New hotel culture leaves stuffy routines behind

Stylt Trampoli's most recent hotel project is a radical departure from traditional, stuffy hotel culture where your arrival, meals, sleep and departure are dictated by hotel routines. Want to swap your bed for a tent in the woods? No problem. Lunch on a raft in the river instead of in a dining room? Absolutely fine. Want to arrive at 4am so you can watch the northern lights? Be our guest.

The hotel sit in the middle of a cultural centre, with a public library in the lobby and a sourdough bakery on its doorstep, where you check yourself into a stay that you have already tailored to your exact wishes on the internet, in the northern wonderland of Umeå, Sweden’s fastest-growing city. 

Bake your own breakfast

U&Me is a hotel that, like the city of Umeå, is full of creativity and innovation, and U&Me wants to invite guests to explore the destination. One innovative way to do just that is to customise your stay with “add-ons” that range from a spa visit or a helicopter ride to a guided fishing tour on the river. Bake your own sourdough breakfast bread, go on a berry picking expedition, or why not get a few tenors from the Norrland Opera to wake you up with a stirring aria? 

Culture on your doorstep

The hotel was drawn by Norwegian star architects Snøhetta in collaboration with Swedish White Arkitekter, and the concept, interiors and communications were designed by Stylt Trampoli, who have also been created nearby Stora Hotellet and Kulturbageriet, where U&Me guests assemble their own breakfast hot from the ovens. The hotel stands in the middle of Väven (the Weave), a brand-new cultural centre comprising a cinema, the city public library, a deli, a tourist information office and a women's history museum. Väven was recently awarded Sweden's most prestigious architecture prizes, the Kasper Salin award.

Rooms with a view

The interiors are bright and playful, with fresh colours and a comfortable, welcoming feel. The details, such as the pre-lined music paper available in every room (a nod to Umeå’s vibrant musical scene) encourage creativity. But the real star of every interior is outside: being located on the upper floors of one of Umeå’s tallest buildings, every room has magnificent views of the city and the river and the sky, captivating and inspiring visitors and drawing them out of their rooms to explore the city, the region and the landscape.

New hotel culture 

U&Me is a hotel unlike any other - firmly anchored in the cultural, creative and innovative life of the city, providing access not just to what is within, but above all to everything around and beyond the hotel walls. A stay here is sure to change not just your view of Umeå, but your view of what a hotel can be.