I had to hesitate a moment in choosing the kind of lodging for this journal entry, and I settled on "hostel" for the fact that we discovered this place on a hostel website and that it was the same price as hostels. But the experience goes far beyond any hostel I've ever stayed in, and if you're not someone who digs on the whole hostel experience. don't pass this up for that reason.
Generally when I go somewhere, what I look for in a hotel in the cheapest place I can sleep without worrying about my luggage being stolen while I sleep or strange creatures coming out from under the bed. While looking for a place to stay in my brief overnight stay in Stockholm, I obviously wanted the cheapest option, and that was when I stumbled onto this, one of the best finds I've ever come across in my travels. If you plan to go to Stockholm, unless you want to live it up in luxury while there, I would highly recommend this as a place to stay.
From a hotel point of view, it doesn't necessarily have that much going for it. It's all very simple and basic, but the atmosphere and future stories it offers far surpasses roomy bathrooms and other standard hotel extras. The Rygerfjord hotel is a hotel/hostel on an old-style passenger vessel that sits in the Stockholm harbour. It is very close to public transport, both bus and subway. The rooms are clean and very straightforward, and the bathroom, though not private, was also more than adequate.
But the best thing about this place, aside from the extremely low price (£19 per night for a twin private room in summer) was the great scenery and atmosphere it brought. It was nearing midnight when we finally found our way to the harbour. We came onto the boat and into the extremely idyllic bar/restaurant, which had softly candlelit tables with window views out across the harbour that you could hear lapping against the side of the boat. The manager was very pleasant, if a bit tired, and showed us to our cabin after we bought our bed linen (in Sweden, the bed clothes are often not included and cost us SEK 60pp for the night, with the option that you can bring your own.)
The whole mood of the place was calm and serene, and though it wasn't the most soundproof room I've ever been in, the noise was not a problem. The hotel serves a breakfast buffet, snacks, and dinner and is open 24 hours all year.
I thoroughly enjoyed my night in a little vessel in the Stockholm harbour. I walked the docks until well after 1am, looking at all the other ships and forgetting the time as the red tint of the sun tinged the edge of the water. It was a beautiful night and one of the best £20 I've ever spent on a hotel.