Treehotel
Eco
Overall eco rating
PREVIEW: review coming soon, but here's what we know based on preliminary research. Ratings are provisional.
People
- Treehotel in socially just Sweden probably has less need to contribute to local society than some other hotels on this site
- The hotel does arrange a variety of activities that allow you to meet interesting locals and experience Swedish culture including a visit to a Sami family
- A significant proportion of produce is sourced direct from local suppliers
Animals & nature
PETA assessment of cruelty free credentials of cleaning products and toiletries to come
- The unique hotel gets you up close and personal with trees and has protected the forest from logging
- The restaurant has a focus on game, which may not appeal to some animal lovers.
- Dog-sledding is controversial, and it is on offer here.
Environment & buildings
- Build on live trees and take extreme care not to harm them
- Use of low impact materials e.g. wooden floors have zero chemical treatment
- Each ‘treehouse’ is well insulated and has LEDs to reduce energy demand
- Treehouse rooms are electrically heated – but electricity is nominally renewable hydropower
- No sewage systems per se – (electrically powered) toilets either incinerate or freeze waste with residue disposed of in an ecoconscious fashion
- A small water tank provides water for washing hands and brushing teeth – water is collected daily and disposed of into the municipal drainage
- Low flow showers are in a separate building (highly insulated and heated by a wood burning boiler)
- Environmentally friendly cleaning products
- Treehouse pays a small premium to secure electricity from hydropower stations, however, in reality this is a token gesture and the electricity received from the grid will reflect the mix in Sweden as a whole (a not quite as green mix made up of largely nuclear, hydro and CHP power)
Luxury
Overall luxury rating*
PREVIEW: expert review coming soon, but here's a taster. Ratings are provisional.
The scene
Relive your childhood adventures in one of these grown-up treehouses (although kids love them, too) in the back of beyond (Harads in northern Sweden). In a boreal forest in northern Sweden, an hour from the middle of nowhere, you’ll find this quirky hotel. Ok, Treehotel’s main office is in a 600-person village, so you’re not totally stranded, but your room isn’t here. It’s in the woods. In fact, it IS the woods.
- It doesn’t get more back to nature than this – your room is in a tree in the midst of a forest.
- The Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) make frequent appearances in winter
- It’s a long way from anywhere
The style
Talk about getting back to nature, at Treehotel, you’re not just among the trees, your suite is a tree. Treehotel’s five Treerooms vary wildly in design, and their names pretty much sum them up – The Cabin, The Mirrorcube, The Bird’s Nest, The Blue Cone (although it’s actually Red), The UFO. Interiors are cosy (read: small), but with quality furnishings and décor. They’re all bonkers, in a brilliant way.
- Each treehouse is totally unique, and suspended from trees in a forest.
- The Mirrorcube is covered in mirrors so that it practically disappears by reflecting the forest.
- The UFO looks like ET just crash landed, only the spaceship got stuck in high branches and never hit the ground.
- If King Kong was a bird, he’d live in The Bird’s Nest.
- The Blue Cone is suitable for those with disabilities, yet still suspended from a tree, albeit lower down
- Interiors are cosy, but some of them are two-bedroom
The facilities
The Tree Sauna is a one-off, built from trees and wrapped around a tree. Every Treeroom comes with a half-bath / WC, with shared showers in a ground-level building. A hotel with shared showers would never normally make the grade to be on EcoLuxHotels.com, but getting water pressure high up in the trees would never be very eco, and these designs are so spectacular, we’re willing to make one tiny exception. Meals are taken in a hotel restaurant in the nearby village, just a short walk from the Treerooms. Outdoorsy activities abound here
- A Tree Sauna is wrapped around a tree in the forest
- Snowshoe in winter, horse ride in summer, experience the local Sami culture all year
- Showers are shared
We love
- The quirky eco-hotel design, especially Mirrorcube, UFO and Bird’s Nest
- The Tree Sauna
- Getting to sleep in a treehouse
You might not love
- The shared showers
- The remote location
Reviewed by
Jill Starley-Grainger
Treehotel
Edeforsvägen 2, 96024 Harads
Sweden+46 928 10403
Standard room rates from €440
Eco
Luxury*
"...high design, back to nature retreat where guests can slow down, switch off and breathe more deeply" The Guardian
"Just south of the Arctic Circle, this property not only enables guests to get away from it all but to do so from a unique perspective, between 6 and 40 feet up in the pines" Conde Nast Traveler
"...a retro-looking UFO suspended in the trees and accessible via a retractable staircase. This is the UFO, one of five, stand-alone treehouse rooms that are part of the Treehotel." Gadling
