Melsted Seaside Hotel is one of Bornholm's first Seaside Hotels, gently renovated in classic Nordic style with beautiful references to the Seaside Hotel's original period in the 1930s. The hotel is superbly located with views of the island's distinctive cliffs and Melsted Beach, an idyllic sandy beach on the outskirts of Gudhjem with a stream, marram grass, and a bathing jetty. The Seaside Hotel is open from the Easter holidays until and including week 42 (the autumn break).
A TRUE SEASIDE HOTEL
Melsted Seaside Hotel is situated in a prime waterfront location by the idyllic Melsted Beach, offering panoramic views of the Baltic Sea and the characteristic Bornholm granite cliffs.
Ever since the seaside hotel opened in 1932, it has been considered one of Bornholm's best. Its striking white functionalist architecture draws parallels to Arne Jacobsen's iconic beach park in Klampenborg, which also opened in 1932. Originally, there were also functional changing cabins on Melsted Beach here, so bathers could change directly on the beach.
Today, you can feel the wings of history within the Seaside Hotel's exclusive setting, while being pampered here by the water's edge with exceptional service and gastronomy by star chef Mathias Seier Sørensen and his wife Andrea Aguirre Suarez. The entire Seaside Hotel has been gently renovated and comprises 21 beautiful, individually decorated rooms.
Whether you are in your room, in the hotel's 18,000 sqm private beach meadow, or in the hotel's beautiful restaurant by the water's edge, there are magnificent views of the Baltic Sea and the scenic areas around the hotel, inviting walks in all directions. These include the scenic cliff path to Gudhjem Harbor, just over 1 km away, known as one of the country's most exciting hikes.
Welcome to Melsted Seaside Hotel
2021 - Present
In the autumn of 2021, the Halborg-Bendtsen family takes over Melsted Seaside Hotel with a vision to create a locally rooted and tradition-rich seaside hotel, based on the area's natural surroundings, history, and local environment in and around Gudhjem.
This vision is continued today by the Seaside Hotel's host couple, hotel and head chef Mathias Sejer Sørensen and his wife Andrea Aguirre Suarez. Mathias has a solid background from some of the industry's most renowned kitchens and hotels, bringing professional expertise, management experience, and a strong passion for classic Nordic cuisine to Melsted. Together, the couple leads the daily operations and development of the Seaside Hotel's culinary profile with a clear ambition to combine high gastronomic quality with presence, seasonality, and local ingredients – respecting the Seaside Hotel's history and spirit.
The physical premises at Melsted Seaside Hotel are undergoing a comprehensive upgrade in the classic Seaside Hotel style, respecting the hotel's fundamental DNA and zeitgeist. One of today's best interior designers, Josephine Malling, is designing the Seaside Hotel's renewed design line, which beautifully balances the romantic Seaside Hotel aesthetic with the Nordic minimalism characteristic of the Seaside Hotel's original period in the 1930s.
2018
In 2018, Bornholm businessman Michael Almeborg took over Melsted Seaside Hotel with a clear goal to further develop and strengthen the hotel's position as one of Bornholm's most charming and well-located destinations by the water. Under his ownership, a series of significant renovation projects were carried out, which significantly upgraded the hotel's exterior. New terraces were established, new roofs were installed on three of the buildings, and the restaurant in the main building received new windows and doors, improving both functionality and aesthetics. Almeborg's commitment and investments helped preserve the Seaside Hotel's classic identity while modernizing the physical premises for guests' comfort and experience.
During this period, the Seaside Hotel was leased by the couple Steen Berthelsen and Camilla Faaborg-Andersen, who, with the concept of “quiet luxury,” continued the existing style in a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere. With Steen Berthelsen's more than 40 years of experience in the restaurant industry, the hotel's gastronomic offerings were significantly developed, and the culinary experiences were elevated to new levels.
2000
The Hjorth Madsen family buys Melsted Seaside Hotel, and Lise Hjorth Madsen invests immense energy and effort into the place over the next 18 years. She dreams of creating a small, charming hotel and got the idea for her new life's work when she lived in Southern England and fell in love with the charming small seaside hotels on the English south coast. She initiates an interior renovation and modernization of the hotel in classic New England style, featuring beautiful classic textiles, delicate small French lamps, luxury beds, and romantic antiques.
She laid the foundation for the idyllic and peaceful Melsted Seaside Hotel we know today, driven by her fervent desire to preserve the peace and tranquility experienced here at the water's edge. She called the hotel “The little hotel with a voice full of care.”
Melsted Seaside Hotel also receives a significant culinary boost, and Lise Hjort Madsen thereby helps strengthen Bornholm's food culture. She truly puts Melsted Seaside Hotel on the gastronomic map through a collaboration with Erwin Lauterbach and two of his Saison chefs, Frederik Bille Brahe and Peter Nøhr Christensen. Erwin Lauterbach is considered by many to be a wizard in the kitchen, and the chef who started the wave of gastronomic development that today has led to restaurants like NOMA and world-renowned Danish chefs.
1995
In 1995, Melsted Seaside Hotel was acquired by local restaurateur Erik Noe, who set a new direction for the establishment and laid the foundation for the hotel's current identity. Noe initiated the first comprehensive exterior renovation of the seaside hotel's pristine white buildings with their characteristic blue windows and open, green areas, thereby reviving and strengthening the hotel's classic architecture in its original elegance. His efforts to improve both the facades and outdoor spaces made Melsted Seaside Hotel more attractive and contemporary, while preserving its historic charm – and under his ownership, the establishment experienced significant growth in both local and tourist popularity. The Seaside Hotel flourished and became a popular destination for both Bornholmers and visitors from near and far, thanks to the renewed focus on both quality and guest experience.
After Erik Noe's sudden death in 2000, new owners took over, and the story of Melsted Seaside Hotel continued to unfold in the years that followed.
1932 - 1995
Klara Christensen was a pioneer in tourism on Bornholm. She quickly embraced the upper-class's latest trend: taking summer holidays. Simply by renting out rooms in her house to summer guests. She managed everything herself, and in 1935, Klara built a brand new, sparkling building next to the old house. The place was called Pension Ellebæk, and this functionalist-inspired building is today Melsted Seaside Hotel. Even then, it was chalk-white.
In 1949, the hotel was sold and led a rather unnoticed existence with various owners, including Harry Hammer, who hosted the place for about twenty years – and was, for a time, chairman of the Gudhjem and Surroundings Tourist Association. Subsequently, Aksel Hansen until 1983, and Lillian and Benny Henriksen until 1995.