The wallpaper in one of the rooms at Hjorten Hotell.
Hotel of the Month, Norway
A phoenix rises from the ashes in Hitra Visit Hjorten Hotell Hitra, and you can expect a combination of tradition and innovation, while being one hundred per cent cared for and attended to. The landmark hotel opens this month.
menu in the restaurant, in addition to the opportunity to view deer from the rooftop terrace.
By Pernille Johnsen | Photos: Vindfang
Innovation and tradition
Hitra is an idyllic island southwest of Trondheimsfjorden, Norway’s thirdlongest fjord. It is the seventh-largest island in Norway and hosts northern Europe’s largest population of deer, an animal present in many facets of life on the island of Hitra.
initial guesthouse came to mind. Hitra is, after all, a flourishing community and tourist destination. The industry of farmed fish is also growing and a larger commercial area is being developed, so Hjorten Hotell was built at a very opportune time.
Hjorten Hotell Hitra was originally a guest house, which burned to the ground in 2012. It only had ten rooms and was the only guest accommodation the town offered. When it burned down, the four owners got together to decide what to do next. The idea of a hotel larger than the
Hjorten, which means deer in Norwegian, focuses on a thoroughly local experience with the deer as its figurehead, as it is also featured in the council arms. When visiting Hjorten Hotell, you can have a ‘deer beer’ in the pub, produced at a nearby brewery, or try deer on the
96 | Issue 89 | June 2016
The hotel will have 45 rooms, three meeting rooms and a Skybar on the top floor with space for 100 guests. There will be a pub and restaurant with not only organic food, but food sourced from within Hitra. Signature dishes will revolve around what Hitra is already known for: salmon, seafood and deer. Hitra Gårdsmat, a local producer, will supply award-winning cheese, most prominently Brie and blue cheese. “The focus is on locally sourced food, but with a sincere wish to combine different pathways to a rich culinary experience using the resources we have available,