Lydmar Hotel

Situated on Södra Blasieholmenshamnen Lydmar Hotel is so beautiful you almost feel like you are in a movie set or seeing everything through a muted glass. The hotel lobby bar is the favorite spot for little afternoon champagne or tea and the little restaurant is magnificant. I adore the New England décor and the efficient but not overly friendly service. The hotel reminds me of New York at its best.
The downside of Lydmar is that it is VERY expencice and yet always full. If you do manage to get a room there it is worth every penny. The location and views are amazing and the rooms minimalistic in the perfect sense of the word.
See also their (very cute and spot on) listing of hip Stockholm on their website. Extra special feature are the design and contemporary art exhibitions they feature in the dowstairs lobby. Love it.

I’m not really sure how this hotel gets all these rave reviews. Our bill was over $ 1,100 for two nights. For a very small room. And an incredibly dusty one at that. And no hotel info. I had to go online to find out what number to dial on the weird phone to get reception.
Lydmar is like an annoying acquaintance who keeps trying to prove how cool and poignant and in-​the-​know he or she is by talking about how he or she is cool and poignant and in-​the-​know all of the time.
The edgy war-​torn and sexy-​times photography, art books about prostitution, and strange knickknacks that look like they came from someone’s grandmother’s attic (we had not one but TWO old plastic alarm clocks still in boxes that looked as if they’d been submerged in water and left to dry out on our bookshelves) are trying waaaaaaay too hard to be trendy and boutiquey. I’ve done an extensive amount of traveling in my years and have stayed in many boutique hotels. They usually try to hard but are at least subtle about it. Lydmar isn’t .
Seriously, we labelled the hallways and floors according to the photography. Porn alcove, guilt hallway, natural devastation corridor, gore thruway, sad-​world vestibule. Like I said, I’ve done some traveling, and I’ve seen some rather devastating things up close with my own two eyes, and I work hard to try to better our world and help those who have been knocked down by it. We were there when the pictures of dead children from Syria were the headline on CNN and BCC. We were watching. We were affected. I get it. I don’t live with my head in the sand. The world is a hard and scary and sad place. But for a two-​day getaway to visit friends and have some alone time with my husband, I don’t need to constantly be bombarded with the imagery.
Two things that also stood out during our stay:
1. The TV didn’t hold s signal and kept going in and out.
2. The first morning there as we were trying to sleep in, a BLARING ALARM went off. Like something out of a nuclear bomb drill. For minutes. My husband I jumped out of bed and tried to get dressed and gather up some stuff to take from the hotel, since we figured we were being evacuated. But then it just died. No explanation at all. So strange.
Don’t get me wrong … there are definitely things to like about the Lydmar — the bed was comfortable and the staff was lovely — but free snacks int the room and L’Occitane toiletries do not a luxury hotel make. There needs to be a little more. Like maybe regular dusting (I can even begin to describe the cloud that was kicked up when I moved one of the depressing books) and some discreetly place info that explains how to use the phone.

Could stay here the whole year! The only thing missing is the Spa/​Gym (having to walk is not as compelling).

As kicking hotel! Great atmosphere, lovely design and close to everything if you for some reason would like to leave the hotel restaurant (living room). It is pricy but the extra skr is worth it.

Came here for lunch. Lovely cosy atmosphere and comfortable seating; with all the books lining the walls, you almost feel like you are in someone’s living room. Service is unhurried and good. I stayed for a while after the lunch to do some work on my laptop and no-​one batted an eye. We had the veal, tuna and I had the scallops. Everything was very good, as were the wine selections. Definitely recommended.

As a hotel, this place is well outside my budget but I’ve really enjoyed the two dinners I’ve had here.
The vibe of the Lydmar is warm and inviting — excellent cosy Swedish design is in full effect: flickering candles, soft blankets, scores of books, yet it feels anything but cluttered.
On my first visit the server convinced me of the fish over the cheeseburger. Now having had both, I know she was right to recommend the fish. The cheeseburger’s average whilst the fish is remarkable.
The Lydmar works equally well for a business catch up meal as it does for a small group dinner. I can also see it being a great date spot.