The Danish couple Flemming Hansen and Mette Helbak used to run Stedsans on a rooftop in Østerbro (now Gro Spiseri) – that’s where Anders first met this couple back in 2016. Since then, they’ve relocated to the Swedish woods, in Hyltebruk (which is halfway between Falkenberg and Växjö). Here they have built a glamping getaway and social dining experience in the woods. It looks very glamorous on Instagram, and on their website they refer to it as a luxury forest resort – we’d been dreaming of coming here for years. If you love camping and nature, you will probably love Stedsans. But don’t believe everything you see on social media – the photos certainly romanticize the experience, and they hide all the dirt, and all the bugs.
Looking for more great spots for food and drinks in the Halland region? Check out our guide.
Stedsans Farm & Restaurant Address & Contact Information Bohult 109, Hyltebruk, Sweden Website Instagram
Know before you go: pack light! Don’t bring a suitcase here – it’s a ten minute muddy and rocky hike through the forest from the parking lot. But do bring bug spray – there are a lot of bugs inside the cabins (mosquitos, bees, flies, and spiders). It’s also important to note that there is no running water – the toilets are outhouses (compost toilets), with sawdust for you to throw after you go. The showers are communal, with water from the lake. The sinks in the outhouses also use lake water, and thus cannot be used for brushing teeth. These choices are rooted in Flemming and Mette’s desire to do their part to conserve water.
Stedsans has an admirable sustainable philosophy, but they’re charging a premium for very simple lodgings and simple food, most of which comes from their own farm. It’s quite a pricy getaway – it costs 8,700 SEK (€860) a night for one of the cabins, and 10,500 SEK (€1035) for the fancy suite. (We spent one night in the suite, but much preferred the wooden cabins which were cozier and warmer at night.) This price is for two people and includes breakfast, dinner, and access to the lakeside sauna. They also advertise a jacuzzi and hammocks on their Instagram, but these were not available during our stay. But if you aren’t bothered by bugs and you’ve got money to burn, Stedsans is a beautiful escape from the real world. There’s no WiFi or electricity so you can completely detach and escape into nature.
The highlight of the Stedsans experience was, without a doubt, the communal dinner. Most of their ingredients are from their own farm and greenhouses, as well as from local farmers in the area. The food is veggie-focused – there’s always a salad of the day, and one signature dish is carrots with hollandaise and a rye bread crumble. They serve lots of natural wine from the Danish importer Rosforth and Rosforth; the pairing included some of our favorite producers, like Sebastian Riffault. Flemming and his staff were extremely generous with the wine (which is included in the price) and kept refilling our glasses all night long. We got quite drunk and forgot about the bugs and the dirt for the night.
But the best part of the communal dinner was getting to come together around a long table and meet like-minded foodies from around the world. We were craving this kind of interaction after having to social distance for a year and a half! We happened to be seated next to a young couple who is moving to Copenhagen next month, so it was amazing to meet them and help them plan their move. We ended up chatting by the fire and stargazing quite late into the evening with all the other guests.
Overall, Stedsans offers a unique social dining experience from a chef with an admirable philosophy; but the entire stay is a bit overpriced, in our opinion. But if you do decide to go, just go for one night – you’ll be ready for a hot shower and real toilets after that.
Have you been to Stedsans Farm & Restaurant? Tell us about your experience in a comment below.
