In recent years, badehotels, the cozy seaside lodgings that are a staple of the Danish summer, have fallen out of favor as younger Danes increasingly vacation beyond their country's borders. Now, thoughtful hoteliers are bringing them back. After purchasing the decades-old Allinge Badehotel on the southern island of Bornholm last year, tech executive Cathrine Andersen and her partner, Christian Rasmussen, overhauled its bright white rooms with custom wood panels and classic blue-and-white striped wallpaper. Nearby, Danish shooting champion Martin Ramstrup reopened the historic Falcon Hotel in 2020, keeping its old-school vibe with vintage pieces and velvet cushions but adding a rock garden with hammocks. It joins the sleek Nordlandet, whose views over the Baltic are some of the best in Denmark.
Like their design, the badehotels' cuisine is getting a lift. When gallerist Tina Salling took over managing the intimate Hotel Strandlyst on the island of Samsø, she brought in the team behind Michelin-starred Domestic in Aarhus, Denmark's second city. And after the iconic Svinkløv Badehotel suffered a devastating fire in 2019, owners Kenneth Toft-Hansen (a Bocuse d'Or award winner) and his wife, Louise, rebuilt. This follows a similar move by restaurateur Sanne Juul Jensen and chef Lars Bonde Sejerup, who snapped up Kellers Badehotel & Spisehus, also on the west coast, in 2014. Their renovations included a snug dining room that serves mussels with hunks of house-made sourdough. And near Skagen on the northern tip of Jutland, Mikael Valentin is bringing yoga, meditation, and a few more rooms to the mustard-yellow Hjorths Badehotel. Despite the updates, the property is still blissfully Wi-Fi-free.
All listings featured on Condé Nast Traveler are independently selected by our editors. If you book something through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission. This article appeared in the July/August 2021 issue of Condé Nast Traveler. Subscribe to the magazine here.
