Sweden's first floating hotel to open in time for 'black gold' season

In September this year, Sweden is to be the proud owner of its first floating hotel. The eco-friendly accommodation will open at the renowned and upmarket Salt & Sill restaurant, offering a new way to experience the beauty of the Bohuslan coast and enjoy the acclaimed seafood of this A Taste of West Sweden accredited restaurant. Built on Kladesholmen, also known as ‘herring island’, the hotel will include six two-storey buildings on floating pontoons outside the restaurant.   The hotel’s 23 rooms with 48 beds will be ready for the start of the lobster season, when people across the region celebrate the riches of the sea, known as ‘black gold’.

The hotel will be secured to steel posts in the seabed and rubble left over from the building work will be used to construct a new reef outside the hotel to benefit fish and shellfish. The underside of the pontoons will not be painted making them the perfect home for shells and mussels, and it is envisaged the underside of the hotel will act as a natural purification plant for the marine environment.

Andrea Wren is a freelance journalist and owner of Luxury Worldwide Tours.