Former textile factory transformed into lakeside design hotel in rural west Sweden
Nääs Fabriker / Tollered / Sweden
20 minutes by car, east of Gothenburg in the small village of Tollered, there is a destination hotel called Nääs Fabriker. It basically means Nääs Factories in Swedish. The first factory was established on this site by lake Sävelången in 1833 by P.W. Berg producing yarn. The factory was running successfully all the way until the 1980:s when the competition from other parts of the world was too difficult to compete with and the factory closed down. In 1990 a local company bought the entire estate and started to transform it into a vibrant community of businesses where you’ll today find shops, offices, cafes, restaurants and a hotel with the suitable name, Nääs Fabriker.
The hotel is honoring its past as a factory building on this heritage. Many different features from this period has been kept to tell the story of this building and the area. At Nääs Fabriker the industrial look that has been popular in many parts of the world in the last years doesn’t feel like a trend but something genuine. The rooms have tall ceilings and huge factory style windows overlooking the lake.
I stayed here during Christmas time and all the decorations gave the industrial design a soft frame that made it look even more appealing.
There are nods to the industrial past everywhere. Like these vintage lamps by the entrance.
The spacious but still cozy lobby. I stayed here during Christmas so the hotel was beautifully decorated with everything Christmassy.
Is it just me or can you smell the combination of open fire and Christmas tree? It is an intoxicating scent combo.
The lobby has plenty of space to cozy up with a book and something to drink.
Hello bed! You’ve got to love a four poster bed. Makes you feel (and sleep) like royalty.
The massive windows are so beautiful. So nice to stay in bed in the morning watching the light return.
The restaurant fully decked in Christmas lights and stars.
The restaurant of the hotel fully decked in Christmas decorations. I love the small oil lamps from Karlskrona Lampfabrik, a company that dates back to 1884.
The fireplace is struggling in the cold, humid Winter weather.
The Bath House where you’ll find saunas of all kinds. It is great to combine with a dip in the lake. Perfect combo of hot and cold.
If you decide to drive into Gothenburg from Nääs, make sure to stop by Ove’s in Partille. It is an institution when it comes to classic, Swedish fast food. This is a “half special”. Yum!
RG inside info
This place is perfect if you…
…like your hotels to have a history, a heritage. If you do, this place has it in spades where the factory past is ever present and creates a story for this hotel. I really like when a place like this is taken care of the way it has here. That it wasn’t torn down or left to slowly die but to respectfully give it a second life..
My favorite thing about this place…
…is that the 81 rooms are all really large, with high ceilings (mine were 5 m!) and the large windows. I would also say the Badhus (Bath house) where you’ll find different saunas and you can jump from the jetty straight into the water of Lake Sävelången to cool off.
What not to miss when staying here…
…is to visit the nearby city of Alingsås (the potato capital of Sweden). It is a cute little place where most of the old buildings are made of wood which makes the whole place look like an Astrid Lindgren story. It is also said to have the highest number of cafes per capita in Sweden. Also make sure you check out the shops and food outlets on site, next to the hotel.
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