bitterproffit

I have 4 nights in Stockholm over a long weekend in May planned. I have never been to the city before. I have reservations at 2 hotels and wondering which one to choose. I know they are both fine hotels, and are both in fine neighborhoods. I am hoping someone familiar with Stockholm can advise if there is any big disadvantage to either area.

I have reservations at the Hilton Slussen. I know its a good hotel and its in a central location. I also have reservations at the Hotel Skeppsholmen. It looks like a very interesting hotel. I have the same rate at both of them.

The Skeppsholmen looks a bit more isolated, although there is a ferry stop nearby. The Hilton looks like its in the middle of a construction zone, but also very centrally located to a lot of neighborhoods.

I want to visit museums, roam around neighborhoods, and eat at modest neighborhood restaurants.

Would there be any strong preference for one over the other? I like the smaller footprint of the Skeppsholmen, but I don't want to feel that I am too isolated.

Any thoughts? Thanks.

Tomas E

Well, there is a bus running to Skeppsholmen as well, and it's less than 15 min walk from that hotel to the nearest Metro station (Kungsträdgården), so it's not too far out of the way. Skeppsholmen mostly consists of museums and some other culture-related buildings, so it could be a scenic and quiet location. If you were planning to visit any of the museum on Skeppsholmen or another one nearby (such as Nationalmuseum) any way, it might be a very good choice. If however you will use the Metro in different directions each day and prefer to have a number of pubs close to your hotel, Slussen is a better choice as 2/3 of all Metro lines pass by. Yes, there are some building activities going on nearby that will continue for years, but I don't think I could predict which areas of central Stockholm that will be free from any building activities in 6 months' time. In summary: it depends on your preference and both are good locations to stay as a tourist.

bitterproffit

Thanks for the informative response. It's nice to know there is no bad decision. I like the uniqueness of the Skeppsholmen property. And the location of the Hilton. Decisions.....

sydunipete

I'd say the Hilton would suit you best (based upon your preferred restaurants). Hotel Skeppsholmen is a bit more isolated (but not much). From memory the food at the Hilton is pretty good. Just around the corner is Bla Dorren (The Blue Door). A great Swedish tradition is weekday Dagens Lunch (daily lunch) where even pretty good restaurants offer a smaller selection of meals for a worker's lunch at very reasonable prices (Prices shoot up significantly on weekends and evenings). Usually 120 to 150 SEK. I also recommend Invece for a Dagen's Lunch (formerly Axela). If you visit these websites they usually have their weekly menus online.

One of the best Swedish fast foods is tunbrodsrulle. When Anthony Bordain visited Stockholm he had one at an outdoor stand called Maxi Grillen at Medborgaplatsen. (Also very close to Slussen.) I believe it's gone off the boil a bit but it's still worth a selfie if you want to impress an Anthony Boudain fan.

Pelikan is a Stockhom institution although my Swedish family would say their meatballs aren't traditional. (From memory they are larger than normal.) The dining room is quite historic though.

Meatballs for the People is a more trendy Swedish meatball restaurant (try the reindeer or if you like a strong flavour, Moose). It's also at Sodermalm.

I quite enjoy walking around Sodermalm and Katarina-Sofia. Sodermalm is quite a trendy location with lots of restaurants. Although touristy, Gamla Stan is definitely worth a wander, particularly in the back streets.

bitterproffit

Thank you for taking the time to suggest places. This is great information as well. I am looking forward to eating my way around Stockholm.