Eight extraordinary eco-stays in West Sweden

The accommodation at this smallholding in lake-dotted Dalsland is green without sacrificing the gorgeous. There are three tiny houses here, each one handmade using salvaged antique doors and windows, and wood felled on site. All of them are off-grid and lighting is by candle; heat by blankets, fireplaces and wool insulation. Ablutions? Plunge into the lake or book the waterfront wood-fired tub for a bit of rustic decadence.

Alternatively, use your private bathroom, where the showers are fed by lake water, which is then filtered via the orangery and run back into the lake. There’s also a permaculture garden, free-range chickens and holistically managed sheep, all ensuring low food miles. Owner David serves excellent dinners, including slow-cooked lamb, or you can simply make a pizza in the outdoor kitchen. It’s up to you. There are also two larger self-catered cottages on-site.

More information: Swedish Country Living

When this hotel was built in 2013, the brief was clear: don’t compete with the 17th-century castle next door. The result is that the glass-and-wood-clad Victoriahuset blends into Lake Vänern’s reed beds and trees, leaving the Baroque Läckö Slott to shine. This smart 15-bedroom hotel is also a visitor centre for nearby Djurö National Park, and it was built to award-winning eco standards: it features non-toxic building materials, solar panels and a ventilation system that uses heat from the restaurant to warm the rooms. The on-site eatery itself is delicious, serving creative dishes that make the most of the lake’s fish and the ecologically cultivated produce from Läckö’s walled garden.

More information: Läckö Slott

The average hotel in Sweden creates around 6.8kg of CO2-equivalent per person per night. In contrast, a night at Lugnåsberget Ekohotell, located within the Platåbergens UNESCO Global Geopark, creates just 0.2kg. Owners Pia Åkesson and Jesper Persson are committed to sustainable living. They renovated this 19th-century farm using recycled materials and hard graft. The ecohotel is equipped solar panels and a biomass boiler, and has two houses with a total of 24 beds. Hiking and cycling trails pass by the door, and breakfast and dinner baskets feature produce from local suppliers and the couple’s veg patch and livestock. Best of all, the wood-fired sauna is well-placed for super sunset views.

More information: Lugnåsberget Ekohotell

Before Erikson Cottage opened in 2021, there wasn’t much tourism around quiet Lake Lagmanshagasjön. There still isn’t, really: just three striking all-glass cabins dot this fourth-generation family farm, two hours east of Gothenburg. This is a place to sink into nature, away from the world. The glasshouses, two tucked into the forest, one by the lake, are private, off-grid and utterly magical. Each has a kitchen hut and access to a separating loo; there’s a shared shower, or you can simply dip in the lake. Breakfasts, delivered by e-van, include baskets of local cheese, jam, fruit and owner Elisabeth’s sourdough, which is made in the café-bakery on site, she runs pizza workshops too.

More information: Erikson Cottage

The Global Destination Sustainability Index has ranked Gothenburg the ‘World’s Most Sustainable Destination’ seven years in a row, and 96% of the city’s hotels have green certification. That includes Eggers, Gothenburg’s grande dame, which sits a minute’s walk from the central train station. Opened in 1859, and a celeb hangout ever since, Hôtel Eggers still oozes glamour: the lobby and restaurant have a belle époque vibe, all deep reds, velvet sofas, candles and jazz; rooms variously feature parquet floors, four-posters, chandeliers and vinyl record players. Very old-school cool. But it’s got eco-smarts too, from environmentally friendly toiletries to green electricity, which is generated by the hotel’s own wind turbine.

More information: Hôtel Eggers 

Even if the sun stops shining, you’re all set here. Inforest’s Scandi-smart eco-cabins are not only solar powered, but their batteries hold enough juice to last two days. They also have big water tanks too, plus there is a meter so that you can monitor your usage as you cook and shower. Here you’re encouraged to think about your consumption while enjoying your time in nature. There are four self-catering cabins in total (Ebb, Esther, Vilgot and Rufus), dispersed around the private woodland of Jesper and Petra Uvesten and their family. The best way to get here? Take a bus to the little trästaden (wooden town) of Hjo on Lake Vättern, where Jesper can arrange bike hire, the cabins are no more than a 10km ride.

Stay in a lakeside glasshouse at Dalslands Aktiviteter and you may not want to leave. There are four secluded glass cabins here, each balanced on the forest-cloaked edge of Lake Iväg. The daytime views are idyllic, the stargazing from bed spectacular. Each site has access to a toilet, and there is a private deck by the water where you can jump in for a swim, cast a line (there are rods for you to use) or light up the barbecue. If you can drag yourself away, there’s a whole menu of activities to try that edge on the wilder site, from horse rides and river canoeing to bushcraft and beaver safaris.

More information: Dalslands Aktiviteter

This waterfront spot on the island of Orust was once a factory producing wooden fish crates. Now it’s a bijou B&B where owners Johan and Marcel welcome guests to their four bright, arty, individually styled rooms; there’s also a brand-new tiny house in the garden, made entirely from green materials and surrounded by trees, with views over the sea.

Dinners at Lådfabriken (meaning fish box factory) are exquisitely presented and champion the best local, sustainable produce; depending on the season, you can expect crayfish, fish soup, lobsters or oysters. There’s a beach 30m away, and free maps, kayaks and bikes are available to borrow, for exploring the beautiful Bohuslän coast.

More information: Lådfabriken