The beautiful city of Stockholm, Sweden has cool hotels, old ones and even properties on boats. But it only has one Grand Hôtel, an iconic, historic, ultra-luxe property personifying everything a truly great five-star hotel in a European capital should be. Which is why the likes of President Obama, Justin Bieber (not to mention some of the smartest, most distinguished and important people in the entire world since 1901), and Nobel Prize laureates have stayed there while in town to receive their honors.

A member of the Leading Hotels of the World, an organization which includes many of the finest luxury properties on the planet, the Grand Hôtel was built in 1874 and is one of Europe’s original bastions of luxury hospitality as immortalized in Wes Anderson’s Grand Budapest Hotel. Located next to the Swedish National Museum and opposite the Royal Palace and Gamla Stan (Old Town), it has presided over Stockholm society for 140 years. That doesn't mean the place (we should say palace) is out of date, however.

The property just completed an extensive and expensive refurbishment of its rooms and corner suite on the fourth floor. The new rooms now have a stylish, contemporary interior with bespoke wallpaper and fabrics, just the latest example of the ongoing campaign to keep the Grand on the cutting edge of luxury. In all, the hotel has 300 rooms and 31 suites, 24 banquet and conference rooms, the classic Swedish Veranda restaurant, a Michelin star restaurant from celebrated chef Mathias Dahlgren and the renowned Cadier Bar. It’s also home to the famed Nordic Spa & Fitness club with hot saunas and cool dipping pools.

Regarding the new renovations, the hotel’s CEO Pia Djupmark commented, “The Grand Hôtel is a Stockholm destination in its own right, one that should always feel relevant and contemporary. In order to meet the high expectations of our guests, we strive to continuously develop our offering, an important part of which is the refurbishment on the fourth floor. We are very pleased with the result of the refurbishment, just as we were with previous renovations at the hotel. I think we have succeeded in capturing what is quintessentially Swedish, while at the same time giving the rooms an international character.”