No one travels just for the hotels, right? Perhaps, but your choice of lodging can make or break your travel experience. A good hotel will forever be ingrained in your memory, elevating your trip from good to great - or in the case of these fabulous boutique hotels, from great to once-in-a-lifetime.

If a hotel is exciting, well-designed, and offers unforgettable amenities, it can reach a rarified level—becoming a home away from home. Read on for the best boutique hotels in Norway: those uniquely beautiful, charming, extra-special properties that will make you wish you could stay forever.

Riverside Farm Lodge

Goat Bar at the Riverside Farm Lodge
Photo courtesy of Riverside Farm Lodge

Tucked away in the Aurlandsdalen Valley, the setting of this mid-range hotel checks every box on your Norway nature list, including majestic mountains, wow-worthy waterfalls, and glassy fjords. Locally sourced meals in a historic smokehouse and a wood-fired outdoor hot tub round out the list of amenities, and the friendly owners organize hikes to the area’s natural wonders or visits with artisans in the nearby town of Aurland.

Tokvamsvegen 12 – 5745 Aurland, Norway

Juvet Landscape Hotel

Snowy panorama through the windows of the Juvet Landscape Hotel
Photo courtesy of Juvet Landscape Hotel/Knut Bry

The Juvet Landscape Hotel is an architect’s dream, both complementing and enhancing its setting. A cluster of sustainable buildings, each individually designed, include sleeping, dining, and relaxing spaces, as well as a spa. Panoramic windows let in stunning views of the surrounding nature reserve, and historic buildings, including a farmstead, orchard cabin, cow barn, and mill, complete that perfect mix of old and new. A stay here is definitely a splurge, but worth it. 

Alstad, 6210 Valldal, Norway

Sorrisniva Igloo Hotel

Icy interior of Sorrisniva Igloo Hotel
Photo courtesy of Sorrisniva Igloo Hotel

This hotel isn’t just made out of ice, it’s also the “Brigadoon” of Norway’s many popular ice hotels: Every winter, Sorrisniva is built from the ground up in a matter of weeks, and ever summer, as the snow begins to melt, it disappears once again, like a frigid dream. Rooms are outfitted with reindeer pelts and extreme weather gear, each booking includes a visit to the sauna, and the restaurant serves local Nordic cuisine.

Sorrisniva 20, 9519 Alta, Norway

Hotel Union Øye

Hotel Union Øye
Photo courtesy of Hotel Union Øye

This nearly 130-year-old romantic hotel feels like something out of a fairytale, with its age-old yet somehow timeless details and secluded setting on the Hjørundfjord. Antique-filled rooms are named after past visitors, including Kaiser Wilhelm and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Hotel Union Øye staff can organize countless activities for you, including fjord skiing, sea rafting, and even a helicopter tour.

NO-6196 Norangsfjorden, Norway

The Thief

THE THIEF Hotel in Oslo, Norway
Photo courtesy of THE THIEF Hotel

Set on its own island – Tjuvholmen or Thief’s Islet – Oslo’s Thief Hotel is perhaps one of Norway’s most luxurious properties. Owned by a billionaire art collector with a penchant for indulgence, this hotel pairs views over Oslo’s harbor (even more stunning from the rooftop bar) with sleek, near-futuristic design touches. Lavish works of modern art are everywhere, and a stay here includes free entry to the nearby Astrup Fearnley contemporary art museum.

Landgangen 1, 0252 Oslo, Norway

Solstrand Hotel

Photo courtesy of Solstrand Hotel

If you want to feel like a member of the nobility from days gone by, taking in the sea air and sun for your health and complexion, this spa hotel near Bergen is like a (salty) blast from the past. The glam coastal property still retains its painted wooden exteriors from a century ago, but now offers extensive, 21st-century spa services as well as exciting activities like a seaplane ride over Folgefonna glacier or a tour of Lysøen, the exquisite 19th-century villa of violinist Ole Bull.

 Solstrandveien 200, 5201 Os, Bergen, Norway

Hotel Brosundet

Photo courtesy of Hotel Brosundet

If you’re looking for historic charm, look no farther than this Ålesund hotel, set within a landmarked warehouse building, and offering a special surprise for those who book early: a single room inside a lighthouse at the end of a nearby jetty. Cozy old-world touches like exposed beams and arched windows have been preserved by famed architectural firm Snøhetta, and the hotel’s MAKI Restaurant is one of the city’s most beloved seafood spots.

Apotekergata 1-5, 6004 Ålesund, Norway

Camillas Hus

Photo courtesy of Camillas Hus

This cozy, family-owned Oslo hotel is set in a gorgeous wooden mansion right next to the Royal Palace Gardens. Named after 19th-century novelist and women’s rights activist Camilla Collet, the hotel offers spacious, high-ceilinged rooms perfect for dreamers, creatives, and intellectuals. A tablet in every room, luxe L’Occitane bath products, and elegant French and Italian cuisine at the hotel's Park29 Restaurant are just a few of the inviting extras.

Parkveien 31, 0350 Oslo, Norway

Map

Map of Top 8 Boutique Hotels in Norway
Map of Top 8 Boutique Hotels in Norway