Stokkøya Strandhotell is a leisure and activity resort offering a peaceful or fast-paced holiday with a range of fun local experiences. Alongside the varied sleeping arrangements offered (SUB cabins, hostel, cottages and glamping), the centre also offers a range of activities, hyper-local food experiences, cultural events and much more.

Torild and Roar have a huge interest in design and architecture, and were meticulous when it came to the planning of their new venture back in 2003. “Our plans were carefully thought out to preserve the nature here and build exciting architecture, and we also knew food would be a big focus. We wanted to deliver great experiences on several levels to our visitors,” Torild says.

A key point of interest for the couple was the architecture and design of the centre. “We wanted to create an architecture that fit this place and wasn’t too intrusive for the nature around us, but that also made us stand out so that we wouldn’t be just another building along the coast. We invested a lot of time and money in creating a well-thought-out space for the entire area, and the architecture was carefully adapted to the terrain – we used as little dynamite as possible to preserve the area,” Torild says.

It’s a well-rounded travel concept. The beautiful nature surrounding Stokkøya is stunning, and there are plenty of incredible experiences available. For those interested in active holidays and taking in the beautiful views of Trøndelag, it’s ideal. “There’s so much to do around here. You can do stand-up paddleboarding, kayaking, fishing, great walks and hikes, rent electric bikes and much more,” Torild says.

The team behind Stokkøya are working on some exciting projects for the future, with a New Orleans-inspired jazz concert lined up for the summer among several other exciting cultural events related to music, film and literature and more. The events take place in Strandbaren as well as Bygdeboksen, a dedicated multipurpose space.

Stokkøya also proudly offers varied food experiences. The team have a great passion for food and taste. “We make all our food from scratch. We have a fantastic situation in terms of sourcing food and ingredients locally, so we want to take advantage of that. We also run a farm, and produce around a ton of lamb meat per year which is used in our restaurant. The sea gives us incredible ingredients, which we largely harvest ourselves.”

The hotel also has their own vegetable and herb garden, and everything they grow is used in the food served in the restaurant. The restaurant sees around 100-300 visitors every day during the summer season.

Since the start, Stokkøya has been focused on environmentally friendly practices in every aspect of the business. “We try to do as much as we can in terms of sustainability,” Torild says. “We’re focused on emissions accounting, and keep track of every aspect of our environmental impact with the goal of reducing our emissions as much as possible.” The team has always been focused on reusing and recycling materials and resources, both in terms of interiors and architecture and when it comes to food.

“Sustainability is important to us because we know how fragile the world around us is – it’s easy to destroy and difficult to repair. Here, we live and interact closely with nature, and we see all the rubbish that comes in from the sea,” Torild says.

Though 2020 was a challenging year in many ways, Stokkøya has coped well with the changes. “When the pandemic hit, I was happy that I’d been running this place for 15 years, so I had a fair amount of experience with fighting fires, adapting to changes and thinking innovatively. We quickly got organised, and adapted well to the new situation, – and had a bit of luck” Torild says.

In 2020, a lot of Norwegians took a good old fashioned “Norgesferie” (holiday in Norway) instead of holidaying abroad.

“We had a lot of people who came here last year tell us that they’d been wanting to come here for so many years. Since their normal holidays abroad wouldn’t go ahead, they were able to finally experience Stokkøya. We’re hoping this year will be just as great as last in terms of our visitors,” Torild says.