Sweden has a lot to offer: steaming saunas, Nordic thrillers and a certain furniture store known for its iconic flat-pack bookcases. The Scandinavian Kingdom’s most precious export, however, is its music!
Nowhere is the nation’s love of the musical genre more prominent than in its capital. Stockholm has a long tradition of folk dance and is an international player in modern-day pop: Britney Spears and Ariana Grande have recorded their biggest hits here.
The city’s hotels have long picked up on travellers’ interest in all things acoustic, offering immersive experiences that have music at their core. Want to get down with the beat of the Swedish capital? Read on.
Hotel At Six
At Six’s intimate music space Hosoi has been described as a ‘social living room with a focus on sound and music quality’ and it could hardly be summed up better. Quality quite literally oozes from the custom-built, Japanese KRS speakers and handmade Condesa mixers imported from Australia. Other than its state-of-the-art equipment, Hosoi boasts an impressive events calendar that sees international DJs bring their craft to the ‘living room’. To top things off, At Six hosts regular album sessions and inspirational talks with music influencers. Guests come for a great listening experience, not for a bar with background music. Aficionados of contemporary genres, rejoice: your ears will love Hosoi!
Hotel Rival
This address in Stockholm’s hip Södermalm district provides the perfect soundtrack to your stay in the city. Owned by former ABBA member Benny Andersson, the Rival has Sweden’s finest house DJs set fire (not literally!) to its Art Deco-inspired dance floor on the weekends. Meanwhile, the hotel’s 703 seat-strong theatre is an attraction in its own right. Shows here include performances of all genres – we were this close to booking tickets for a Prince tribute show the other day! As if famed DJs and a grand theatre weren’t enough, fifty of the hotel’s employees have taken their commitment to music to the next level: listen to ‘2nd Best to None’, a song recorded by the Rival’s staff, online – it’s a bop!
Pop House Hotel
Co-owned by another former ABBA member, Björn Ulvaeus, Pop House Hotel intones a unique melody as everything here revolves around music in one way or another. To begin with, the fashionable address is housed in the same building as one of Stockholm’s biggest tourist magnets, the ABBA Museum. Spend the day roaming around the museum’s exhibitions before you get your Dancing Queen on at the bar or head back to your music-themed room across the hallway. The ABBA Gold Suite takes the crown as our favourite room at Pop House: let your pop star dreams come true for the night as you marvel at the band’s private collection of gold records decorating the walls! Feel free to break into an ABBA classic in the shower – The Winner Takes It All!
Berns
Tune into Sweden’s electrifying house music scene at Berns, where club nights are held in a chandelier-clad hall reminiscent of the city’s Royal Palace. While all that pomp interspersed with green flash lasers sends clubbers into a trance, the highlight of dancing through the night at Berns is the music itself. Local and international talents take turns in spinning the records here – there is a Berlin-like focus on electro, though let it be known Berns is a classy affair: think ravers with designer haircuts and sophisticated music tastes. Not into electro? The hotel also uses its great hall to stage intimate concerts for musicians of other genres. Performers include Robyn, Rihanna and Rita Ora.