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.