We visited this castle on our first full day in Sweden. It was very windy, which kind of added to…read morethe dramatic atmosphere. It is a spacious and interesting castle to explore.

This was my absolute favorite castle of the trip. Forget the more modern castles like the royal…read moreSwedish Castle in Stockholm or Christiansborg in Copenhagen, give me a really old, oozing in preserved originality, complete with moat and a turkey haunch castle and I'm sold. On our visit here, the husband and I were so smitten we decided it would do quite nicely as a meager residence and started picking out rooms for our cats. Kalmar Castle is the best preserved oldest Nordic Renaissance Castle. The first castle tower was constructed in 1180 but was mostly a fort until the 16th century when it was turned into a summer palace by Johan III. Kalmar Castle has been the site of many important historical events including the location where the Kalmar Union was signed in 1397, was constantly fought over as a key defensive point for Sweden, and was a sanctuary for the Swedish royal family (Johan III) during the plague. This history makes Kalmar truly unique. It is a strategic defensive fortress poised over the harbor complete with a moat, canon towers, multiple layers of formidable walls and bottleneck passageways to withstand a siege, and even a female prison and male dungeon chamber. Yet when it became the ideal location to hide away from the invisible invader of the bubonic plague, it took on a new face of royal apartments, gardens and pavilions, and complete with a royal chapel. The unique qualities of this castle combined with the strength of a war fortress made our visit so worthwhile. I loved learning about the secret passageways around the castle to assist in getting royalty evacuated if the need arose. The view from the entertainment room with the large windows facing the harbor was incredible. We also loved the interactive historical videos and displays that relayed information easily without the need for a guide. After we had fully explored the castle, we also took a quick walk down to the nearby cemetery to see the old gravestones and their dates which was really incredible. If you're driving through Kalmar I wouldn't miss this incredible experience.

We stopped for lunch because we were at the castle and ready for a meal. I'm so glad the restaurant…read moreacross the street was closed because this was one of the best meals I've ever had! The helpful woman behind the counter translated the short menu into English for us and let me what I could order gluten free. I had the pan fried salmon which was cooked medium rather than well and utterly delicious. Our kids shared the schnitzel which my husband tried and said it was the best he'd ever had. He ordered smoked salmon sandwich and really enjoyed that as well. We definitely recommend that you make time at the castle for lunch!

This is an aged facility, so of course you should not expect too nice rooms but as it is nicely…read moremaintained we felt it was a good stop over while traveling through the region. Rooms was as expected and nothing to complain about. The staff was friendly and very helpful. Breakfast was really nice with a lot of fruit what did exceed the expectations. As the price/ value relation is not too good it gets only 4 points. Side-note: We had a room with a view to the backyard and could enjoy watching a huge number of bunnies jumping around during the evening hours. Very funny!

You can be fooled by the exterior appearance of the hotel and its location. It's 3km away from city…read morecenter but well connected by buses every 15 minutes and there's also a nice road for pedestrians and cyclist. The staff is awesome, very grateful and always trying to help you. Breakfast offers a great variety of high quality food and its definitely a 5/5, and dinner is also top level (both menu and buffet). It has a small pool, sauna and gym and offers free high speed wifi everywhere in the hotel. If you come to Kalmar by car there's no reason why you shouldn't choose this hotel.

Gorgeous hotel in the perfect location. The employees are friendly and efficient. Fantastic…read morebreakfast!!

My wife and I recently stayed here for 4 nights. Nice, clean, reasonably sized, and well furnished…read moreroom (including couch, desk, and 3 chairs). Bed was okay, but not great. No Kleenex supplied with room. The hotel parking was nearby, but a bit difficult to access due to some construction. Good free breakfast, but got a bit monotonous during our stay-the selections didn't change. Generally pleasant service. Hotel restaurant was nice, but not outstanding.