Melsted Badehotel is Bornholm's first seaside hotel, carefully renovated in classic Nordic style with beautiful references to the hotel's origins 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 week 42 (autumn holidays).
A REAL SEASIDE HOTEL
Melsted Badehotel is situated in a prime waterfront location on the idyllic Melsted Strand with panoramic views of the Baltic Sea and the characteristic Bornholm granite cliffs.
Ever since the beach hotel opened back in 1932, it has been considered one of Bornholm's best. The striking white funkis building 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 Strand, so bathers could change directly on the beach.
Today, you can feel the wings of history in the exclusive surroundings of the seaside hotel, while you are pampered here by the water's edge with first-class service and gastronomy by star chef Mathias Seier Sørensen and his wife Andrea Aguirre Suarez. The entire seaside hotel has been carefully renovated and comprises 21 beautiful, individually decorated rooms.
Whether you are in your room, on the hotel's 18,000 m² 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 surrounding the hotel, inviting you to take walks in all directions. Among other things, along 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 Badehotel
2021 - Now
In the fall of 2021, the Halborg-Bendtsen family will take over Melsted Badehotel with a vision of creating a locally rooted and traditional seaside hotel based on the site's natural surroundings, history and local environment in and around Gudhjem.
This vision is carried on today by the hotel's hosts, hotel and kitchen manager 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 and brings both professional expertise, management experience, and a strong passion for classic Nordic cuisine to Melsted. Together, the couple are at the helm of the day-to-day running and development of the seaside hotel's culinary profile, with a clear ambition to combine high gastronomic quality with a sense of place, seasonality, and local ingredients—all while respecting the history and spirit of the seaside hotel.
The physical surroundings at Melsted Badehotel are undergoing a comprehensive upgrade in the classic seaside hotel style, with respect for the hotel's fundamental DNA and spirit of the times. One of today's best interior designers, Josephine Malling, is responsible for the seaside hotel's new design, which strikes a beautiful balance between the romantic seaside hotel and the Nordic minimalism characteristic of the hotel's origins in the 1930s.
2018
In 2018, Bornholm businessman Michael Almeborg took over Melsted Badehotel with a clear goal of further developing and strengthening the hotel's position as one of Bornholm's most charming and well-located destinations by the water. Under his ownership, a number of significant renovation projects were carried out, giving the hotel's exterior a significant facelift. New terraces were built, new roofs were put on three of the buildings, and the restaurant in the main building got new windows and doors, which improved both functionality and aesthetics. Almeborg's commitment and investments helped preserve the seaside hotel's classic identity while modernizing the physical surroundings for the comfort and enjoyment of guests.
During this period, the seaside hotel was leased by Steen Berthelsen and Camilla Faaborg-Andersen, who continued the previous concept of "quiet luxury" 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 Hjort Madsen puts oceans of energy and effort into the place for the next 18 years. She had a dream of creating a small, beautiful hotel and got the idea for her new life's work when she lived in the south of England and fell in love with the fine little seaside hotels on the English south coast. She set about renovating and modernizing the interior of the hotel in the best New England style with beautiful classic textiles, delicate little French lamps, luxury beds and romantic antiques.
She laid the foundations for the idyllic and peaceful Melsted Badehotel we know today with her burning desire to protect the peace and tranquillity you experience here at the water's edge. She called the hotel "The little hotel with a voice full of care.
Melsted Badehotel also gets a huge culinary boost and Lise Hjort Madsen helps to strengthen the food culture on Bornholm. She really puts Melsted Badehotel 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 something of a wizard in the kitchen, and the chef who started the wave of gastronomic development that today has resulted in restaurants such as NOMA and world-famous Danish chefs.
1995
In 1995, Melsted Badehotel was purchased by local restaurateur Erik Noe, who set a new direction for the place and laid the foundation for the identity the hotel has today. Noe initiated the first comprehensive exterior renovation of the beach hotel's chalk-white buildings with their characteristic blue windows and open green areas, reviving and enhancing the hotel's classic architecture and original elegance. His work to improve both the facades and outdoor spaces made Melsted Badehotel more attractive and contemporary, while preserving its historical charm – and under his ownership, the place experienced significant growth in both local and tourist popularity. The seaside hotel flourished and became a regular destination for both Bornholm residents 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 Badehotel continued to unfold in the years that followed.
1932 - 1995
Klara Christensen was one of the pioneers of tourism on Bornholm. Early on, she jumped on the newest trend of the upper middle class: summer vacations. Simply by renting out the rooms in her house to summer guests. She ran it all herself and in 1935 Klara built a brand new and sparkling building next to the old house. Pension Ellebæk was the name of the place and the funk-inspired building is today Melsted Badehotel. Even back then it was chalk white.
In 1949 the hotel was sold and lived a rather inconspicuous existence with different owners, including Harry Hammer, who hosted the place for a dozen years - and incidentally for a time chairman of Gudhjem og Omegns Turistforening. Then Aksel Hansen until 1983 and Lillian and Benny Henriksen until 1995.