Have you seen the movie “Ex Machina“? If you have, you might remember the gorgeous nature-setting where the secret KI-research facility was located that serves as the movie’s main site. I can still recall pretty specifically how fascinated I was by the lush greenery, the beautiful mountains, the waterfalls and the secludedness of it all – I actually was so impressed, that I immediately had to find out which country the movie was shot in and where that magical location was. And it turned out: the nature-scenes were filmed in Norway and parts of those at the Juvet landscape hotel. From that moment on there were only five words on my mind: I. Need. To. Go. There.
After that the same thing happened, that always happens, when I have put something crazy on my mind (see also here): my brain switched to autopilot. I sent an email to Knut from the Juvet hotel and asked whether he had any vacant rooms in July 2019 (it was October 2018 at that time) – and thank God he did! I was offered the last two vacant nights in a landscape room at the end of July and made a reservation immediately. And thus the summer vacation 2019 was set: two weeks in Norway with the highlight being two nights at the award-winning Juvet design hotel in Valldal.
The rooms
It’s a tacky saying but considering the Juvet hotel it actually is true: a picture says more than a thousand words. I could start to try to describe to you how incredibly well the wooden cubes that constitute the guest rooms blend into nature and how beautifully the light enters the room through the huge glass-walls, painting immaculate shadows onto the unobtrusive designer furniture. But see for yourself:
Landscape room from the outside. 
The shadows I was talking about. I have not exaggerated, right? 
The windows reflect the surroundings. 
Better than any painting on the wall: your private window into nature. 
Tucked into nature: another landscape room.
The spa
What better way to relax after a long hike than to hang out at a luxurious spa? Imagine the most beautiful spa you have been to and double that – then you might come close to how wonderful Juvet’s spa has been designed.
The sauna 
The steam room (although you won’t need that in Norway’s climate-enhanced summer, we had 30 degrees in July) 
View from the inside onto the spa’s terrace
Breakfast & dining
When you visit the Juvet hotel in summer and are as lucky as we were to have warm temperatures you might have the pleasure of enjoying an exquisite outdoor-dinner at the long table next to the conference room. The dinner will cost you a few bucks extra and you cannot choose from a menu (the three courses are fixed for everybody), but it is worth every penny – I haven’t dined that well in a long time. Breakfast is served in the barn and comes as a rather small, but high-quality buffet. I still remember how good the scrambled eggs were and the raspberries from the orchard right next to the hotel (did you know that Valldal in Norway is actually Europe’s most northern fruit growing region? They have exceptional strawberries and raspberries there).
Dining with a view. 
Conference room by day, fancy restaurant in the evening. 
The barn where breakfast will be served.
The surrounding area
Although you could easily spend all your time at the hotel enjoying your room, the spa and the view onto the river and the mountains I still recommend to also explore Valldal a little bit. You can go for a walk or a hike, have a strawberry-menu at the Jordbaerstova, check out the Gudbrandsjuvet – a steep gorge with waterfalls – and have a delicious cinnamon bun at the Gudbrandsjuvet café. Special highlights that are close to the hotel are the famous mountain-road Trollstigen and Norway’s most beautiful fjord: the Geiranger fjord.
Beautiful hiking trail close to the Juvet hotel. 
View onto Trollstigen from the visitor platform (that’s me standing there). 
Awesome lunch at the Gudbrandsjuvet café.
Everything they sell is locally produced.
Waterfall as seen from a cruise on the Geiranger fjord. 
Gudbrandsjuvet café and the surrounding area.
