Tired of busy, noisy, stressful city life? Well, here’s the perfect escape for you: a hotel consisting of ten luxurious cabins plonked deep in the Norwegian wilderness, right in the heart of one of Europe’s most astonishing nature reserves and far, far away from the woes of everyday urban life.
It’s called the Juvet Landscape Hotel and its website joyfully states that it’s ‘in the middle of nowhere’ and ‘in a remote part of a remote village in a remote region of Norway’. (The nearest city, Ålesund, is about 90 minutes’ drive away.)
And what’s it like? Pictures would suggest: stunning. The Juvet goes for minimalism in both architecture and interior design, which means that from the outside it manages to sink into the landscape, whereas the insides serve to emphasise the surrounding natural beauty.
The cabins are designed to capitalise the beauty of the area’s towering pines, trickling rivers and cavernous valleys. Levels of luxury vary, but each cabin has huge windows and is kitted out with tasteful Scandi décor. They’ve all got wifi, too: this place is pretty isolated, but it’s not totally cut off from the rest of the world.
The rest of the site looks no less spectacular. A 100-year-old barn serves as reception and dining room, with the restaurant specialising in seasonal, locally-sourced ingredients. Down by the river is a spa, unimaginatively called ‘The Bath House’, containing a hot tub, a meditation room and (of course) a sauna with views out over the water.
And if you’re thinking ‘that looks kind of familiar’, you’d be right: the Javet is so serenely beautiful that it served as the filming location for much of the Oscar-winning sci-fi epic Ex Machina. From the pics below, it’s easy to see why it was chosen as the setting for a film with such stylish, futuristic and slightly unnerving vibes.
Planning a visit, but worried you’d get bored of all that spellbinding natural beauty? Then you should know the Javet is near Unesco-approved fjords Tafjord and Geirangerfjord, and, at various times of year, it’s well-positioned for skiing, hiking, climbing and water activities like rafting and kayaking.
Rooms start from 1950 Norwegian Krone (£273, $340) per night. To find out more or book a room, check out the Juvet Landscape Hotel website. We’re adding it to our ‘must visit’ list immediately.
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