Gränna Strandhotell

A great spot to slow down and recharge, with lovely hiking trails and an amazing lake. The scenery is beautiful, the location is perfect, and the food was very good. Our hosts were so friendly too.

The cabin we stayed in was so cozy it won us over, and the owners were incredibly warm-hearted. The village itself is small, but Smålandsgården is a wonderful place to stop and recharge if you’re driving through Sweden.

We had a family bungalow with a kitchenette and a roomy bathroom with a shower. It was a very peaceful place, and the hosts were great. We didn’t eat at the B&B’s restaurant, though everything gave us the impression of being tasty and prepared with care. There’s plenty of room to relax, including loungers. The weather didn’t cooperate for a swim in the beautiful, crystal-clear lake, so maybe next time!

The lake view was excellent, and the hotel seemed pleasant from outside. The owner, or the gentleman I assumed was the owner, was pleasant, as was our dinner waiter. Even so, the stay was a big disappointment. Our room smelled damp, more strongly than the corridor, despite the window being open. The bed was badly made, with the valance dragging on the floor, and the linen felt cheap. The bedroom door creaked loudly, and the bathroom looked poorly maintained, with mouldy grout. The shower cubicle’s design made it impossible to shower without flooding the floor. There were dirty glasses in the bathroom and a pile of dirty cups at the hallway hot-drink station, so we moved the glasses there. Dinner was fine, though surprisingly expensive. The cappuccino and bottled beer prices were among the highest I’ve come across. Breakfast was disappointing too: stale bread and no toaster, very stodgy pancakes, and coffee that was by far the worst batch brew I’ve had in Sweden. While packing, we checked under the beds and found an empty whisky bottle. There was old blood staining on the sheet as well. Then, before 7am, a reversing lorry outside our window woke us. Maybe that couldn’t be helped, but it wasn’t ideal, especially with the heat and unpleasant room smell making it necessary to leave the windows open.