Haymarket makes a grand entrance

Modern hotel takes a nostalgic return to the roaring 20s. 

  • The grand entrance of the new Haymarket.

  • Enter this new Stockholm hotel and you immediately get a whiff of an era long gone. From the extravagant Art Deco staircase and the 50 or so black-and-white movie screens to the lobby's crystal chandelier by Samuel Wilkinson and the brightly lit kitchen on the balcony, everything exudes an aura of Hollywood, the Jazz Age, and the elegance of the Roaring 20s. Meanwhile, the hotel is an ultra-modern, 21st century phenomenon.
    In a way it all began with Paul Urbanus Bergström, a successful businessman who was once a dominating force in and around Hötorget, the market square in central Stockholm. In the early 1920s, he built a department store at Hötorget and named it PUB after his initials. As it happened, among his many employees was a young girl named Greta Gustafsson, who worked in the millinery department and posed for him as a hat model, and who was later to become one of the world인터넷바카라s most glamorous movie stars 인터넷바카라 better known as Greta Garbo.
    Now the store is gone, converted into the Scandic Hotel Haymarket, but PUB인터넷바카라s early days are still vibrantly alive. Not surprisingly, the hotel인터넷바카라s American brasserie is called Paul, and its wellness-oriented café is named 인터넷바카라 you guessed it 인터넷바카라 Greta인터넷바카라s.

  • The entire hotel인터넷바카라 from lobby to restaurants and bars and individual rooms인터넷바카라is filled with old movie paraphernalia ...

  • International appeal
    We came here on a snowy afternoon in mid-January, not exactly the recommended time to visit the Swedish capital. Still there was an air of festivity. The Haymarket is such a lively spot to begin with. Across from the hotel is the Royal Concert Hall, its tall columns still dressed for Christmas, and to the south we could see Filmstaden Sergel, one of the largest multi-screen cinemas in Stockholm. And, despite the cold, a few fruit and vegetable vendors had set up their wares in the market square, in brilliantly illuminated stands.
    Following our arrival I met with Daniel Hermansson, the food and beverage manager of the hotel. 인터넷바카라Why Haymarket,인터넷바카라 I wondered. 인터넷바카라Why not call it Hötorget?인터넷바카라 His answer was short and to the point: 인터넷바카라Because, outside Scandinavia, no one knows how to pronounce Hötorget.인터넷바카라
    Which led to a chat about the international flavor of the place. Take Paul인터넷바카라s, for instance, a brasserie inspired by New York in the 20s, claiming to serve 인터넷바카라decadent food인터넷바카라 from both sides of the Atlantic. I noted that the menu commenced with a listing of martinis such as Queen Elisabeth, Rockefeller, and Tuxedo #2. The list even had a small preface, enquiring whether you were a dilettante who preferred your martini stirred, or the reserved type who took it extra dry, or maybe a lounger who liked it dirty.
    Asked about the Rockefeller, Daniel informed me that it contained Tanqueray 10, Noilly Prat, and an oyster 인터넷바카라 but no hot sauce, so no similarity to oyster shooters in Annapolis, Maryland.
    Paul인터넷바카라s is located upstairs near the lobby, and downstairs is Greta인터넷바카라s and Americain, a cocktail bar with a Caribbean touch.
    As for Greta인터넷바카라s, apart from its focus on healthy food, it boasted everything from morning coffee to champagne in the evening.

  • ... images from old black and white movies ...

  • What's old is new again
    Our room did little to detract from this notion. There was Garbo, in a row of black-and-white photos above the bed, one of which featured a René Magritte-style hat suspended in empty space. I particularly liked the bold star-like Art Deco pattern on the wardrobe, a freestanding piece of furniture that also contained the in-room safe, as well as a refrigerator with a minibar. And then there was an old record player, along with a few records, such as the all-time greatest hits by Roy Orbison, Mozart인터넷바카라s symphony No. 36, and Earl Bostic playing sweet tunes of the roaring 20s.
    Given the prominent role Greta Garbo plays in this remarkable hotel, perhaps its 인터넷바카라do-not-disturb인터넷바카라 signs ought to be replaced by the quote most associated with her in the public imagination: 인터넷바카라I want to be alone.인터넷바카라
    I had noticed a small piano near Americain: for 인터넷바카라ragtime jazz in the evening,인터넷바카라 explained Daniel. Then, next to the entrance stood a giant movie camera, surely one of the first ever in existence. As Daniel put it, it인터넷바카라s 인터넷바카라all the 20s with a modern twist.인터넷바카라
    For more information on this modern, old fashioned hotel in central Stockholm see

  • ... Greta's bar ...

  • By Bo Zaunders

  • ... and yet offers every modern amenity you could think of.

  • A room with a view of Hötorget with the Stockholm Concert Hall and Kungsgatan.