Scan Magazine | Special Theme | Sweden’s Top Spa and Wellness Destinations
Pampered at Sweden’s glass art hotel Kosta Boda Art Hotel is an excellent hotel and award-winning spa, as well as a showroom for fantastic art by the designers at Kosta Boda glassworks. An explosion of colour and form awaits the guests to stimulate the mind and the body. By Malin Norman | Photo: Kosta Boda Art Hotel
Located in Kosta Boda with its almost 300-year-old history of glass blowing, it comes as no surprise that the town’s hotel also has something to do with glass. The glassworks was founded back in 1742 by Anders Koskull and Georg Bogislaus Staël von Holstein, two officers in Karl XII’s army. Today, Orrefors-Kosta Boda glassworks is one of Sweden’s most internationally known brands and the area is often referred to as the Kingdom of Crystal.
individually decorated with glass art from our fantastic designers at Kosta Boda,” explains hotel manager Ulrica Olsson. “This is an exceptional environment and we are incredibly proud to carry on the tradition of the glassworks. Kosta Boda celebrated its 275th anniversary this year, peaking at the Swedish National Day celebrations, where King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia took part and also paid a visit to our hotel.”
Kosta Boda Art Hotel opened in 2009 and is a showroom for glass, a successful and highly praised concept. “Glass is the common theme at the hotel, with rooms
Seven of Sweden’s most famous designers from Kosta Boda glassworks, which is located just across the street, have contributed with glass art and textiles for the
56 | Issue 104 | September 2017
Unique glass art
hotel’s 102 guest rooms, corridors and meeting facilities. They can also be found throughout the hotel, including in the Glass Bar and the Art Lobby Bar, in the Linnéa Art Restaurant, and even displayed at the bottom of the swimming pool. Clearly, the hotel is very proud of its collaboration with the artists, who have all added their own characteristic expression and created a unique environment for the guests. The list of prominent designers includes Anna Ehrner, Göran Wärff, Ulrica Hydman-Vallien, Bertil Vallien, Kjell Engman, Åsa Jungnelius, and Ludvig Löfgren. All in all, the hotel showcases art for around 50 million SEK and everything is for sale, including artwork and furniture and even small details such as glass tumblers. “It’s easy for our guests to see how the glass and artwork can fit into