Our History
The history of Varbergs Stadshotell
Varbergs Stadshotell has a fascinating history. The town hall began to be used as early as 1901 with a number of shops on the first floor. Hotel operations started in the fall of 1902. Among other things, the hotel was one of the first buildings to be electrified and the final bill for the entire Stadshuset amounted to almost SEK 450,000!
The creation of the town hall
On February 24, 1898, Alfred Lundgren submitted a motion to the city council. He had an idea that Varberg needed a Stadshotell, which he then expanded into a Stadshus. He wrote:
“As a city hotel with or without shops on the lower ground floor could be a profitable business for the city, I hereby propose that Mr. City Council appoints a committee that is commissioned to prepare cost and income calculations regarding such an enterprise and to submit a report to the City Council as soon as possible.”
The motion was passed and on August 23, 1902, the official inauguration dinner was held at Varberg City Hall. Since then, the building has been a natural gathering point in Varberg.
The hotel has existed since its inauguration
Originally there was Bergqvist’s delicatessen, Wetterlund’s manufactory, the post office, Ivar Johansson’s men’s hairdressing and the Hertzberg sisters’ fashion shop, as well as Kindvall’s bookshop and printing house, the liquor company and the hotel. The building also housed the fire brigade and the town ombudsman. Today, Varbergs Stadshotell is the only business that has existed since the building was opened.
Imagine how much has happened under one roof! A dizzying thought and so much fun to follow the development of the house into the future.
preserved interior
Inside, the richly decorated stairwell with features of Neo-Renaissance and Art Nouveau is preserved. In the stairwell there are large windows with decorative glass adorned with stylized patterns of plants and water. Varberg’s coat of arms with the goat, tower and tree and the county coat of arms with its lion are also found in the staircase windows.
Key dates in the hotel’s history
- 1902 – Varbergs Stadshotell was opened
- 1925 – Källaren Munken opens. The hotel business develops in the City Hall and the cellar master is given more opportunities to serve alcohol. The Munken was a restaurant for ordinary people, with liquor rights, a so-called second-class restaurant. When it opened, guests could, for example, order veal with dill sauce for SEK 2.60.
- 1950s – In the early 1950s, some of the decorations and towers that adorned the hotel were demolished. They were in such poor condition and it was considered too expensive to build new towers.
- 1959 – The Vara company took over the Stadshotellet and held a festive reopening of the Varberg Stadshotell on June 21, 1960.
- 1969 – Offices and business premises are built along Västra Vallgatan.
- 1971 – The premises on Västra Vallgatan were completed and the following tenants moved in in October 1971: the District Court, the Swedish Tax Agency, the Social Insurance Agency, Systembolaget, Lindex, Skandinaviska banken, a street food restaurant and pizzeria, For you women’s clothing and the table tennis club’s bingo.
- 1977 – The Munken basement is closed down and converted into a disco, taking the name MASH.
- 1981 – This year saw the unveiling of a newly renovated Stadshotell with a remodeled dining room and bar. The overall color was warm purple and the various dining rooms were named “80’s”, “Carolus Rex” and “Silver Button”. The next big step was to renovate the hotel room floors and also convert hotel rooms into conference rooms. It was a tough time for the hotel in the 80s, and having a total of 126 rooms was now considered far too much.
- 1993 – Varbergs Stadshotell became a member of Best Western.
- 1994 – Current owners Anna Riis and Lars-Olof Oskarsson took over the hotel. In May of the same year, a new tower was put in place above the entrance.
- 2001 – Asia Spa was opened in the fall of 2001.
- 2004 – The “courtyard” conference area was built. A new passage was also created between the lobby and the new part.
- 2007 – The hotel gets a sister hotel in Torslanda, Gothenburg – Arken Hotel & Art Garden Spa.
- 2012 – A new part of the hotel was built called Boutique, with innovative approaches and different elements such as round beds and designer bathtubs in the middle of the room.
- 2013 – Varbergs Stadshotell left Best Western and now stands on its own two feet together with its sister hotel Arken Hotel & Art Garden Spa.
- 2014 – The hotel rooms in the older building facing the square were renovated to its former glory from 1902. Sixteenth century romance combined with classic luxury and modern comfort. These rooms are called De Luxe.
- 2015 – Another hotel was acquired and we were honored to become sister to Hôtel Eggers at Drottningtorget in Gothenburg.
- 2021 – An expansion of Asia Spa begins. New relaxation rooms, an orangery and a lovely roof terrace were built and completed in early 2022.
- 2021 – Lotus Hotel Group welcomes the modernist gem Hotel Billingehus to the hotel family and takes over operations in March 2022. The hotel closes for renovation and reopens in summer 2023.
- 2022 – Expansion of Asia Spa, phase 2 was completed at the end of 2022. A glazed spa lounge, sun terrace, outdoor pool, cold tubs and saunas – all resting on the rooftops, with a fantastic view of the sea, sunsets and Varberg Fortress.
