Our Stay at the Elegant Lady Hamilton Hotel in Gamla Stan, Stockholm, Sweden

Having visited Stockholm, Sweden back in 2007, it was time for my return to the country on my latest Baltics and Nordics tour. After travelling separate for about three weeks, I was reunited with my girlfriend Panny and we agreed we wanted a decent hotel for a few nights to relax in a bit of elegance and luxury so we found a chain of three elegant and exquisite hotels known as The Collector’s Hotels. All based in the Gamla Stan, Old Town of Stockholm, Sweden. Of the three hotels (Lord Nelson, Victory and Lady Hamilton), we opted to stay at the Lady Hamilton and this was the perfect choice providing us with one of the best hotel rooms in our long adventures backpacking the globe. Travel never ceases to amaze me.

I had had a great time in Finland and Estonia but business wise and on a personal level I was fatigued and not feeling great so the perk up by our stay at the Lady Hamilton was important to us. When you walk into your suite at the Lady Hamilton you will know why. This is a special hotel series, romantic to the core, antique in decoration and homely in spirit. A charm which wouldn’t go amiss in those ugly “4star” hotels in Rio de Janeiro and the worst hotel of my travels so far in Ushuaia.

Some History of Lady Hamilton and the Collector Hotels
The Hotel is named after Lady Emma Hamilton, the beautiful English mistress of Lord Nelson, the famous English naval hero. The building is listed for its cultural significance, and dates back to the 1470s, the time of Sten Sture the Elder. The hotel building was intially three separate properties. A merchant named Lorens Erdtman eventually bought them and converted them into one single building. Majlis and Gunnar Bengtsson purchased the property in 1975 and saw the splendour and turned it into a hotel. Lady Hamilton’s cellar even contains a 15th century well! This entitled the owner to a lower fire insurance premium in the 18th century. The well is now used as a plunge pool in which hotel guests can cool off after taking a sauna.

I hope when you read this you will feel inspired to stay here, especially for couples. Here are my personal top ten things about this hotel.

1. Privacy and Luxury
We had our own private luxury room. We don’t always get that – we had been in and out of dorms in Estonia and Lithuania and to have a private room which is spacious and cosy was important for us both. Yes we are still budget backpackers but yes we are a couple who enjoy a private luxury room. Especially as this was our first ever night together in Scandinavia and I was feeling down.

2. Antique Feel
The hotel has that instant antique feel about it. When you arrive in the reception it’s a time warp thanks to the vintage collection of items all around you. This is because the owners of the Collectors Hotels, the Bengtssons are part of a family who for years have collected antiques the world over. Gunnar Bengtsson was at number 5 in the list of world collectors.

3. Gamla Stan Location
Gamla Stan is the Old Town in Stockholm. It’s actually quite a small island but the fact that the Lady Hamilton Hotel is based on the island, means you don’t need to walk far to cover all the sights. Of course other parts of Stockholm are cool and I will write about that more on my posts about the bus tour and boat cruises we did with Stromma.se.

4. Washing Machine
As long term travellers you might notice that our clothes are often from the same batch. But don’t worry we do laundry of course. Even better in the Lady Hamilton as we had our own washing machine in the room and the privacy to get everything washed before moving on. Not all rooms have this facility by the way but ours did and laundry service is of course available.

5. Full Working Kitchen
Each night in the Lady Hamilton we cooked and prepared our own meals. The kitchen is probably the most fully equipped kitchen since our stay in Xanadu in Belize. Massive fridge and freezer too to store your food.

6. Wifi
Wifi is fast in Sweden. Faster than I’d expected. Of course this happened to be in the week I was writing most of my book when my 2nd computer in 3 months broke for the 10th time. Thankfully I had Panny’s laptop for a few days to make use of the WiFi here in the room at the Lady Hamilton.

7. Cosy Double Bed
Finally a decent night’s sleep here at the Lady Hamilton Hotel!

8. Same Age as Me
I learned that the Lady Hamilton opened in 1980, the same year I was born. This was the first time I remember that I was staying in a hotel the exact same age as me.

9. Substantial Breakfast
Instead of writing about how good the breakfast was, I’ll just tell you we loved it and went up for more, including waffles and coffee as a dessert after the main. Here are some photos of what was a totally substantial breakfast.

10. Champagne and Chocolates
Our arrival had the biggest surprise with champagne and chocolates waiting on the table. I have had major issues with my websites and laptops the last 6 months and in the worst week for a long time, this was a staggering perk up for me. Cheers!

So we had two excellent nights in the Lady Hamilton Hotel and loved it. The other Collector’s Hotel are the Victory and the Lord Nelson. They suit all types of travellers with the Victory being the most luxurious one, and the Lord Nelson the more budget option. So if I do return to Sweden’s capital sometime, I’ll definitely pick one of those two hotels to sample next time. Here are the details for booking:

Lady Hamilton Hotel
Storkyrkobrinken 5, Gamla Stan,
SE-111 28 Stockholm, Sweden
Tel: +46 8 506 401 00
Fax: +46 8 506 401 10
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: http://www.ladyhamiltonhotel.se

Here are some videos from our stay at the Lady Hamiton Hotel in Gamla Stan, Stockholm, Sweden: