Strand Arild

The breakfast was nice and the young service staff were pleasant, but the manager was rude. This was our first and last stay here. We booked five days in Arild, where we love visiting, and were looking forward to a much wanted break. It was very expensive, about $200 a night. Dinner for two, with one main dish, a glass of wine, and dessert, cost $150. For a three star hotel, there were a lot of basics missing. There was no parking, and the two beds were only 80 cm wide, despite the 90 cm minimum I expected. I’m tall and have back problems, and fell off trying to get comfortable, so I didn’t get a decent night’s sleep. There was no writing table or armchair, just two chairs, leaving nowhere comfortable to sit when it rained. The terrace had two metal chairs but no table or shelter, and the rain hit hard on our arrival. The tiny chest of drawers meant we lived out of our suitcases. The large bathroom had only two towel hooks and no shelf or vanity for toiletries, so we put them on the floor. It also lacked the hygienic facility beside the toilet that I expected at a three star hotel. We had nowhere to dry the towels and swimsuits we used for swimming in Arild, and the room had no ventilation. At night it became damp and stuffy, which also kept our swim things from drying and made it hard to sleep. There was no coffee or tea in the room. One evening I went from the Annex to the main building for two cups of tea, carried them up the steep terrace myself, and was charged $9. When we asked for cleaning because we hoped to get dry towels, we didn’t get them. There was no TV either, and the free WiFi listed for the hotel didn’t work in the upper building. I needed to work and used up all my saved gigs.

We visited on Saturday and were told, despite the place being fully booked, that we could come back Sunday without a reservation. When we did, they turned us away with almost no explanation, other than saying the chef didn’t want to serve us. I went back in and pointed out it was Sunday and nothing else was open, but they still refused us. We hadn’t planned to go without dinner, and now we’re stranded with nowhere open. Poor service, twice over.

Dinner was tasty, though definitely on the upscale side and quite expensive. The breakfast was fine too, with good bread, but not much else to choose from. Arild is a peaceful little village, and I’d pick it over Mölle as a base near Kullaberg. The room was clean and comfortable, if rather small, with two comfy beds that could be separated. We missed having a fridge, but otherwise it was very nice and reasonably priced. I’d recommend staying here.

Stopped for lunch at Strand Hotell in Arild today. The food and service were excellent, and the price was very reasonable.