STORY HOTEL MALMO, in JdV by Hyatt

The rooftop sushi restaurant is worth a visit, and there’s a salad and smoothie place beside reception. It was also easy to get to other restaurants by Uber or order food in. The catch is that the hotel’s room service means collecting your order from the restaurant yourself, and you can’t put the charge on your room, which was a little inconvenient and odd. I stayed at Story Hotel Malmö, which opened in 2023, and as a Hyatt Explorer (Loyalty Explorer) I was upgraded to a King Ocean View room facing the Baltic Sea. The view was lovely even though I was there in very cold weather and everything outside was frozen. The room had plenty of space, felt cozy, and was well designed. It came with a small fridge and two complimentary bottles of sparkling water. I would have liked the option of still water too. The lighting could have been brighter, but that was minor. The staff looked after me well and made the stay comfortable. The building also has other commercial spaces, which is a bit unfortunate, though it didn’t really affect my hotel experience. The floor doors lock at night and need a room key, which caught me by surprise but wasn’t a problem. I had a great stay and would come back, especially in summer when the surroundings would be at their best.

The breakfast restaurant on the 14th floor had a lovely panoramic view, and I liked its modern design. Our room also looked out to the sea, was clean, and had a shower that worked well. Parking was available without much trouble. We stayed at Story Hotel Malmö for two nights and three days, though for a 4-star place the experience felt pretty basic. There wasn’t much choice at breakfast: waffles but no pancakes, scrambled eggs, red beans and Swedish meatballs, with very few pastries overall. Coffee was just basic black coffee with warm milk, plus tea bags. There wasn’t a coffee machine, and that felt below what I expected from a 4-star hotel. The room had a sea view, but little else felt especially comfortable or polished. The minibar/fridge was empty apart from water, the bedding and room setup were minimal, and the shampoo, conditioner, body wash and hand cream were standard basics. It lacked the comfort and atmosphere I’d expect from a higher-end hotel. There were no leisure or family spaces like a playroom, kids’ area or activity rooms. Much of the interior felt more like a business or office building than somewhere meant to relax. The location, views and clean rooms were good, but breakfast variety, coffee service and guest facilities need work to meet 4-star expectations.

The room hadn’t been cleaned thoroughly. There was a used spoon left in the mug. The view was undeniably amazing, and while breakfast didn’t offer much choice, what was there was good. I would have liked more than filtered coffee, though I understand that might be common in Nordic countries. As a Hyatt member I got a 100 sek voucher for the rooftop restaurant. It had a great atmosphere at night and, as expected, was pricey, so it was basically a complimentary welcome drink.

Using points made this stay especially good value, and it was hard to fault for the price. We were there for three nights at Story Hotel Malmö. The hotel was clean, modern and well maintained, and our room had enough space to relax after exploring the city. Breakfast was good, but a wider choice would have been welcome, especially more traditional Swedish food. Other hotels we stayed at in Malmö had local staples like pickled herring, which would have been a nice addition here. Still, it was a comfortable, conveniently located stay with strong value.