Grand Hôtel is a five-star hotel in
Stockholm
Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
. It was founded by
Jean-François Régis Cadier, a Frenchman, in 1872. The hotel is widely considered to be the best hotel in Stockholm and has hosted every Nobel laureate since 1901.
The hotel opened its doors on 14 June 1874, the same year as the
Grand Hotel in Oslo. The Grand Hôtel is located next to the
Nationalmuseum
Nationalmuseum is the List of national galleries, national gallery of fine arts of Sweden, located on the peninsula Blasieholmen in central Stockholm.
The museum's operations stretch far beyond the borders of Blasieholmen, including the Natio ...
and opposite the
Royal Palace and ''
Gamla stan
Gamla Stan (, "The Old Town"), until 1980 officially Staden mellan broarna ("The Town between the Bridges"), is the old town of Stockholm, Sweden. Gamla Stan consists primarily of the island Stadsholmen. Gamla Stan includes the surrounding islets ...
'' (the old town).
Grand Hôtel Stockholm has 300 rooms and 31 suites, 24 banquet and conference rooms, two restaurants, a bar and a spa (Nordic Spa & Fitness). One of the restaurants is managed by the Swedish chef,
Mathias Dahlgren. The hotel is the only Swedish member of
The Leading Hotels of the World.
The Swedish
Wallenberg family
The Wallenberg family is a prominent Swedish family of bankers, industrialists, politicians, bureaucrats and diplomats, present in most large Swedish industrial groups, including EQT AB, Ericsson, Electrolux, ABB, SAS Group, SKF, Atlas Copco, ...
took control of the hotel in 1968 through
Investor AB. The family transferred ownership of the property to
FAM AB, also owned by the family through the
Wallenberg Foundations, in an off-market deal which valued the hotel at $426 million USD and created the "Grand Group" along with two other Swedish hotels.
History
The hotel has hosted many significant events in Swedish history since its founding. Since 1901, the
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...
laureates and their families have traditionally been guests at the hotel, as well as several celebrities and world leaders.
The
National Association for Women's Suffrage held its final dinner at the hotel in 1921 prior to its dissolution after winning
women's suffrage
Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...
in Sweden celebrating
Ann-Margret Holmgren,
Anna Whitlock,
Anna Wicksell, and other leaders in the movement.
In 1938, the Swedish-German National Association, which supported
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
in World War II, held a dinner at the hotel presided over by
Sven Hedin where
Franz von Papen
Franz Joseph Hermann Michael Maria von Papen, (; 29 October 18792 May 1969) was a German politician, diplomat, Prussian nobleman and army officer. A national conservative, he served as Chancellor of Germany in 1932, and then as Vice-Chancell ...
stated: "When I come back to Sweden in ten years I hope to walk on German ground."
In 1974, to celebrate the hotel's 100th anniversary, the hotel made its summer veranda permanent at an event inaugurated by
Prince Bertil, Duke of Halland. The hotel also hosted the rehearsal dinner for
Princess Madeleine
Princess is a title used by a female member of a regnant monarch's family or by a female ruler of a principality. The male equivalent is a prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for t ...
and
Christopher O'Neill prior to the wedding ceremony in
Stockholm Palace
Stockholm Palace, or the Royal Palace, ( or ) is the official residence and major royal palace of the Swedish monarch (King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia use Drottningholm Palace as their usual residence). Stockholm Palace is in Stadsholm ...
.
The Grand Hôtel attracted controversy in 2016 after it hosted an
anti-EU gala organized by the
Sweden Democrats
The Sweden Democrats ( , SD ) is a Nationalism, nationalist and Right-wing populism, right-wing populist political party in Sweden founded in 1988. As of 2024, it is the largest member of Sweden's Right-wing politics, right-wing bloc and the sec ...
and the
UK Independence Party
The UK Independence Party (UKIP, ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of parliament (both through defect ...
featuring populist leaders including
Nigel Farage
Nigel Paul Farage ( ; born 3 April 1964) is a British politician and broadcaster who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Clacton (UK Parliament constituency), Clacton and Leader of Reform UK since 20 ...
and
Václav Klaus
Václav Klaus (; born 19 June 1941) is a Czech economist and politician who served as the second president of the Czech Republic from 2003 to 2013. From July 1992 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in January 1993, he served as the second ...
. The hotel later apologized stating that "so many had thought we ... had no moral compass whatsoever." In response, the Sweden Democrats called for a boycott of the hotel. It also hosted
Johnny Depp
John Christopher Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Johnny Depp, multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for ...
that year amid his divorce from
Amber Heard.
References
External links
*
Hotel web siteGrand Hôtel historyGrand Hôtel Stockholm Description
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grand Hotel (Stockholm)
Hotels in Stockholm
Companies related to the Wallenberg family
Purveyors to the Court of Sweden
Hotels established in 1874
1874 establishments in Sweden
19th-century establishments in Stockholm