Historic mountain retreat far away from everything in the Swedish mountains

Fjällnäs / Tänndalen / Härjedalen / Sweden

The journey to get to Fjällnäs takes long. It doesn’t really matter where you start from, it will always be long. The hotel is located in the region of Härjedalen in northwest Sweden, right on the Norwegian border, far from any city in either of the two countries. We drove up from Stockholm in an electrical car and after several charging (and fika) stops we finally arrived to this gem, right by Lake Malmagen.

I first heard of Fjällnäs when it all of a sudden received a lot of international recognition, thanks to a write up in both New York Times and Condé Nast Traveller in the same year. This was back in 2009 and since then this hotel has been on my list of places I have been very eager to stay at, and now it finally happened.

But the journey of Fjällnäs stretches way beyond 2009. It dates all the way back to 1882 when Jonas and Hilda Åslund established a hotel on this very site making Fjällnäs Sweden’s oldest mountain hotel. Jump forward to 2005 when current owners Cristina and Lars Bertmar bought the hotel. When they took over Fjällnäs was in desperate need of plenty of love and affection. Basically it was worn and really rough around the edges. They brought on architects Shideh Shaygan to work with the interior of the main building and Fanny Sachs to create the four new buildings, including the Aula Capella Chapel and the Mii Gullo Spa.

The first thing that hits you when you arrive is the magnificent unspoiled wilderness surrounding Fjällnäs. The second thing is the scent from the open fire burning in front of the main building, Näset. The architecture of Fjällnäs seems (at least to my untrained eye) to be totally in tune with the rugged nature, created with solid craftsmanship and use of natural materials like slate, pine and spruce.

The hotel has 41 rooms spread over five different buildings. Our room had a classic Scandi-look that felt inspired by Swedish interior design company Norrgavel, with white painted wood and solid, well-made furniture. The look was completed by multi-colored striped textiles. This subtle interior created a perfect frame for the view of the lake and the Rutfjällen on the other side of the water. Like the most beautiful canvas.

Welcome to Fjällnäs! This is the main building, *Näset*.

Fjällnäs is not your run of the mill hotel but is actually made up of 8 different buildings, four old (like the one in the photo called *Ugglebo*) and four that are from this side of the millennia.

The setting where you’ll find Fjällnäs is something else, framed by a lake and soft-edged but still very rugged-looking mountains.

We came to stay during Autumn when nature is dressed in her finest clothes.

Our room was located in one of the side buildings. A large, bright space with a classic, bright Scandi look. The design element that kept the look together is the generous use of stripes in different colors.

This is the view from our room. I actually took this photo laying in our bed of the lake and Rutfjällen.

Stripes everywhere you turn, like these Missoni bath robes hanging in our bathroom.

The ceramic cups and mugs in the room are made by Stockholm potter Carin Nordling and add some splashes of color.

The main house (the yellow one called Näset) is where you’ll find the restaurant/bar/reception/library/living room.

Ok, so what could a typical day look like at Fjällnäs? The first point of the day is…

…breakfast. It is served á la carte style so you just order what you want from the menu. You HAVE to have the “Dutch baby”. It is a mini oven-made pancake with cloudberries and maple syrup. Yum!

In typical fjällen maner (fjällen=Scandinavian mountains) you can leave your thermos in reception and they will it with coffee or hot water so you have something hot to drink on your hike.

Another classic is the packed lunch. There is a separate buffet where you make your own packed lunch to bring with you on whatever excursion you have planned for the day. Our thermoses are filled, packed lunches are done and we are ready to explore…

…but before we do, we just had to check out another building on site. The non-denominational chapel, *Aula Capella*, down by the lake. A stunning building made of larch with massive windows facing the water.

The chapel is open to be used by anyone and is a popular site for weddings. Easy to see why.

The interior is all about wood, metal and glass.

Ok, time to hit the trails. There are numerous choices, criss-crossing the mountains and valleys surrounding Fjällnäs so just take your pick.

I am heading towards one of the peaks. The Swedish mountains are so rugged and dramatic and the weather is usually pretty moody. Especially this time of the year.

The view from the top. This is Lake Svansjön where you can rent canoes during Summer and go for a swim if you are brave.

M is taking a moment to take it all in. The lake in the background is Lake Malmagen that Fjällnäs is located next to. I know I am biased but I love this photo.

Just like the bears that live in this area, we stopped to snack on some wild blueberries…

…but if a couple of berries aren’t enough, I can recommend to plan your hike so you’ll pass this place, Andersborg.

The reason why is that Andersborg is famous for their waffles. Traditional Swedish, thin, crisp waffles. I went for cheese and cloudberries and M one with chicken. Oh, and we also decided we needed some dessert, one homemade cinnamon- and vanilla bun to share.

After a waffle lunch (plus buns) some more exercise is needed. The gravel road next to the lake is perfect for a run. And if you want to, you can run all the way to…

And after the run comes the real reward, a visit to the spa. It is called Mii Gullo Spa (it means “how are you” in Sami) and is situated in a separate building right next to the lake.

And after a sauna, we did a (quick) dip in the cold lake before we went back in to relax by the fire.

How delicious does this fruit tray look?

And after spa and relaxation, time for dinner in the main building…

…and some hanging out next to the main fireplace with something to drink...

…before we returned to our room and it was time so crawl into bed after an active day in the mountains and dream about what to have for breakfast. OK, I already know it would be another Dutch Baby.

RG inside info

This place is perfect if you…

…want to experience the purity of the Scandinavian mountains, fjällen. If you long for calmness, a lot of space, rugged nature, subtle Scandinavian design and great food then look no further. Fjällnäs is your place.

My favorite thing about this place is…

…the location. Fjällnäs is located right by Lake Malmagen surrounded by mountains in the middle of nowhere just 5 k from the Norwegian border. So to get here is something of a challenge (looong drive through endless forests with plenty of wildlife to watch out for), but trust me when I say that this hotel is totally worth the journey. There is something exotic about being this far away from any city, enjoying the outdoors, the wilderness and the silence.

What not to miss when staying here is…

…to experience the outdoors. It doesn’t matter what time of the year you come here, this area has so much to offer. We came during Autumn when nature was dressed in her best colors. One of our highlights was to hike to Andersborg where they serve the best waffles ever. Try the one with Västerbotten cheese and cloudberries. My mouth did somersaults.

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