The Michelin Guide has made headlines in the Nordic region this year, not for restaurants this time, but for hotels. These are the hotels they rate as the very best in Norway.
What is a hotel, really? For many travellers, it is simply a place to rest your head for the night, where cost and convenience matter most. For others, the hotel is an essential part of the journey, a space that shapes the experience as much as the destination.
The new Michelin Key distinction celebrates places to stay that offer more than just a bed for the night. These are hotels with a sense of place, story, and experience, where design and hospitality feel connected to their surroundings.
Across the five Nordic countries, 39 hotels received Michelin Keys in this first edition, including 11 here in Norway.
They range from historic fjordside inns to contemporary city hideaways and remote architectural retreats. What they share is something the Michelin inspectors call “soul and substance.”
Many of Norway’s recognised hotels are found in the Norwegian Fjords region, where dramatic landscapes have inspired centuries of storytelling and hospitality rooted in nature and tradition.
“The MICHELIN Keys celebrate hotels with soul and substance – places that tell a story and connect guests to their surroundings. Seeing seven hotels in Fjord Norway among the first Nordic selection shows the strength and authenticity of the hospitality scene in our region.” – Stein Ove Rolland, CEO of Fjord Norway
Here’s a closer look at all eleven Norwegian hotels selected by Michelin, and what makes each one worth travelling for.
Two-Key Hotels in Norway
Let's start off with the cream of the crop. Only two hotels earned the prestigious two-key rating from Michelin.
Storfjord Hotel, Ålesund Region
Set high above the Storfjord and surrounded by acres of quiet woodland, Storfjord Hotel feels like a secret retreat, the kind of place that invites you to exhale. Built in the traditional lafta log construction method, the hotel blends rustic Norwegian craftsmanship with soft, warm interiors and fireside comfort.
Every suite here has a private fjord-view balcony, which changes its character with the weather: deep blue on clear days, moody silver during autumn rain, glowing pastel in the long summer twilight.
This is a place for slow mornings, long dinners, and time spent strolling in silence along the forest trails. The hotel’s sense of calm is its luxury. You don’t need to do anything to “earn” your stay here. It’s simply a place to be.
Walaker Hotel, Solvorn (Sognefjord)
The oldest family-run hotel in Norway, Walaker Hotel has been open since the 1600s, and it still feels like a living family home. Located in the tiny fjordside village of Solvorn, surrounded by fruit orchards and mountains, this is hospitality shaped by heritage.
Rooms are divided across historic timber buildings, each with its own quiet style. Long summer evenings stretch on forever in the garden, where roses climb the white-painted walls and the fjord reflects the last of the light.
Dinner feels intimate and deeply local. It often highlights produce grown or gathered just steps away. Staying here is like stepping gently into another rhythm of life, slower and rooted.
One-Key Hotels in Norway
Now for the best of the rest! Let's take a look at Michelin's one-key hotels.
Hotel Brosundet, Ålesund
Ålesund’s famous Art Nouveau architecture is on full display at Hotel Brosundet, housed in a former fish warehouse on the harbour.
Rather than smoothing over history, the hotel embraces it: timber beams, stone walls, and softened, warm lighting that makes the space feel timeless.
The atmosphere is quietly elegant, not flashy. The sea is always present. You hear it, smell it, feel it in the architecture. It’s a hotel that feels deeply “of Ålesund”, shaped by the city’s fishing heritage and seafaring identity.
Boen Gård, Kristiansand
Boen Gård is a restored 19th-century country estate on the banks of the river outside Kristiansand, once reserved for royals and dignitaries. Today, it’s a place of stillness: pale wooden interiors, linen fabrics, gardens heavy with summer growth, and meals that follow the rhythm of the estate’s own produce.
It's a slow and thoughtful place, feeling like visiting a refined countryside home rather than a hotel. Meals are a highlight here, with ingredients from the surrounding farmland and forest forming much of the menu.
Hotel Union Øye, Hjørundfjord
There are hotels in pretty locations — and then there is Hotel Union Øye, tucked deep in the Hjørundfjord, a place so dramatic it feels almost unreal.
This 19th-century hideaway has hosted writers, mountaineers, royals, and romantics. Each room is individually decorated, often with antique four-poster beds and colours drawn from the surrounding landscape.
What sets Øye apart is its sense of quiet grandeur. You don’t need to climb a peak to feel the mountains. They press close, visible from every window. The hotel feels like a portal to the early age of Norwegian mountain tourism, when people travelled for inspiration rather than efficiency.
Manshausen, Steigen
A cluster of striking glass-and-wood sea cabins perched on their own tiny island, Manshausen is where design and nature meet without compromise.
Floor-to-ceiling windows place the sea and the mountains right at the foot of your bed, changing hour by hour with the shifting light of Northern Norway. In summer, it feels endless. In winter, it feels elemental.
Amerikalinjen, Oslo
Right in central Oslo, opposite the opera house, Amerikalinjen occupies the former headquarters of the Norwegian America Line. That's the office from which thousands once set off across the Atlantic in search of new worlds.
Today, the hotel celebrates that spirit of travel and cultural exchange. It is vibrant, elegant, and deeply connected to Oslo’s contemporary identity, with music spaces, a lively brasserie, and interiors that blend classic detailing with modern warmth.
Curious? Check out my review from a stay a couple of years ago. Would I go back? Absolutely!
Hotel Continental, Oslo
A longstanding grande dame of Norwegian hospitality, Hotel Continental is where Oslo’s cultural and political life has gathered for generations. It balances classical European style with a feeling that is personal rather than formal.
Just across from the National Theatre, it is ideally placed for theatre evenings, gallery visits, or quiet city walks. There is a sense of tradition here, but also confidence.
Sommerro, Oslo
Sommerro is Oslo’s boldest recent hotel opening, set in the restored headquarters of the capital’s former electric company. The building’s 1930s Art Deco style has been reawakened with creative flair, including murals, public gathering spaces, and a rooftop bath with views over Frogner.
Thanks in part to its location, Sommerro feels like a neighbourhood hub, not just a hotel. It's a place where visitors and locals mingle, have coffee, listen to music, or linger late in lounges that hum with atmosphere.
Elva Hotel, Voss
Set along a rushing river in Voss, Elva Hotel is a contemporary retreat designed to frame the movement of water and the landscape beyond.
It’s a perfect base for anyone drawn to the outdoors: rafting, hiking, skiing, climbing, or simply watching the river from your room. There is a clarity and simplicity to the design that lets nature do the talking.
Eilert Smith Hotel, Stavanger
A small 12-room boutique hotel, Eilert Smith occupies a carefully restored functionalist building in Stavanger. The design is clean and sculptural, enhancing original 1930s architectural lines. It feels quietly refined and refreshingly intimate.
Britannia Hotel, Trondheim
In Trondheim, Britannia Hotel blends historic prestige with world-class contemporary renovation.
Grand public rooms, a light-filled courtyard for breakfast, a choice of fabulous eateries, and a spa that feels like a sanctuary all contribute to an atmosphere of polished calm.
The hotel is deeply connected to Trondheim’s cultural life and makes a memorable base for exploring the city’s cathedral, old town streets, and waterfront.
Juvet Landscape Hotel, Valldal
And then there is Juvet, a hotel like no other. Scattered glass cabins sit lightly in the birch forest, each looking out into untouched nature. It is both architectural showcase and wilderness retreat, made internationally famous by the film Ex Machina.
Staying here feels like being alone in the landscape, but with warmth, craftsmanship, and design framing the experience rather than intruding on it.
Choosing Your Experience
From fjordside heritage inns to glass cabins in the forest, Norway’s Michelin Key hotels are united not by luxury in the traditional sense, but by their sense of place. If you are planning a journey through Norway, these hotels offer not just a stay, but a lasting memory.
