Escape of the Week: Salt & Sill, Sweden’s first floating hotel

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You can see it from the bridge over to Klädesholmen, the dark brown Salt & Sill hotel.

The Salt & Sill afloat

Floating. On large pontoons.

Without a doubt, it is one of the most unique hotels I have ever visited. Anywhere.

I drag my suitcase behind me as I walk into Salt & Sill’s reception, which gives way to the restaurant. A decade ago, this restaurant was the little spark that lead the owners, Susanna and Patrick Hermansson, to open the hotel arm of this popular hideaway.

Reception and restaurant entrance to the popular Salt & Sill

The main dining room

Restaurant Salt & Sill, known for its pickled herring courtesy of  the waters surrounding it, is the hotel’s original claim to fame. In fact, the hotel only opened a few years ago, following the enormous success of the restaurant. Today, the hotel offers cooking classes in a gorgeous kitchen overlooking the water, guiding participants in how to properly pickle this Swedish mainstay.

Six types of pickled herring served as one of the restaurant's main courses

Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, the restaurant serves up traditional Swedish dishes. In the mornings, when daylight washes into the light dining room, the buffet has homey touches, like handwritten tags on fresh-squeezed juices. At the restaurant, it is all about presentation.

And killer views.

While in the summer the hotel is filled with guests relishing the warm temperatures, late night sun, boating, swimming and fishing culture, it is open year-round. In the colder months, Salt & Sill is host to many business conferences.

The little touches

It’s the little attention to details that makes Salt & Sill so charming.

Each guest room at the Salt & Sill is adorned with a photo of a herb or spice native to the region. One color from that art is pulled and then woven throughout the room via blankets, colored frames around the television and more.

There are also the personal ladders that add a little touch of luxury to the property.

Even on this cloudy day, it is easy to imagine the summer sun beating down onto the boardwalk and cooling off in the waters outside the rooms. And, just beyond that … a floating sauna that guests can hire to cruise along the water.

My personal favorite? The glorious roof top deck above the hotel, complete with plenty of seating to watch that late night sunset sink down under the Gotenburg’s granite archipelago.

The bottom line: While all but one of the rooms features twin beds (the suite is the only room with a large bed), Salt & Sill is comfortable (albeit sparse) and nice. Wifi is quick and can be found throughout the property. I stayed there when the weather was not ideal, and no one was in the nearby town, so there was not much to do. However, in the summer, with the warm air and water temps, I can see this being a great place to unwind and enjoy the Swedish summer.

Want to try the hotel for yourself? Check out it’s Web site for more information.

Editor’s Note: My time in Sweden is courtesy of Visit Sweden, however all opinions are my own. If you have questions regarding this, please read my disclosure policy. Want more on Sweden? Follow along in Twitter and Instagram, #myswedentrip.

Published by dtravelsround

Awakening the soul while traveling ... a story of being on the cusp of adulthood.

29 thoughts on “Escape of the Week: Salt & Sill, Sweden’s first floating hotel”

  10. Dayummmm D, this looks AMAZING! Loving the handwritten signs on the juices, that’s too cute – and would like to try my hand at making some pickled herring! I know where I’ll be staying at in Sweden 🙂

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    1. I LOVED my time at the hotel. It was the perfect way to start my trip in Sweden. I would have loved to have taken the cooking class, but I was so exhausted from a day of traveling and then exploring, I passed out for hours!! Let me know if you need help planning a Sweden trip. I spent a week frolicking around Western and Skane.

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  11. When we lived in Scandinavia, I always found their breakfasts so interesting–fish, sandwiches, I mean it’s really just a third dinner of the day, right? This place looks like any other hotel I’ve ever visited!

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