In March 2015 the hotel as part of the building housing also the Swedish Popular Music History exhibit, ABBA The Museum, Swedish Music Hall of Fame and the POP shop was renamed the Pop House Hotel. The house has already welcomed more than 600,000 visitors, and the hotel and restaurant are being further developed.
With their goal of fully integrating the operations it felt natural to change the name of the hotel to Pop House Hotel, where their intention was to realize the vision of a house of music in Stockholm, commented co-owner/ former ABBA legend Björn Ulvaeus.
Pop House Sweden, the owner of the hotel and building, took over the operations of the hotel in February 2015. The hotel, which comprises 49 rooms as well as restaurant, bar and event operations, opened at the same time as the museum in spring 2013.
“Our hotel and restaurant guests will love what’s in store for them at the Pop House Hotel. This summer we’re planning live music gigs at our outdoor courtyard. We will also be decorating a number of hotel rooms in an exclusive music-theme interior. We want Pop House Hotel to be associated with all forms of music. A couple of months ago, we hosted an international song writing camp with 45 up-and-coming song-writers from all over the world. And recently, in collaboration with ABBA The Museum, we organized Katy Perry’s end of tour party in conjunction with her concert at Stockholm Globe Arenas,” says Pelle Lindberg, CEO of POP House Sweden. “One of my dreams is to see next year’s Grammys winners perform live here at Pop House first!” he continues.
The courtyard facing Djurgårdsvägen is a vibrant gathering spot for visitors from around the world, particularly in the summer time with an outdoor bar, restaurant, live concerts and events.
”We wanted to build a place for people looking for a nice, laidback bar hang-out in Djurgården. We’re putting a lot of effort into building up a really good live-gig scene; and we’re thinking long-term – people should know that there’s always something fun going on here.”
For the summer season, the hotel has also kicked off in a major live-gig initiative. Every Tuesday-Saturday visitors and hotel guests can enjoy DJs and live gigs on a new stage in the courtyard.
The vision of a house of music in Stockholm/Sweden is now being ramped up thanks to the hotel’s new live-gig initiative, as well as new Swedish music-themed hotel rooms.
One of the junior suites has been redesigned into a glittering ABBA Gold room, where guests can feel like pop star royalty. The band’s private gold and platinum records – symbols of the band’s success – line the walls, on loan and displayed in secure glass casing.
Prior to the new premiere of the musical written by Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson,Kristina from Duvemåla in September this year, and in conjunction with the 20th anniversary of the musical, another hotel room has been refurbished into a Duvemåla room, with carefully selected details. On the wall, for example, hangs a dress from the 1995 musical. The room, which breathes calm and tranquillity, is decorated with handmade wallpaper, as well as a transoceanic trunk, nightstand and headboard from the early 1900s. Enclosing the Duvemåla room terrace is a genuine, site-built, Swedish roundpole fence. Both rooms were created by Ingmarie Halling, Museum Director/Curator of ABBA The Museum and Set Designer Anna Söderberg.
”I really wanted to create an authentic setting with as much history and detail as possible. The rooms in themselves are designed as travel memories, places you want to linger, with something exciting to tell the folks back home,” said Ingmarie Halling.
About the Duvemåla room
In the Duvemåla room, guests are greeted by a welcome letter from Björn Ulvaeus, which paints a picture of the arduous path of emigration, then and now.
The room breathes peace and tranquillity, with handpicked details and props. There is handmade wallpaper and handwoven rag-rugs. On the wall, framed in glass, hangs a dress from the 1995 musical. The terrace is enclosed by a genuine Swedish roundpole fence and guests can cosy up on a wooden bench that smells of good old-fashioned linseed oil, to enjoy the twilight hours. The mini-bar is found in a rustic-style nightstand and the TV is hidden behind a traditional Swedish pärlspånt panel, closed with a simple hook. The traveller’s trunk, rocking chair and sofa bed, all handcrafted in Sweden in the early 1900s, take you back to the period when Vilhelm Moberg’s The Emigrantsunfolded. Featuring state-of-the-art comfort, the unique ambiance of the room is an exciting contrast to the hotel’s other spaces.
About the ABBA Gold room
The ABBA Gold album was released in 1992, ten years after ABBA took a pause. Over 30 million copies of the album have been sold and it is considered one of ABBA’s major successes, as well as being one of the best-selling CDs of all time in the UK, the home of pop music. In collaboration with ABBA The Museum and as a tribute to the ABBA revival of the 90s seen all over the world, Pop House Hotel has transformed one of the junior suites into an ABBA Gold room. Overlooking one of Stockholm’s oldest entertainment establishments (Gröna Lund) and Saltsjön bay, guests can drift away into gilt-edged dreams and feel like pop star royalty. Perfect for key creative meetings, the room might well inspire new success stories. Designed in glittering gold and glossy black, with gold curtains and gold mirrors, the room also features an enormous Tom Dixon lamp adding an exclusive touch.
