About this hotel
General information
Juvet Landscape Hotel sits in a birch wood beside the Gudbrandsjuvet gorge, between a rushing mountain river and steep slopes. It is first and foremost a work of architecture: small pavilions are placed to disturb the terrain as little as possible, each turned towards its own piece of the view. Built on sustainable principles, the hotel has collected several architecture awards, and its buildings are linked by private gravel paths that balance seclusion with a sense of shared ground.
There are only ten rooms with 24 beds in all: seven glass-walled Landscape Rooms on stilts, two tiny Bird Houses on the steep hillside and the two-bedroom Writer’s Lodge. The heart of the property is a century-old farm building, where the cow byre has become a dining and sitting room with an open fire, the pigsty the kitchen and the hay loft an open-air lounge, alongside the reception and a library. Breakfast and dinner are part of every stay, the grounds are closed to day visitors, and the whole hotel can be reserved for the exclusive use of a family, friends or colleagues.
Location
The hotel lies just outside the village of Valldal on Norway’s north-west coast, right on the national scenic route between the UNESCO-listed Geirangerfjord and the hairpin road of Trollstigen, which is about a 25-minute drive away; Geirangerfjord and Tafjord are both under an hour by car. The river below the rooms reaches the fjord 15 km further down the valley. Ålesund is around 100 km or roughly 90 minutes by road; the nearest airport is Ålesund Airport Vigra, from where the hotel suggests a hire car and can arrange a transfer or taxi on request.
Spa
The Bath House is set into the riverbank a few steps from the farmyard yet hidden from it. Its interior is dark concrete, with small rooms painted in deep colours that give the feeling of a cave, and its 15-metre glass façade looks straight onto the river. Facilities comprise a steam room, a wood-fired sauna, a hot tub overlooking the water, a quiet room and showers; it is reserved for hotel guests.
Sports & leisure
The landscape around Valldal is the main pastime. The Valldøla river offers whitewater rafting all the way down to the fjord, and canyoning through the gorge from Gudbrandsjuvet ends right in front of the Bath House. A couple of kilometres away, an activity park has climbing routes totalling more than 1,400 m and zip lines. Trails for every age and ability lead to summits, old mountain farms and viewpoints; the valley is also good for fishing and kayaking, and the fjords can be explored by car, on foot or by boat. On the grounds, small huts and riverside coves suit a picnic or a quiet hour by the water, and there is a library. The 60 m² conference room, with a glass roof carried on glulam beams, hosts meetings and ceremonies for up to 20 people.
For children
There is no kids’ club, but the conference room easily doubles as a children’s playroom or a home cinema. The Writer’s Lodge, with two bedrooms for four, suits families, and the surrounding trails cater to all ages.
Restaurants & bars
The single restaurant occupies the old farm building, Fjøsen (The Barn), with a terrace facing the river and the valley. The cooking is built on local produce, most of it from farms and producers in the area, and the menu follows the seasons. Breakfast brings fresh bread, cold cuts, homemade jam, scrambled eggs, traditionally smoked salmon and apple juice from the valley. Every evening at 19:30 guests gather at one long table in the former cow byre for a three-course dinner. Lunch is not usually served – guests pack their own from the breakfast buffet and can take a thermos of something hot – while the kitchen can arrange hillside picnics, mountaintop brunches, riverside cookouts and banquets in the barn.
Swimming
There is no pool: small coves along the river on the hotel’s grounds invite a morning dip, and the Bath House hot tub overlooks the water.
Skiing
The surrounding mountains offer ski touring, from smooth rock slabs above the fjords to the alpine peaks around the Trollstigen plateau and towards Tafjord, as well as snowshoe walks with fjord views. The Bath House is the place to warm up afterwards.
Pets
Pets are not allowed in the rooms.
Rooms
Ten units of three types – seven Landscape Rooms, two Bird Houses and the Writer’s Lodge – are scattered through the woods so that none looks into another; breakfast and a three-course dinner are included.
Every unit has a double bed, its own bathroom and large windows onto the forest, river or mountains; the Writer’s Lodge adds a kitchen, Wi-Fi and a sound system.
Landscape Room
A small cube on stilts with one or two walls made entirely of glass, each angled to its own view of the valley, forest or river; there are no curtains, yet no room overlooks another. A dark interior keeps the focus outside, with a 180 × 200 cm double bed and a bright shower room.
Bird House
A minimalist hut on the steep slope, built like a traditional Norwegian log storehouse, with a 160 × 200 cm bed for two, a small sofa bench and a tiny bathroom with a toilet and hand shower. Large windows frame the hillside just beyond the bed, and the Bath House showers are open to guests around the clock.
Writer’s Lodge
A detached chalet for four with two bedrooms (one 160 cm double, two singles), a living room, a kitchen and a patio facing birch and pine forest; the windows look out over the valley, river and mountains. Minimum stay of two nights.
Photos are for illustrative purposes only. Actual room layout, furnishings, décor, views and amenities may differ from those shown and may vary between rooms of the same category. Hotel and room descriptions are based on information provided by the property and are believed to be accurate at the time of publication, but are not guaranteed. The hotel may renovate or change its rooms, facilities, restaurants and services at any time without notice. The final details of your stay are confirmed at the time of booking. See our Terms of Use.