19 Nov 2021
Luxury urban spa to open in Oslo with restored public baths, rooftop sauna and Nordic wellness rituals
BY Megan Whitby
Nordic Hotels & Resorts is creating an urban wellness retreat in Norway’s capital city of Oslo as part of its 231-room hotel project.
Owned by Norwegian hotelier Petter Stordalen, the luxury destination will be named Sommerro and welcome guests in the city’s Frogner neighbourhood as of September 2022.
Sommerro will be housed in a restored 1930s building – formerly the headquarters of the city’s original electrical company – and encompass Vestkantbadet, one of Norway’s last remaining public baths.
Nordic Hotels & Resorts is restoring Vestkantbadet to its former glory and growing it into an 8,000sq ft subterranean urban wellness retreat. Nordic Hotels & Resorts claims it will become one of the largest spas of any city hotel across the Nordic countries.
Open to hotel guests and the public, the space will include restored Roman baths, twelve treatment rooms, a cold plunge pool and a 1,400sq m gym with an infrared sauna.
Spa programming highlights will include a traditional Nordic thermotherapy experience.
Meanwhile, the hotel is set to be transformed into a modern tribute to Norwegian cultural heritage inspired by 1930s art deco style with a strong focus on wellness, social spaces and eco-conscious experiences.
The beating heart of Sommerro’s social offering will be its year-round rooftop terrace, complete with a restaurant and pool deck where light bites will be served in the summer and, during the colder months, in-sauna treatments can be enjoyed.
The hotel – complete with 56 branded residences – will also boast four restaurants, three bars, a 200-seat gilded theatre and meeting and event spaces for up to 150 people.
“Our vision is to redefine Oslo’s hospitality landscape by creating a new kind of hotel built on Frogner’s classic and creative neighbourhood spirit,” says Jarle Moen, managing director of Sommerro.
“Made by the local community, Sommerro will be an open house for all where visitors and locals can work, sleep, eat, play and recharge.
“Together, we’re creating an inspiring space where kindred souls and culture-makers can gather in cosy corners or pop by for a range of experiences from intimate gatherings and work meetings to late-night movie screenings and wine tastings in our library.”
Drawing heavily on the building’s existing architectural character, Sommerro will pay homage to a fusion of neoclassical contemporary aesthetics with original elements that have been developed by local firm LPO Architects in collaboration with New York- and London-based studio GrecoDeco.
Art deco details will include oak parquet flooring, bespoke furnishings upholstered with 1930s Norwegian motifs and bathrooms with custom tiles.
Original artwork by Norwegian artist Per Krohg will be featured throughout the hotel, including a giant wall fresco and a ceiling mural that nods to the building’s heritage.
As the newest independent venture by Nordic Hotels & Resorts, Sommerro will enhance the group’s commitment to eco-sustainability through a variety of on-property practices and amenities, from what dishes are served at each restaurant to the materials used to design and construct the guestrooms and property as a whole.
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