Owner’s Cabin, Giske
62°Nord is a Norwegian travel company that specialises in curating once-in-lifetime experiences in and around the Norwegian fjords. Founded by entrepreneur Knut Flakk and his wife, Line, the business crafts experiential adventures in some of the most epic Norwegian landscapes, and has also developed some of the country’s most outstanding places to rest your head after a day’s exploring. Once such property is the Owner’s Cabin, in the Flakk’s home region of Sunnmøre, where you can embark on breathtakingly beautiful hikes, world-class skiing and helicopter adventures to deep-sea fishing, wildlife safaris and destination dining. The Owner’s Cabin is to be found in Staurneset, on the tiny island of Giske – reputedly once the land of Viking nobility. The stone and white-washed wood cottage is the very picture of serenity both inside and out, simply dressed in an ensemble of typically Scandinavian minimalist touches. With snow-capped mountains in the distance, the island is best accessed in 62°Nord’s chopper, but once you’re there, you’ll want to jump in a kayak and explore the many islands peppering this part of the Norwegian Sea.
Manshausen, Steigen
The island of Manshausen might only measure 14 acres, but it’s an absolute jewel, overlooking the Grøtøyleia strait and the local village of Nordskot. The island was once an important trading post for fishermen, but now it has been turned into a mesmerisingly beautiful collection of contemporary cabins for what is a perfectly formed community of intrepid travellers. There are nine sea cabins in total, each one affording stunning views thanks to floor-to-ceiling glass walls, as well as the main house which is home to the restaurant and library. You get a front-row seat for the northern lights and can be witness to the greatest blanket of stars you’re likely to see anywhere in the world (on clear nights you can see the Milky Way bisecting the sky). The cabins themselves are compact but perfectly formed, so much so that they have won 41 international architecture and design awards. As you can imagine, dining is a local affair, with the vast majority of produce grown on the island or caught just off it. The Steigen area is awash with hundreds of islands and islets to explore by kayak, with white sandy beaches overlooked by spectacular mountains. Not far north lies the majestic island chain of Lofoten, whose mountains bear much of the brunt of the weather, in turn protecting Manshausen from nature’s force.
Woodnest, Odda
It’s every child’s dream to live in a treehouse (or is it just us?), enveloped in a dense canopy and out of reach of the adults! Does that ever really change as we grow up? Well, the founders of Woodnest, Kjartan and Sally Aano, certainly don’t think so, because they have built the most magical floating retreat on the hillside of Norway’s magnificent Hardanger Fjord. The property features four luxury treehouses, each with electricity, a small kitchenette, high-speed wifi, a flushing toilet and shower, as well as under-floor heating. Designed by Norwegian architects Helen & Hard, each treehouse has been cleverly engineered so that the tree supports the majority of the weight of the treehouse. Inside, you’ll find a cosy space that reflects the environment around you, bedecked in black alder wood. Even the exterior has been designed to look like a giant pine cone. Everything inside – from the handmade furniture to the locally sourced fur rugs – is well considered, and the views of the fjord are incredible. You only need to raise your head from the pillow of your bed to be able to view water and mountains as far as the eye can see.
The Bolder, Lysefjord
If you just can’t manage without a modicum of luxury on your travels to Norway’s spectacular fjords, then we’d recommend heading straight for The Bolder, perched high above the Lysefjord among 170 hectares of pristine pine trees, unforgettable views and enormous stones deposited by the glacier when the Ice Age ran its course. Owner Tom Norland realised a dream when he teamed up with the architects Snøhetta and John Birger Grytdal to build the Bolder Lodges. Raised from the earth and with minimal impact to nature, some of the lodges have a mirrored design, which means that the roof and underside have the same design for the visual effect of weightlessness, while others, such as the Sky Lodges, are wrapped in Canadian cedar wood and built on a single column to minimise their footprint. Placed discreetly between the soaring pines or atop the mountainside, the property consists of three Star Lodges, each sleeping 2; Grand Lodge which features two double bedrooms; and two Sky Lodges sleeping four each. Inside, the interiors are bespoke designs by upmarket Norwegian brands Vipp and Eikund, each very discerning and tasteful. There’s so much nature to explore outside, but given that you can see everything from every corner of your lodge, why even leave?
Juvet Landscape Hotel, Valldalen
If you’ve ever seen the film Ex Machina starring Alicia Vikander and Oscar Isaac, then you will have no doubt been mesmerised by the super-futuristic remote hideout of Isaac’s tech-billionaire character Nathan. Intimately hidden among a dense forest of pines, the building is a modernist marvel, but it’s no studio. It is in fact the Juvet Landscape Hotel, situated on a farmstead in Valldalen, a stone’s throw from one of the world’s great drives, the Trollstigen (Troll’s Path), which opened in 1936 with 11 switchbacks and a relentless 10 per cent incline. It’s the brainchild of Knut Slinning, who redeveloped a century-old barn by converting an old cow shed into a dining room and a pigsty into a kitchen. That forms the heart of the property, but what really draws you to this stunning place are the nine award-winning lodges dotted among the birch trees. With 24 beds in total, the Juvet Landscape Hotel is one of the most innovative and mind-bending hotel properties anywhere in the world. The hotel, which has been open since 2010, consists of seven minimalistic landscape rooms, two smaller Bird Houses and the four-bed Skrivarstua (Writer’s Lodge). A few metres from the river bank, behind a large glass wall, there’s a bathhouse with a steam room and hot tub. Over in the old barn building, the head chef prepares a very local menu that adapts to the seasons, with the vast majority of produce sourced from farms and producers in the area. A stay here can be as active as you want, or a life-changingly meditative experience.
29|2 Aurland, Flåm
After an epic drive south from Juvet, which takes you over Europe’s highest mountain pass, you’ll find 29|2 Aurland, a charming farm and guesthouse near Flåm in Western Norway. This region has been settled on since the Viking times, and one can only imagine what life must have been like back then. While humanity has moved on, the landscape remains the same, with the property set deep within the soaring mountains, so steep that they block out the low-lying sun from October to February. This family-run boutique hotel sits neatly on the Aurlandsdalen valley floor. The historic buildings on the site were restored in 2014, losing none of their romantic pastoral charm while new buildings, in keeping with traditional design, have also been added. Split across three different buildings, the hotel has eight rooms in total. The Fiskerhuset is one of the oldest buildings in Aurland, dating from the early 18th century; the beautiful Geitefjøsen (Goat Barn) is an artful combination of an 18th-century cog-jointed dwelling and modern architecture; while the Bestemorhuset (Grandmother’s House), is from the mid-18th century. For dinner, you simply stroll over to the hotel’s new restaurant, ETE, where you’ll be presented with plates of immaculately crafted local produce from the kitchen gardens. There’s also a lounge in the old Eldhuset (the Smokehouse) and a spa, complete with wood-burning sauna and hot tub, on the grounds.
