Luxury bespoke hotel holidays to the Walaker Hotel, Norway
Facts in brief
Official star rating 4 star equivalent
Location In the village of Solvorn, on the edge of the Lustrafjord, a northern branch of the Sognefjord
Annual opening All year
Closest airport Sogndal
Distance from airport About 40 minutes by car
Hotel facilities and services
Restaurant, garden, art gallery.
Land sports
There are hikes from the hotel, kayaking on the fjord, RIB-boat rides, cycling, and glacier hikes can be arranged
Out and about nearby
Urnes stave church, RIB-boat rides on the Sognefjord, Jostedal glacier, ferry trips from Naeroyfjorden to Gudvangen,drive to the book town of Fjaerland, Hike to the Jostedalsbreen glacier and hike to Bergsetdalen and Bergsetbreen. A local car ferry crosses the fjord from Solvorn to Ornes.
Sports nearby
Hiking, kayaking, cycling
Absolutely loved it. Bespoke sense of the trip is very good. Very pleasant and efficient service.Mrs H, Sep 2023
Holiday price guide Sample prices are per person based on two people sharing a Superior double room for 5 nights
From about
£2,290
Holiday Code EXH46609
The prices displayed here are a guide only. Each holiday price will be tailor-made at the time of booking to reflect all actual costs including up-to-date special offers.
Call us on 01392 441245
Luxury bespoke hotel holidays to the Walaker Hotel, Norway
The Walaker Hotel is situated in the small village of Solvorn on the edge the fjord – where the Sognefjord branches north to the Lustrafjord. The hotel has been owned by the same family since 1690 and is the oldest family-run hotel in Norway. There are just 15 rooms in total. Located in the main building which dates from 1630-1650 and was once a coaching inn, are the historic rooms, with four on the upper floor with a fjord view and three rooms with valley view. In another building, Tingstova, the oldest building at Walaker, dating from 1630, are four unique historic guestrooms that share a veranda. Three of these rooms have a view of both garden and fjord, whilst one has a view of the valley. This building has been renovated in styles that reflect the four epochs of the hotel. The superior rooms are housed in the hotel’s newest building, dating from 1964. They have large bathrooms and are equipped with garden furniture in front of every room. The wooden-clad main building has a beautiful garden to the front and outside seating to the side. White bryony climbs the walls and there are lilacs and fruit trees. There is plenty of seating and space to sit and relax with a book or just to soak in the scenery of the fjord to the front and the mountains in the distance. A feature of the hotel is the included evening meal, a 4-course dinner, served at 19.30 each evening. The hotel opened its own art gallery in a converted building a few years ago to celebrate the 300-year history of the Nitter Walaker family. This building dates from 1883 when material from a wooden church built in Solvorn about 1600 was used. Local and nationally-renowned artists exhibit here in this heritage building. The Walaker is in the village of Solvorn which has about 220 inhabitants. There is a small historic heart of the village, a small sandy strip of beach on the fjord where people sit and bathe in warm weather, and the sloping sides of the hills behind the village are populated by farmsteads. There are many walking paths and tracks out of the village, and a car ferry runs between Solvorn and Ornes, home to the ancient stave Urnes stave church, just across the fjord. There are numerous other activities in this part of the Sognefjord area, including cycling, day excursions by car to Fjaerland and Balestrand. From Kaupanger, about 30 minutes away by car, you can take a ferry to Gudvangen on the southern side of the Sognefjord.
Room descriptions
The Walaker Hotel has 15 rooms.
Absolutely loved it. Bespoke sense of the trip is very good. Very pleasant and efficient service.Mrs H, Sep 2023
Holiday price guide Sample prices are per person based on two people sharing a Superior double room for 5 nights
From about
£2,290
Holiday Code EXH46609
The prices displayed here are a guide only. Each holiday price will be tailor-made at the time of booking to reflect all actual costs including up-to-date special offers.
Call us on 01392 441245
Luxury bespoke hotel holidays to the Walaker Hotel, Norway
The journey and how you get there
For a holiday to the Walaker Hotel, we include a scheduled flight from London to Sogndal via Oslo. From Sogndal airport to the hotel it takes about 40 minutes by car. We include the use of a hire-car during your stay as this will maximise your opportunities for sightseeing locally.
Additional information
Children: Children aged 0-3 without a bed are free of charge.
Absolutely loved it. Bespoke sense of the trip is very good. Very pleasant and efficient service.Mrs H, Sep 2023
Holiday price guide Sample prices are per person based on two people sharing a Superior double room for 5 nights
From about
£2,290
Holiday Code EXH46609
The prices displayed here are a guide only. Each holiday price will be tailor-made at the time of booking to reflect all actual costs including up-to-date special offers.
Call us on 01392 441245
Luxury bespoke hotel holidays to the Walaker Hotel, Norway
About Vestlandet and Norway's fjordland
Vestlandet contains many of the archetypal sites the visitor associates with Norway: spectacular fjords, colourful fishing ports, stave churches and dramatic panoramas. Vestlandet is a long, thin region in the west of the country, bordering the North Sea and interspersed by jagged inlets from the sea into the mountainous interior: the fjords including Sognefjorden, Geirangerfjord, Lysefjorden, Hardangerfjorden and Eidfjord. Bergen is the outstanding jewel as a town in this region, a World Heritage City, with ancient history, attractive buildings, world-class museums and superb restaurants. Sognefjord is Norway’s longest and deepest fjord and is composed of five large arms with fingers, of which Naeroyfjorden is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. To complement the dramatic natural scenery, there are ample man-made delights in the area too, with charming villages, waterfronts, well-preserved Viking heritage sites and local foodie specialities. You can witness the drama of the Sognefjord by boat from Bergen to Flam on a journey of about five hours. Just north and south of the innermost reaches of the Sognefjord are the outstanding stave churches of Borgund, unchanged since the Middle Ages, and Urnes, the oldest stave church in Norway. The Geirangerfjord is one of the best-known and justifiably so as it contains ten miles of dramatic natural beauty with numerous waterfalls tumbling down the vertical cliff face. The Hardangerfjord runs from the North Sea to the Hardangervidda Plateau and offers a wealth of attractive scenery and pretty towns, with numerous activities. There are also apple orchards and farmland, hiking and cycling. Towards the north of the region is the coastal town of Alesund, whose centre consists mainly of striking Art Nouveau buildings, constructed in the early 20th Century after a fire destroyed most of the old town centre.
Highlights of Vestlandet
Vestlandet is fjord country and the most well-known and spectactular are Sognefjorden, the Geirangerfjord, Lysefjorden, Hardangerfjorden and Eidfjord. The seafaring cities and ports of Bergen and Alesund offer a mixture of cultural, food and sightseeing possibilities. Bergen has the UNESCO World Heritage site of Bryggen with museum, shops, galleries and restaurants. There is the KODE museum of art and design and at Troldhaugen you can visit the home of Edvard Grieg. The region is also home to the Flam railway and cable cars take you to mountain tops. Alesund is renowned as an Art Deco town after a fire in 1904 destroyed the old town. From here it is the gateway to the Geirangerfjord and the Trollstigen mountain road. Combine land and water sports as well as spectacular scenery in Vestlandet. You can also visit glaciers in this region and take the Atlantic Road for coastal vistas.
Cultural highlights of Vestlandet
There is a wide range of cultural visits throughout the region: KUBE art nouveau centre in Alesund, Agatunet traditional Norwegian village on the Hardangerfjord, Kinn stone church from the Middle Ages, Alesund medieval age museum, The Vicarage at Nesset childhood home of Nobel Prize for Literature winner Bjornson, Bergenhus Fortress in Bergen, Suldal living museum farm, Eldhuset at Undredal on the Sognfjord showing local traditions, pasture farming and goat's cheese production, Sirdal mountain musuem, Bergen school museum, Geirganger timber church, Flam railway museum, Steffagarden on Ona croft from 1793, Visnes mining museum, Hardanger fold museum, Baroniet Rosendal manor house and gardens, Viking exhbition at Eidfjord, Vik historical tour, Kaupanger stave church on the Sognefjord, Trollveggen visitor centre, Viking village at Gudvangen, Borgund church, Osteroy museum, Ardal old church Ryfylke.
Festivals of Vestlandet
Kristiansund has a food festival in June, there is a Viking festival in Avaldsnes in June, Sola holds a kite festival in June, Floro holds the world's longest herring table in June, early July sees the Skudefestivalen the largest gathering of coastal culture in western Norway, Floro holds a sea sports festival in mid July, Molde holds the oldest continuously running jazz festival in the world in July, Haugesund harbour days is a yearly tradition in mid August, The Tomato festival is held in mid August at Finnoy on the Ryfylke Islands near Stavanger, Hardanger holds a music festival at the end of August, Bergen has a food festival at the beginning of September.
Gastronomy of Vestlandet
The mild climate and soils of the region lend themselves to the growing of fruit and berries that produce apple juice, cider and jams. Strawberries, raspberries and cherries are also grown locally. Cheeses are produced in the region including the Tingvoll cheese that has been produced here since 1303. Smoked salmon and cured meats are also local. Clipfish (dried salted cod) in the Alsesund area.
