Havila Hotel Geiranger

The History of Tourism in Geiranger.

In the 1800s, Geiranger was a roadless village, and the few tourists who visited primarily arrived by boat.

The First Boat Tourists

On July 9, 1869, a party of British Quakers led by banker Edward Backhouse landed in Geiranger. The group spent the night aboard the yacht they arrived on, “Nereid.” Backhouse gathered a group of locals for a photograph, which became the first photograph ever taken in Geiranger.

Martinus K. Merok, «Lånabuda» og hotellutbygging

The hotel construction in Geiranger began with Martinus K. Merok in 1869. He established a “lån” (long farmhouse with several rooms and with more than one floor) in Maråkvika, which was used as a guesthouse for lodgers. “Lånabuda” later became Merok’s Hotel. “Lånabuda” was located where our restaurant, “Låna” (which means The “lån”), stands today. In 1880, the first road workers arrived in the village, and due to the road construction, Merok’s Hotel experienced a boost. With over 300 construction workers in the village, the demand for accommodation increased dramatically.

In the early 1880s, Nils Petter Weiberg from Norddal constructed a timber building as a lodging house. This became Hotel Geiranger. After the road was completed, Weiberg sold the building in 1892 to the farmers from Vinje and Marok. They received financial assistance from Johannes Olsen Aasen (1846-1942), who had operated a grocery and shipping business in Ålesund but moved to Geiranger in 1882 because his wife was unhappy in the city. Johannes was skilled in both writing and accounting. In collaboration with the farmers, he established Hotel Geiranger. They furnished and expanded the timber house and built a veranda.

Within about ten years, five hotels were established in the small village. Before the road and hotels were built, people had hardly seen a single tourist and were skeptical of strangers. Such a rapid transformation was not experienced by many villages, and the main reason was the construction of the road over the mountain. The previously isolated village became an attraction and eventually part of the world heritage. The combination of road construction and hotel development created an economic revolution in the small fjord village, where the approximately 400 inhabitants had mostly been engaged in farming until then. It is incredible that a road can create such a transformation! In 1957, Merok’s Hotel was rebuilt in a modern style to the building we know today. Development also occurred at Hotel Geiranger, with new buildings completed in both 1964 and 1974. In 1995, Merok’s Hotel and Hotel Geiranger, which had been operated as one hotel, were connected by a bridge. A new reception area, glass elevator, and facade were also built at that time. In 2020, Havila took over the hotel from the Haldorsen family, who had operated it for about thirty years.

Havila Hotel Raftevold

It All Started Small in 1867

Raftevolds Hotel was founded by Ola M. Raftevold in 1867, and for over 150 years, Raftevolds Hotel has been a landmark and an important workplace in the municipal center of Grodås.

The founder, Ola Martinus Raftevold, operated a hotel, a coaching station, and a grocery store. This combination was very common for many hotel owners from the late 1800s and well into modern times.

Ola M. Raftevold started the hotel business modestly. He bought an old boathouse at Grodåssanden and began trading. The following year, he purchased the neighboring boathouse, which housed a courtroom on the ground floor and guest rooms in the attic. There were two guest beds available.

Now, the hotel has 44 rooms and is part of Havila Group’s initiative in the tourism sector.

Havila Hotel Ivar Aasen

1965

Viking was the name given to the new hotel that rose on the eight-acre property in the center of Ørsta. Tone Albertsen won the naming competition with the suggestion “Viking Fjord Hotel.” The hotel opened in 1965, with Ingvald Rørnes as the director. The first event was the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Ørsta Elverk, a week before the official opening of the hotel on Friday, February 12, 1965. On Saturday, February 13, there was a shareholders’ dinner with 150 invited guests. On Sunday, February 14, the hotel opened to the public, and a total of one thousand guests visited the hotel during the opening weekend.

2008

The hotel was renamed Hotel Ivar Aasen.

2017

In July 2017, Hotel Ivar Aasen was acquired by Havila Holding AS. Hotel Ivar Aasen is now part of Havila Hotels and the Havila Group’s initiative in the tourism sector.