8.8
The Nordics · €€
Storfjord Hotel
A turf-roofed timber house in the forest above the Storfjord, dogs welcome
Dogs welcomeOwn transferSmall and personalVery quietPanorama view
Iceland, Finland and Norway · 2 hotels
The Nordics
Timber, glass and silence at the top of the map
Best months
SeasonSummer means light nights and open passes, winter means aurora, snow and short days, and the shoulder weeks in May and September are quieter without being empty.
AirportsKeflavík near Reykjavík, Helsinki Vantaa and Oslo Gardermoen are the gateways, with Bergen, Tromsø, Rovaniemi and Ivalo as regional entry points.
Nordic hotels have become their own school of design. In Norway the interesting houses are timber and glass on fjord shores or cabin clusters above the treeline, in Finland they are lakeside villas built around a wood fired sauna, and in Iceland they are low concrete and larch buildings placed so that every window frames lava, moss or sea. Sustainable building is the norm rather than a marketing line, and many of the smaller houses run on geothermal heat or their own hydro power. Design, quiet, view and workation are the advantages that come up again and again.
Summer from June to August brings the midnight sun and open mountain roads, while the aurora season runs from late September to March. Insiders travel in the shoulder weeks of May and September, book the sauna slot at dusk, and choose one region rather than three countries. Dog friendly houses are common in Finland and Norway, less so in Iceland.
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