The hotel is the product of a collaboration between some of the most important Scandinavian architects and designers who have worked together on this project with its focus on balancing environmental and ecological values with comfort and high-class design. The result is an offbeat hotel that offers guests the truly unique experience of sleeping in a tree-top room, where the scent of the forest pervades the air, the sound of the breeze whispering through the leaves lulls you to sleep and the dawn chorus is your natural wake-up call.
The Tree Hotel offers six of the most original accommodation choices, all of which are in perfect harmony with the environment, though some blend with the setting while others offer interesting visual juxtapositions. Accessed by a retractable ladder, the Bird's Nest is a unit big enough for a family with two children, whose exterior is masked by a network of branches. There's a UFO, too: a comfortable and modern 30 square metre split-level space that looks just like a space ship coming into land between the trees and is guaranteed to delight children of all ages.
The Blue Cone is a traditional wood construction reached by a bridge from the mountain behind the unit. Again, it sleeps four, with a double bed, and two singles in the loft space. The Cabin, a sort of capsule suspended among the trees, is also accessed from a walkway; this unit offers accommodation for a couple and has stunning views out over the valley of the River Lule. A rope bridge gives access to the Mirror Cube, an ultra-modern unit whose mirrored exterior reflects the surrounding trees and provides startlingly efficient camouflage making it the perfect 'hide' from which to observe the surroundings.
The final accommodation option is the Room with a View with three separate areas offering three distinct perspectives: the kitchen-diner looks out on the river, the bedrooms look towards the forest, and the bathroom faces the sky. The three zones are combined so as to create an open roof terrace.
Harads is only 60 kilometres south of the Arctic Circle and is a beautiful unspoiled environment for all sorts of activities including snow-shoe walks to watch the aurora borealis, riding and kayaking on the River Lule. And, as you'd expect in Scandinavia, the hotel has a sauna – up in tree, of course.
Further information: Tree Hotel