IN BRIEF
First impression Is this real? It’s like stepping into a floating bird’s nest.
Staff Friendly and refreshingly informal.
Food and drink Fine-tuned Sámi dishes – smoked moose heart, slow-cooked reindeer.
Bed and bath Designed to help you de-stress.
The crowd Wim Hof-inspired wild swimmers.
In a nutshell An exciting new Arctic bolthole for intrepid spa seekers.
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Set the scene
Few places in Europe still offer vast areas of untouched wilderness, but Swedish Lapland, home of the indigenous Sámi people, is one of them. Add to that the magic of the whirly-swirly, kaleidoscopic Northern Lights in winter and the midnight sun in summer, and it’s impossible not to be struck by the region. Making the most of these natural wonders, Arctic Bath is set on the Lule River, built in a circular shape with a plunge pool in the middle, making it a year-round wellness experience that quiets the mind and soothes the soul.
What’s the story?
Initially, the idea, conceived 10 years ago, was to build a floating sauna in a glass cube. This evolved into Arctic Bath’s circular building, designed by Swedish architect Bertil Harström, who is also behind the Bird’s Nest and UFO rooms at the nearby Treehotel – the quirky arboreal design hotel that put Harads on the map – and fellow designer Johan Kauppi. The tree trunks that cover the building represent a log jam – once a common sight on the Lule River, which until the 1960s was used for transporting timber across the county. But a sauna and outdoor bath wouldn’t work without somewhere to stay, they realised, and so six rooms on the water and another six on land were added, along with a restaurant.
What can we expect in our room?
The six small cabins near the water’s edge are accessed from the shore via a footbridge and outside wooden decks – frozen or floating depending on the season – and make atmospheric viewing points for the midnight sun and Northern Lights. Inside the high-ceiling huts it’s all pale pine wood and Baltic limestone flooring, and apart from a couple of armchairs and a coffee table – plus an eco-friendly wood-pellet burner for added warmth – the space is taken up by a super-cosy Carpe Diem bed draped in grey linen and a sheepskin. There is no view to speak of – not from the bed at least, as it faces away from the river – but actually this helps to promote deep sleep.
There are also six larger, elevated cabins built on the tree-lined shore sleeping up to five. The split-level spaces, created by designer Annkathrin Lundqvist, have a floor-to-ceiling window for an eyeful of the riverscape and sky. All of the furniture and lighting is Scandi-minimalist.
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How about the food and drink?
The kitchen is headed up by Sámi chef Kristoffer Åström, who has made a name for himself introducing indigenous flavours to restaurants across the country, and Belgium native Maarten De Wilde, who has worked at a number of Michelin-starred addresses.
A daily changing five- or six-course set menu is designed around locally sourced, organic ingredients and might include butter-fried Arctic char served with parsnip purée, sorrel and a 65°C egg; slow-cooked reindeer; and creamed salsify with smoked marrowbone and moose heart. This is paired with a carefully curated and seasonally changing wine list, and a drinks menu that includes locally produced craft beers and Swedish whisky.
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Anything to say about the service?
Staff are friendly and attentive, and on hand to help book car or helicopter transfers to Luleå Airport, a 56-mile drive away, and outdoor activities including catching the Northern Lights or wildlife photography, husky sledding, snowshoe hiking and cross-country skiing. Also not to be missed is a chance to learn more about the local culture on an excursion led by Anna Kuhmunen, a wonderfully soulful Sámi woman, who shares details of her people’s history and customs while preparing a meal in a traditional lávvu dwelling and introduces guests to her reindeer herd.
What sort of person stays here?
Arctic Bath will appeal to eco-conscious wellness fans and wilderness enthusiasts alike. It’s also ideal for those who just want to get away from it all, breathe pure air and enjoy the stillness – the effect of a few days’ radical self care is nothing short of transformative.
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How does it fit into the region?
The whole point of the place is its remoteness. While there is the option to venture into the nearest village, Harads, which has a population of fewer than 600, you can simply lose yourself in the tranquillity of the Lule River and surrounding woods.
Anything else?
Guests are gifted specially designed eco-friendly bathing suits or swimming shorts and a spa-ritual kit to be used in the steam room, three saunas and outdoor hot tubs. The main event, however, is of course the open-air cold bath, where the temperature in winter is around 4°C. The idea is that dashing between the heat of the sauna and the icy water, in addition to being highly invigorating, causes an anti-inflammatory response in the body and boosts the immune system. There are also a handful of therapies to choose from – try the blissfully relaxing Harads mindfulness massage – a slowed-down, holistic take on a deep-tissue treatment.
And anything you’d change?
It’s early days for Arctic Bath and it will be exciting to see if the spa menu evolves to include more treatments inspired by local wellness traditions and the healing herbs and plants that grow here. A couple of the products and rituals, including the Chinese gua sha facial, seem rather out of place, and it would make sense to swap massage oils (ginger, neroli) for Swedish ones such as birch, goldenrod or juniper to align with the hotel’s locally sourced concept.
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Is it worth it – why?
Yes – having filled your lungs with the crisp, clean air and experienced the soothing silence that surrounds this spot, you may well begin to question if city life is really all it’s cracked up to be.
Address: Arctic Bath, Ramdalsvägen 10, 96024 Harads, Sweden
Telephone: +46 702 759 795
Website: arcticbath.se
Prices: Double-room cabins from about £755 a night
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