Storfjord Hotel
Watercolours with national romantic motifs hang on the thick timber log walls. Tantalising smells drift from the kitchen and entice the taste buds. Surrounded by exquisite antiques and modern design furniture, guests can enjoy magnificent views of Storfjord and the Sunnmøre alps.
Text: Edda Espeland / Translation: Linda Vikaune / Photo: Kristin Støylen, 62ºNord
Hidden in the pine forest on a hillside in the small village of Glomset is Storfjord Hotel, which has been rated one of Norway’s best hotels ever since it opened in 2006. An idyllic boutique hotel with turf roof and rustic timber walls, it has been called traditional and trendy, exclusive and eccentric. Sometimes guests can sense more than see a cruise ship gliding past on its way to Geirangerfjord. Ålesund is only a 30 minute drive away, but it feels like this is a gem of a hiding place. A perfect place for a little break. No one ends up here by accident, and many celebrity guests have chosen to stay at Storfjord – maybe because they feel like guests in a private home and appreciate the feeling of being far away, shielded from the stress and demands of the outside world.
Food from fjords and forest
Many come to Storfjord to eat and drink, because the kitchen is one of the best in Norway for local foods that have travelled only a short way from field to table – or not travelled at all. The forest around the hotel is a real treasure trove where the chefs collect fresh spring shoots from the pine trees to make pine juice, or berries and mushrooms for the next meal. Every day the kitchen composes a new four course menu, a gourmet experience prepared from the best local produce available. Most of it is sourced from small scale suppliers in the immediate area. The hotel cooperates with local food and drinks manufacturers and aims to treat diners to the genuine flavour of Storfjord.
62°Nord organises visits to an authentic fjord farm where the hosts serve tasters based on foods from the area or the fjord, and who like to share their knowledge of traditional fare.
Magic atmosphere
When the dark blue evening falls and covers the forest like a blanket, the fire is lit in the open fireplace in the main lounge. Guests who prefer to sit outside during the twilight hour can sit under a skin rug and enjoy the atmosphere by the light of flickering candles.
The hotel has 23 beautiful rooms, all spacious and comfortable and inspired by Norwegian traditions. Four of them are double deluxe rooms, each individually decorated and with a private balcony with a forest view. There are also eight superior deluxe rooms, each individually designed and with a private balcony with a fjord or forest view. None of the rooms have a TV, but the common room has shelves full of books – something for everyone.
At Storfjord guests can feel that they are in a little world of their own, a happy little bubble of peace and harmony in the middle of the forest.