Mornington Hotel Stockholm City

There's certainly
little that impresses from the outside of the Mornington Hotel, considering its drab,
easily miss-able facade. Plus, there's barely much even in the way of signage to indicate
its existence. Stepping inside, however, its a very different story with a bright
and inviting lobby that has clearly been put together to feel like a large
open-plan sitting room. Rows of comfy-looking armchairs face each other across
low wooden tables, giving a sociable feel to the space, though its the solitary
activity of reading that is the real focus here. The owners clearly love
reading, and books feature heavily at the hotel. Literarily thousands (over 4,000
in the lobby library alone) of volumes line bookshelves including the guest rooms
themselves. The hotel even has a librarian that comes in to keep track of the collection.
An inner courtyard opens during the summer months. Run by the same family since
1973, the atmosphere is warm and personable attracting mostly vacationing
couples and inevitably plenty of bookworms. There are no specific rooms or facilities for families, though.

The hotel is set
on a relatively quiet street in middle of the Ostermalm district of Stockholm
-- a largely residential, tony neighborhood close to Ostermalmstorg
Square. The Ostermalmstorg T-bana metro station is a seven minutes' walk away and
connects to Central Station in five, from where the express train connects to Arlanda
International Airport. While there are plenty of eating and drinking options in
the vicinity, the main city center restaurants and bars are about 15 minutes
away on foot, or a five-minute cab journey from the hotel. The large and often bustling Humlegarden
park is three blocks away and Stockholm Olympic Stadium is a 15 minutes' walk. 

The hotel has 221
rooms, all of which are decorated in a smart and simple, yet homey, style with
wooden floors, modern furnishings, and plenty of shelves crammed with books. Standard
amenities include free Wi-Fi, tea/coffee facilities, and flat-screen TVs with
some international channels, while Executive-level rooms also have slippers and
bathrobes. Due to a building quirk, rooms on the first two floors don't have minibars. Traditionally-styled
bathrooms have walk-in showers with little in the way of splash guards. Eight
of the rooms extend to balconies; these cost extra during
summer months. There are no family rooms. 

An extensive buffet
breakfast is included in room rates. There are hot and cold items such as scrambled eggs,
pancakes, and waffles, as well as Swedish dishes like herring. In the summer it
can be taken in the courtyard. The restaurant also
offers lunch and dinner using locally-sourced ingredients and home-grown herbs,
and there's brunch over weekends. Guests in Superior and Executive rooms have free access to
the Mornington health club, which includes a gym and separate male and female
saunas (a fee is charged for non-guests and standard room customers). The is also
a parking garage available for a fee. Note that the hotel is completely
cashless so only card payments are accepted.