Hustadvika Gjestegård
The forces of nature are always present at Hustadvika Gjestegård, whether it’s a storm raging overhead or the beauty of the magnificent coastal landscape when the sea glitters calmly in the sun.
Text: Edda Espeland / Translation: Linda Vikaune / Photo: Trond Jansen
The low, red houses lie at Storholmen, in one of the most dramatic stretches of the Norwegian coastline. Frothing waves one day, smooth glass sea the next. Hustadvika is in the middle of Møre og Romsdal county, half way between cities Molde and Kristiansund with a 40 minute drive to each.
Storholmen has been on the map since the 1500s, when timber was shipped out to the Netherlands from here. The site has had many owners, most of them traders from Kristiansund or Trondheim, one of the best known being captain Lossius from Kristiansund who owned Storholmen for some years until 1746. Business was brisk for its time – small sailing vessels and schooners fetched salted cod from Lofoten and Finnmark in the north, leading to a flurry of activity with drying in the spring and summer. Storholmen had its own inn and liquor store, and up to 200 men worked here. In 1901, after a storm swept away practically everything, the entire operation stopped.
Well-being and fresh seafood
Today Hustadvika Gjestegård has 13 sea facing houses, all with four or five beds in two bedrooms. All the units have bathrooms with showers and a fully equipped kitchen allowing the guests, who have often come here to fish, can cook their own meals. The hotel wing consists of 17 hotel rooms, among them one junior and one senior suite. All the rooms are light and bright, decorated and furnished in a maritime style which complements the splendid view.
Don’t miss the chance to relax and charge the batteries at in the well-being centre beautifully situated by the sea, with its own jetty perfect for a morning swim. Enjoy the view and wind down in a jacuzzi overlooking the mountain and sea or take advantage of the sauna and solarium.
Out here by the coast, they naturally serve fresh fish and shellfish of the highest quality. Nearby Fræna is a major agricultural municipality, so at Hustadvika they also serve a lot of good meat from the local farmers. The imagination and playfulness of the chefs result in new dishes but guests can also choose a more traditional menu.
Hustadvika also has a museum with more than 300 preserved items from a Dutch trading vessel which sank in Stopleleden in the 1700s.
Connected to the hotel is also Brennevinsutsalget, the old Liquor Store, which today offers a guided tour of the dramatic history of the Hustad region all the way back to the 1100s, when Norwegian king Øystein Magnusson had his royal seat at Hustad. Hustadvika bay is known as one of the most treacherous parts of the Norwegian coast, something which has shaped the people here and become an important part of the local history.
The drama of nature comes very close at Hustadvika Gjestegård.