The Marienlyst hotel in Helsingør

I can see Hotel Casino Marienlyst on the Danish side of Öresund from my living room every day (except on very foggy days). A couple of days ago I took the ferry to Helsingør in order to have a closer look:

Hamlet "guards" the entrance to hotel Marienlyst.

 

Hotel Marienlyst is beautifully located on the waterfront.

This wooden path is convenient when guests want to swim in the clean Øresund water.

Immediately to the north of the hotel there are many beautiful private villas.

The historic Svartå Manor - the largest non-ecclesiastic wooden building in Finland

The historic Svartå Manor, situated about 80 km west of Helsinki, is the largest non-ecclesiastic wooden building in Finland. The architectural style of the manor, which was built between 1783 and 1792, is a mix between rococo and neo-classicism. The interior is mainly in Gustavian style. A unique bedroom, where one king (Sweden's Gustav III) and two emperors (Alexander I and Alexander II of Russia) have slept, is of particular interest.

In the early 20th century the manor was owned by Finland's then richest man, Hjalmar Linder, who also was a major patron of the arts. Among Linder's guests at Svartå were e.g. composer Jean Sibelius and the Swedish painter Louis Sparre. 

The privately owned Svartå Manor is now a museum. The surrounding buildings have been converted to a small hotel and a restaurant.

Grand Hôtel du Cap-Martin - a hotel for the rich and famous on the French Riviera

The Grand Hôtel du Cap-Martin seen from the sea.
(photograph probably from 1906)

Since the mid-19th century the French Riviera (French Côte d'Azur) was the preferred vacation spot for European royals and aristocrats, as well as wealthy entrepreneurs and and financiers. One of the most popular areas, particularly among royals, was Cap Martin, a small town between Menton and Monaco.

Hans Georg Tersling
(image by  wikipedia)

The popularity of the cape also attracted investors, who understood that there was a need to build high class accommodation facilities for the rich and famous. In the late 1880s, a consortium led by the Mr. White of Black&White whisky fame, commissioned the Danish architect Hans Georg Tersling (1857 - 1920) to design a new luxury hotel on a beautiful spot on the cape.

(image by Wikipedia)

The Grand Hôtel du Cap-Martin, which was opened in 1891, became an instant success. The hotel, which the French poet Stephen Liegeard (who invented the name Côte d'Azur) described as "the Leviathan of luxury and comfort" soon received a great number of famous guests; Empress Eugénie ( wife of Napoleon III), Emperor Franz Joseph and his Empress, Elisabeth (also known as Sissi), King Edward VII (when he as Crown Prince) were just a few of them. 

In March 1906 King Oscar II of Sweden and his wife, Queen Sofia enjoyed their stay at the "quiet and cosy" Grand Hôtel du Cap-Martin. 

King Oscar II on a walk in the Grand Hôtel du Cap-Martin garden. The gentleman behind him, on the right, is probably architect Tersling, who served as the Swedish honorary consul in Menton at the time.

Tersling soon became one of the most sought after architects on the Riviera, designing hotels, villas and and mansions for aristocrats and the elite, who resided in the area. Among his most well known designs are e.g. the Hotel Metropole (both in Monte Carlo and Cannes), Empress Eugénie's Villa Cyrnos, the Russian church and the Casino in Menton as well as Alfred Nobel's villa in San Remo. 

Tersling also served as honorary consul in Menton, both for Denmark and Sweden. 

The outbreak of World War I brought a sudden end to Tersling's career:

His many wealthy clients disappeared and left him with many outstanding receivables. He died in 1920 almost without means.

The Grand Hôtel du Cap-Martin building still stands, but it has been converted to a holiday residence facility. 

The first luxury hotels in Sweden

In 1795, Copenhagen became the first Scandinavian capital to have a hotel of high international standard, the Hotel d'Angleterre. It was not until 1857 before the first truly international class hotel, Hotel Rydberg, opened in Stockholm.
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The Hotel Rydberg at the Gustaf Adolf Square in Stockholm.

The funding for the new building was secured through the legacy of a wealthy merchant, Abraham Rydberg. Before his death, Rydberg had reserved a large sum of money in order to build a hôtel-de-ville (a city hall), but the Stockholm merchants' society instead chose to interpret this as meaning a hotel! 

The man, who was put in charge of the new hotel was King Oscar I's former French chef, Jean-François Régis Cadier. Rydberg soon became very popular, particularly with visiting diplomats, nobility and well to do industrialists. The hotel closed in 1914 and in its place the Skandinavisa Banken built a new office building.

Most Swedes probably do not know very much, if anything, about Hotel Rydberg, but almost everybody recognizes, and has tasted, Biff á la Rydberg (Beef Rydberg), which originates from Cadier's kitchen. 

The Grand Hôtel Stockholm in the late 1890s. 

However, before long Cadier saw a need for an even classier international hotel in Stockholm. His plans led to the building of the Grand Hôtel, which was inaugurated in 1874. The architect was Axel Kumlien. Cadier continued to operate the hotel successfully until his death in 1890. 

The Grand logo on a match box from the 1980's

The Grand Hôtel is still THE classical five star luxury hotel in Stockholm.Through the years the hotel has acquired the neighboring houses, and right now has about 300 guest rooms, 34 of which a suites. 

PS
Shipping and navigation were also very close to Rydberg's heart. In his will a large sum of money was reserved for the foundation of a navigation school.This led to the acquirement of a sail training ship, which was named Abraham Rydberg.