Rarely do we ever spend an entire week in one city while traveling in Europe, but we decided to mix things up during our most recent trip to Stockholm, making it our one and only destination for the week. In order to get a better sense of the city, we decided to stay in two different hotels, varied in both location and design.

Our first stop, the Miss Clara Hotel, was conveniently located right in the center of the city’s bustling Norrlmam neighborhood. The hotel is housed in a seven story Art Nouveau building that was originally constructed in the early 1900s as a girls’ school and named for one of the school’s headmistresses. Renowned Swedish architect, Gert Wingårdh, headed up the renovation and kept the design simple, yet striking. The rooms are covered with dark herringbone parquet floors, and large arched windows let in an abundance of natural light. The functional window benches that run the length of the room provide ample seating and storage, while the black and leather accents serve as the perfect contrast to the bright and light design of the rooms.

There were a lot of great perks and amenities of staying at the Miss Clara, beyond the hotel’s fantastic central location. We enjoyed using the sauna in the workout facility, daily, and fell in love with the Byredo bath products in our bathroom. One of our favorite afternoons from the trip was a day when we had nothing on the agenda, so we grabbed a glass of rosé on the hotel restaurant’s patio and settled in for an hour of people watching in the late afternoon sun. The staff was also incredibly kind to us, teaching us bit of Swedish here and there. We’d revisit the Miss Clara again in a heartbeat on a future trip and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a stylish, yet affordable, stay in Stockholm.

Photos by Meredith Perdue for Map & Menu.