A year ago I was booked into one of the quirkiest hotels I have had the pleasure of visiting on my travels when my Stockholm host booked me into the Lord Nelson, a rather bonkers maritime themed hotel in the old town.

This trip we found another fun hotel, the converted cinema that is the Hotel Rival. We wouldn’t perhaps have got up to Söndermalm to stay but the hotel was getting rave reviews on Tripadvisor so it seemed too good to miss. Not only was it a good hotel but it introduced us to a new area of the city which we thoroughly enjoyed.

It is a 1930s Art Deco cinema bought and converted by former Abba member Benny Andersson. In the dark snowy night it is a glowing tribute to chrome, steel and plush red fittings. In each of the rooms there is a tribute to cinema glamour with Sweden’s own Ingrid Bergmann prominent.

The quality is very high, to the extent that we discovered that the images just tucked away in a corridor by the lift were original Andy Warhol prints!

In keeping with the cinema theme you can check in and have one of over 200 classic or modern films delivered to your room for your DVD player.

The cinema auditorium has been kept and is now available for hire, we never got in there but we could imagine it in its 1930’s glory as we supped a glass of champagne in the cocktail bar.

A great find in a great spot, it deserves its fantastic reviews.

Hotel web site here.