The Hotel Ignatius and was rather simple. There was just one bathroom in the whole building and there was no hot water. Majlis made immediate changes. In her first week she bought new bed covers for every room and increased the price of a room from 27 to a pricely 29 Swedish kronor per night. Majlis and her husband, Gunnar, are great collectors of naval antiques. Their new acquisition presented a great opportunity for putting their collection on display. The hotel was renamed after the great English naval hero, Admiral Lord Nelson, and major renovations were carried out in 1978.
All 29 rooms were equipped with modern facilities and are now of a high standard. Each room is named after the antique model ship on display therein. The corridors and other areas are decorated with naval antiques. The floors in the building take their names from the different parts of a ship: Gun Deck, Middle Deck and Poop Deck etc.
Each floor has its own grandfather clock, which must be wound up every night by hand. To reinforce the nautical theme, each room is fitted with special ship’s floorboards. The entire hotel was renovated in 2002.
Plans for a third hotel soon began to take shape. After four years’ extensive and exciting renovation of a building on Lilla Nygatan 5, the family´s flagship, the Victory Hotel, was opened in 1987. The hotel has 45 rooms and 15 conference rooms and is of course named after Lord Nelson’s flagship, HMS Victory.
The building also houses the Leijontornet Restaurant. It dates from 1640 and has a lot of stories to tell. One day in the autumn of 1937, building workers found 18,000 silver coins and 84 silver objects buried in a corner of what is now the Bistro. This was Sweden’s largest ever discovery of silver. The building had been the home of the wealthy Lohe family in the late 18th century. The silver was presumably theirs, although nobody knows why it was buried. The treasure can be seen at the Stockholm City Museum and Myntkabinettet (the Coin Musuem).
While the building was being restored another fascinating discovery was made. This is the base of the Leijontornet (Lion-tower) tower, which formed part of Stockholm´s city walls and dates from the 14th century. It can now be seen in the restaurant, and is the only remaining fragment of the city’s medieval defences.
No-one can enter the Victory Hotel without noticing its fantastic collection of nautical antiques. Wherever you go you will find interesting pictures, model ships, figureheads, dolls etc, each with a story to tell. The reception desk even has an original letter written by Lord Nelson to Lady Hamilton.
Extensive research along the coasts of Sweden was carried out in order to find out about the 45 captains who are pictured outside every room together with the ships they captained. Naturally, in the double rooms their wives are also portrayed!
After the opening of the Lord Nelson Hotel, attention was turned to a run-down property at Storkyrkobrinken 5. This building was actually three connected houses, and thus perfect for turning into a hotel. Work began in 1978 and it was opened in 1980, immediately attracting attention for its charm and the ingenuous ways it blended antique furniture with modern comfort.
With the Lord Nelson Hotel, just around the corner, it seemed only natural to name the new hotel after Nelson´s famous mistress, Lady Hamilton. The day after the opening, a famous wit in a national newspaper wrote; “What did I do in Stockholm? Well, the first night I enjoyed Lady Hamilton! It was well worth the 350 kronor!”
The building probably dates back to the time of Sten Sture the Elder in the 1470s. Storkyrkobrinken was the northern entrance to the centre of town and it is easy to imagine the bustling medieval streets just outside the building. Up until 1980, the ground floor housed shops and the upper floors were apartments and offices.
In what is now the hotel´s sauna, there is a well which sauna-goers may still use to cool off. The well is included in drawings dated from 1746, but it probably goes back to the 15th century. During the 18th century, the owner benefited from a reduced fire insurance premium due to the well. The Bengtsson family bought the building in 1975.
Majlis and Gunnars´s love of antiques is clearly visible in the Lady Hamilton Hotel. Over the years they have assembled a very large collection of naval objects and antique Swedish folk art, which their guests can now enjoy. All the rooms, not to mention the corridors, are decorated with folk artefacts, many of which are of great cultural value.
The 34 rooms are named after the wild flowers that are the symbols of the counties of Sweden and oil paintings of these adorn the doors. Inside each room there is a different antique. One houses an old cupboard used in former times to store moonshine liquor and still containing a vintage (though now empty!) bottle of akvavit.
In the end of the 15th century, Johan and Ann Lohe lived with their 18 children in the Old Town in Stockholm. They ran a highly successful trading company and lent money to the nobility and to the Swedish Government. Instead of paying back their loans, the Government raised the family to the nobility and they became one of the wealthiest and most influential families in Stockholm. One man, who plays an important role in this story is Gustav Lars Axelsson, who was raised by the Lohe family and later worked for the family company.
When Johan Lohe passed away in 1704, he left all of his fortunes and the family company to his wife Anna Lohe and a bitter family feud erupted. By ruthlessly scheming, Conrad, one of the sons, managed to persuade his siblings to join him in a lawsuit against their mother to claim the inheritance. In the beginning Anna was victorious but after a four year legal battle, she finally gave in. The inheritance was divided between the children who also took over the management of the family company.
Once Anna also had passed away, new conflicts arouse between the siblings as to how the inheritance from her was to be divided. For six years they battled in different constellations and in endless lawsuits, and Conrad was the worst of them all. He greedily allied with whom ever necessary to get as much from the inheritance as possible and he did not hesitate to betray them all in the pursuit of fortune.
Two of his siblings, Tobias and Johanna Lohe, were concerned. They had lived a quiet and reserved life in an apartment on Lilla Nygatan 5 in the Old Town and had not participated in the battles against their mother. Now they feared that someone, probably Conrad, was stealing silver from them. They decided quite simply to bury all the silver under the floor in the basement, underground and far away from Conrads greedy hands.
The last Lohe passed away in 1779 without ever having any children. Left under the floor on Lilla Nygatan 5 was a silver treasure whose existence no living soul knew of.
On the 15th of October 1937, Lilla Nygatan 5 housed a potato shop. Their floors needed to be renovated so workers broke the tiles and started digging in the loose soil. Suddenly one of the workers noticed that his shovel was full of silver coins. A representative from the Historical Museum was called to the site and slowly they started to excavate what later will be known as the Lohe Treasure.
In total, the treasure weighed 218 kilos and is to this day the largest treasure ever to be found in the Nordic Region. With the value of money today, the treasure is worth about 100 million Swedish crowns and can be seen in the Stockholm City Museum and the National Museum of Economy in the Old Town.
The site where the Lohe Treasure was found can be seen in Leijonbaren at the Victory Hotel in Stockholm.
Before his death, the previously mentioned Axelsson wrote down the entire history of the Lohe family and also described how and why the treasure ended up buried. The Swedish author Lars Widding found the story in an old archive and in 1996 published a book based on Axelssons account regarding the misfortunate Lohe family and the Lohe Treasure.
The 45 personal and individually furnished rooms at Victory Hotel are named after Swedish sea captains who's portrait is found in the room - naturally alongside his whife in the double rooms. Our Double Deluxe rooms, Junior Suites and the Luxury Suite are also equipped with Jacuzzis and a Bang & Olufssen sound system.
In all rooms, we provide our guests with: * bathrobes and slippers * wireless high speed Internet connection * TV with free movie channels * hair dryer * in-room safe * climate control * trouser's press
Captain Johansson's Suite The ceiling of the large suite has not been painted since 1640. But this omission is due to neither negligence nor laziness. In the 17th century, Bishop Laurentius had the good taste to commission a wonderful rustic ceiling mural which we will never, ever, paint over, regardless of the dictates of interior design trends. Captain Johansson sailed between Gothenburg and the Far East on the ship “Jacob” and we have named our largest suite after him. With a unique baroque style interior featuring wall tapestries and a canopy bed, this suite is truly worthy of its name. This suite measures 60 square meters and has a dining och sitting area, a separate bedroom with a kingsize canope bed and a large bathroom with Jacuzzi and shower. The suite is also equipped with cable TV with film channels, a Bang & Olufsen TV & stereo, a telephone, computer and wirelss Internet access, a minibar, a trouser press, heated floors in bathroom, a hair dryer, bathrobes and slippers.
Junior Suites These Junior Suites truly feel like a home away from home. They all consist of a comfortable sittingroom, a bedroom with a king size bed (210 cm) as well as a bathroom with jazucci and a separate WC. In the suites you will also find a Bang & Olufsen stereo, wireless Internet access, a desk, a trouser's press, a hair dryer and bathrobes with slippers.
Junior suite, Captain Söderberg, Room 306 Andreas Söderberg was the captain of the HMS Rodney. In room 306 you will find portraits of both him and his wife and on the windowsill is a watch embellish with a soldier mounted on a horse.
Junior suite, Captain Wingren, Room 504 Captain Wingren was captain of the Eliza Montrose. In room 504 you can see several portraits of Captain Wingren and his family, as well as Wingren’s captain’s certificates.
Double Deluxe Room Our Double Duluxe rooms are many of our guests' favourite type of room. They are bigger than our Double Superior rooms and have a generous bathroom with Jacuzzi as well as a kingsize bed (210 cm). The room is equipped with a Bang & Olufsen stereo on the wall, wireless Internet access, a working desk, a trousers press, a hair dryer and comfortable bathrobes and slippers.
Captain Evald, Room 202 Aboard the brig Carl XI of Helsingborg, Captain Evald’s word was law. This double room has oiled oak flooring with traditional carpets and a beautiful bathroom of Öland limestone.
Double Superior Our pleasant Double Superior Rooms are slightly bigger than our Double Standard rooms and have a double bed (210 cm) and en-suite bathroom with shower and two basins. The room is also equipped with a Bang & Olufsen stereo, a TV with cable and film channels, wireless Internet, a working desk, a trousers press, a hair dryer, mini bar, a safe, bathrobes and slippers and an antique cupboard.
Captain Lundh, Room 307 Nils Petter Lundh was captain of the brig Harriet & Jane of Newcastle. One of the first things you notice when entering the room is a Swedish bridal chest from 1790.
Double Standard Room All Standard Double Rooms have en-suite bathrooms with shower and two basins and a generous double bed (160 cm - 210 cm). The room is equipped with wireless Internet access, a working desk, cable TV with film channels, a safe, a trousers press, a hair dryer, minibar and bathrobe and slippers.
Captain Bergström, Room 208 Captain Carl Richard Bergström was captain of the ship San Bartolomeo. In room 208 you find a beautiful Swedish rustic-style cupboard and have a magnificent view over the hotel’s inner courtyard with its charming fountain and statuary.
Superior Single Room Our pleasant Single Superior Rooms have a single bed (120 cm) and a bathroom with shower. The room is equipped with wireless Internet access, a working desk, cable TV with film channels, a safe, a trousers press, a hair dryer, minibar and bathrobe and slippers.
Captain Svanström, Room 404 Reading the newspaper clipping from an 1896 edition of le Figaro, there can be little doubt about the heroism of seaman Captain Svanström. In Room 404 you can read the article in its entirety.
Standard Single Room The beds in our cosy Single Superior Rooms measure 105 cm and all single rooms have bathroom with shower. The room is equipped with wireless Internet access, a working desk, cable TV with film channels, a safe, a trousers press, a hair dryer, minibar and bathrobe and slippers.
Captain Jaensson, Room 309 Captain Karl Jaensson of Denmark served on the brig Fortuna. A photograph of Jaensson and his crew aboard the Fortuna hangs above the bed, and the room also is otherwise decorated with traditional Swedish furnishings.
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