A hotel that gives you memories for a lifetime

– Comfort, nice meeting rooms, good food; It is clear that we make sure to be top class there as well. But the main reason why people choose to hold their event here is of course the surroundings, says Morten Halvorsen.

The hotel manager at Hotel Lyngørporten looks up as if to show what he is referring to. There, the innermost, white-painted houses in Lyngør light up, just a short kayak trip across the strait from the sunny outdoor terrace where we sit.

The hotel is located on the mainland. But the design, a compact cluster of small wooden houses placed with "tean in tanga" as they say in Southern Norway, makes it feel like being in an outport in the middle of the archipelago.

Welcome to the southern idyll - with lapping waves and seagulls' screams, shimmering seas and golden rocky cliffs!

Activities for every taste

Precisely the location, and the proximity to the port, which has been voted Europe's best-preserved settlement, is the reason why the hotel changed its name from Bokhotellet. And Hotel Lyngørporten can offer guests far more than just a beautiful view.

Here they can also choose from a large menu of experiences - both ala carte and tailor-made - through a close collaboration with the activity company Kote Null.

It offers completely unique opportunities for extended families, wedding couples and companies that will nurture customer contact or conduct team building outside the four professional walls of the meeting room.

- The most popular experience is a guided boat trip to Lyngør. For many, it is a slightly exotic experience in itself. But we can also offer everything from seal safaris to fishing on the shore with a cook brought along who cooks from what they find, says Morten Halvorsen.

Certain companies go even further in the hunt for the ultimate archipelago day.

- This summer we organized an entire "Master of Masters" day for a company. With lots of activities in the gap in the sea outside Lyngør before they were picked up with wooden poles for a tour through the southern idyll on the way home, says the hotel manager.

A gathering place for the area

You don't even have to leave the hotel to enjoy the pleasures of the Sørland coast. At Hotel Lyngørporten you can enjoy the sea from the moment you open your eyes in the morning until you take one last look out to sea before bed.

Otherwise, the ripples on the Lyngørfjorden are a constant companion. From the windows of the restaurant. From the tables in the huge outdoor dining area, which thanks to three levels still feels intimate and cosy. And from the quayside that you can hardly resist strolling along.

The view is so maritime that it is only natural that the hotel's own (!) beer, Kul Kis, has a catfish on the label. And the outdoor terrace faces the sun so that you can quickly enjoy the Italian lager outside even well outside the normal outdoor beer season.

So far, it doesn't matter much if the sun doesn't shine, either. Then you have an excellent excuse to pull into the cocktail bar Bungalow no 13. It's a cozy cave with the perfect blend of coziness and nostalgia - the hotel manager himself picked up the blue 60s lounge from an older guy in Kragerø.

- He had had it since the 60s, yet it looked completely unused. When I asked, he said they had two living rooms. And this was in the living room without a TV, chuckles Morten Halvorsen.

The drink menu builds on nostalgia, and is inspired by the speakeasy bars of the prohibition era.

- Hotel bars often lack an identity. They have nice furniture, but are nothing more than just a hotel bar. We wanted to do something more. And the guests appreciate that, explains Halvorsen.

In the summer, they have gone even further to make Hotel Lyngørporten a brewery hotel in a special class: Then they fill the outdoor terrace with music: Free concerts every Thursday, and live DJs every Saturday.

- We are all a walking brand. And the concerts have made even more locals come here. It's absolutely great. One of the best things about traveling to new places is getting to know the people who live there, smiles the hotel manager.

All opportunities for companies

The location right next to perhaps Norway's most beautiful archipelago makes Hotel Lyngørporten a dream place in the summer. The truth is that the coast is at least as magical outside the high season.

Then the hotel is a picturesque eldorado for company events and courses - with space for as many as 120 people in the largest meeting room, and restaurant space for just as many.

In the restaurant, head chef Iznaor Rasukhanov (Izzi) ensures that the culinary experience is also an experience.

- This summer, our most popular dish was actually the taco plate with three different tacos. It was fun to watch. When we have groups, we tailor the menu. Some people want traditional party food, but anything is possible. We recently served an Asian sharing menu to a 50-year-old group, he smiles.

But he does not serve seals. Even if they are lying in wait just a few splash reefs away.

Text and photo: Gjermund Glesnes.