarce. Brick was salvaged from buildings and castle ruins around Sweden, including Gripsholm, Ekolsund and Svartsjö, as well as material associated with the construction of Stockholm Palace. In other words, the hotel’s sustainability story began centuries before sustainability became a design buzzword. And how neat that the build itself is 1600s old, but the building materials are OLD, like castle old.
The buildings stood empty until 1710, when they were used as residence for people affected by the plague. Over the following centuries, they became: military offices and storage, residences for military and civilian officials, and eventually office space. In 1935, they were designated historic monuments.
By 2009, the buildings had been lovingly transformed into Hotel Skeppsholmen.
The Art of Designing
Interiors by Stockholm-based studio Claesson Koivisto Rune are remarkably restrained. The design allows the old architecture to remain the star, while contemporary interventions feel intentionally subdued. The result is very Swedish: minimal, modern, warm, and functionally designed without sacrificing on aesthetics. The designers also worked within strict preservation requirements.
Claesson Koivisto Rune took inspiration from Skeppsholmen’s maritime setting and the fog that can roll across the island. The interior palette is soft and atmospheric, describes as a “fog” theme, with pale colors, natural materials and muted finishes. Linear lights run along the otherwise quiet gray corridors, functioning almost like beacons through the mist. In the restaurant, blue glass references the water surrounding the island, while a custom bathroom sink takes the shape of a skipping stone with water pouring over a convex surface.
The lobby and dining room run an ongoing collaboration with WEI, one of Sweden's leading creative collectives in photography, film, and illustration, representing some of the country's most prominent visual artists. The result is a rotating exhibition woven into the public spaces. The first thing you see on arrival isn't a check-in desk so much as a curated art gallery. For example, we were greeted with bedazzled hot dog sculptures as our first impression of this hotel.
What It's Actually Like to Stay There
Hotel Skeppsholmen has 78 rooms, most looking out over the water or the surrounding parkland. Standard rooms are only 150–172 square feet. The dimensions preserve the proportions of the original barracks. Booking tip: if you need more space to spread out, they do have at least 1 larger room you can request an upgrade to. Its the corner room on level 1 of the second building. It’s larger because it was the dining area for military. I can confirm that it’s lovely.
The restaurant, Långa Raden, takes its name from the building itself (translates to: The Long Row) and serves Swedish cuisine built around seasonal, locally sourced ingredients, including produce from the hotel's own kitchen garden. Including an onsite beehive you will walk past in the courtyard.
In warmer months, the terrace and garden dotted with apple trees open up for dining outdoors, with the water a few steps away. It was extremely dreamy eating Swedish meatballs in 60 degree weather, catching glimpses of the water visible from the outdoor dining area.
Buffet breakfast is included, and it was one of the best I’ve experienced. As a cardamom bun lover, I especially enjoyed endless cardamom buns.
There's bike rental for exploring further afield, and one unexpected amenity: a historic outdoor tennis court, commissioned by King Oscar II in 1882. It is believed to be Sweden's first, still in use today and bookable by hotel guests and outside visitors alike.
Why Hotel Skeppsholmen Belongs on Your Stockholm List
Hotel Skeppsholmen isn't the hotel I'd choose if I wanted Stockholm's most glamorous lobby or the biggest room.
I'd choose it if I wanted to get to know authentic Stockholm, and nerd out over history and design.
The Skeppholmen Island is peaceful and green, but you're still in the center of the city. The water surrounds you. Gamla Stan is across the harbor, and the hotel's position makes it easy to wander through some of Stockholm's most beautiful neighborhoods and cultural landmarks before retreating back to the quiet of Skeppsholmen island.
The beauty is in the contrast: centries old architecture, contemporary Swedish design, and a little pocket of calm in the middle of the city.
