Treehotel Sweden – So Close to the Starry Sky

“The tree, with its roots anchored deep and firm in the earth and its crown reaching up toward the sky, naturally embodies the connection between the earthly and the spiritual. It is a reminder to stay grounded while striving upward.”

That, in their own words, is the idea behind the concept: to offer the stressed-out guest a temporary oasis in which to power down, to “ground” themselves anew, and to question themselves and their actions from a fresh perspective. This “grounding” takes place, so to speak, on the “first floor” of a tree in Swedish Lapland. Amid the branches of spruce, pine and fir that make up the tundra (boreal) coniferous forest, the treehouses sit safely anchored at a height of four to ten metres. Alongside them are a reception building, a restaurant and – how could it be otherwise – several saunas.

The Treehotel in Sweden belongs to the Lifestyle Hotels group, which operates exceptional, high-end retreats for discerning travellers on every continent.

The setting of the “action”

The landscape of northern Sweden, just below the Arctic Circle, is famously shaped by vast spruce forests interspersed with pine, fir and birch. It rolls gently, ever since Ice Age glaciers glided across it, and is rich in water, with broad river valleys that let the eye come to rest. The climate has a harsh, continental character that softens somewhat towards the Gulf of Bothnia. Historically the area is part of Lapland, the settlement region of the Sámi with their reindeer herds. Each of the treehotel’s buildings communicates in its own way with its surroundings and blends organically into them.

Today the region, with its main town of Harads, belongs to the province of Norrbottens län, one of the most sparsely populated areas in Europe.

It began with four different treehouses by four Swedish architects, each design turning the shared vision into a business case. Two more have since been added, and two suites have expanded the offering. In all, there are now eight treehouses, from a single square living space to family accommodation.

The houses are luxurious yet minimalist in their fittings: what is needed is there, while anything distracting or dispensable simply is not.

Each of the treehouses has its own name, its own Swedish architect, and reflects a particular aspect of the bond between people and nature that is distinctive to its creator.

The treehouses

Biosphere – Mirrorcube - Bird’s nest - The cabin – UFO – Dragonfly - Blue cone - Seventh room

Sustainability

A stay in one of these treehouses combines, in every season, solitude with the experience of nature and an unobtrusive invitation to remember one’s roots and to protect the surrounding wilderness. For hardly anywhere is it so plain that the human being is – and remains – a part of nature.

The idea, which arose almost by chance when a treehouse was built as a film set, evolved further and was taken up with great commitment by Britta Jonsson-Lindvall and her husband Kent Lindvall. They run the hotel and in doing so make their own dream of a natural life in their homeland a reality. Their bond with nature is reflected in the way the houses are built, in their furnishings and in how they are managed. In the restaurant, for instance, only traditional Swedish dishes are served, though in their full variety, from fish and game to wild berries and mushrooms.

In the spirit of sustainability, all the treehouses are warmed by underfloor heating and lit with LED lighting, the composting toilets run on electricity, and greywater is collected and sent for treatment.

On the subject of electrical energy: as is widely the case in Sweden, it comes exclusively from hydropower. And even though Sweden has water in abundance, the operation handles it as sparingly as possible. The jet of water from the tap is therefore just enough for washing your hands or brushing your teeth; for a shower you head to the central building.

The treehouses are attached gently to the living trees by means of clamp fastenings and steel-cable anchors, without injuring them, impairing their growth or even partly removing their branches. No tree is felled to make room for a new house. The building materials themselves are all natural and, like the wooden decking in the outdoor areas, are not sealed with chemical agents but by a thermal process. Across every trade, the work is carried out by locally based companies. All of this comes about almost of its own accord, given the location and the mindset of the operators. And that is how it is meant to stay: future growth is planned to be organic and considered, and the operators’ self-imposed commitment rules out any excess.

Tree stories

The allegory of the tree that underlies the Treehotel’s idea and inspires this concept can be taken still further – and the protagonists do exactly that in their tree stories, where, from the root through the trunk and branches to the needles and leaves, analogies to the human being in his natural rootedness come to light.

In Lapland you are, sometimes in the pale glow of the aurora borealis, close to the sky in any case – the stars stand so clear, the black of the firmament spreads so deep, the air is so fresh: where else can you find that?

https://www.lifestylehotels.net/de/story/treehotel-sweden-between-the-earth-and-the-sky
https://treehotel.se/environmental-policy
https://www.lifestylehotels.net/de/hotel/treehotel
https://treehotel.se