Towering 118 metres and boasting 299 rooms on 34 floors, it is not only the tallest hotel in the Nordic countries it is also one of the most spectacular, both inside and outside. The sequin dress inspired building designed by Gert Wingårdh, is clad in over 8,000 panes of triangular shaped glass. The interior of the entire hotel features designs by Vitra, Montana, Flos, Kasthall and Dinesen. The Sky Bar on the 34th floor offers guests magnificent views and Swedish tapas or “Swapas”.

“Gaining the opportunity to open this unique hope in Sweden’s largest business area, Kista Science City, where there is huge demand for hotel rooms - is a huge and exciting challenge,” says Joakim Nilsson, Scandic’s Country Vice President Sweden.

The hotel has been built by Norwegian investor Arthur Buchardt who is set to hand over operational management of the building to Scandic on 15 September. Architect Gert Wingårdh designed the building with a glass and steel façade, which reflects the sky, sun and different seasons of the year.

The hotel features interior design of the highest international class, including furniture from Vitra, lighting from Flos, book shelves from Montana and flooring from Dinesen of Denmark. Renowned design classics such as the Eames Plastic Chair and Hang It All - designed in the 1950s, can be found in both public areas and hotel rooms. In a unique project, students at Sweden’s University College of Arts, Crafts and Design have created permanent installations for the lift areas in the 34 storey hotel, including smoke trails in glass, pattern painted chipboard and colourful kaleidoscopes.

Visiting guests can enjoy a fitness centre, meeting rooms for all tastes, restaurant, lobby bar with simpler dishes and a sky bar that serves drinks and Swedish tapas or ”Swapas” – created by Thomas Diederichsen, 2011 chef of the year. The lobby, lounge and restaurant flow into each other creating a social arena for work, meetings, socialising and relaxation.

“I want the Scandic Victoria Tower to be a dynamic meeting place, a beating heart of Kista where you can sit and work in the hotel lobby without feeling the need to buy anything. It should exude a sense of being a place where things happen,” says Helena Söderberg, General Manager of the Scandic Victoria Tower.

Although its design and appearance make the Victoria Tower unique, the hotel has the same core values as every other Scandic hotel with the focus on safety, the environment and accessibility. Other Scandic concepts such as children’s activities with Sigge, Jamie Oliver inspired food, gym and Scandic SHOP naturally also feature at the Scandic Victoria Tower.

City.Mobi

Also in Sweden today, City.Mobi is celebrating the success of its new guide to Stockholm.

City.Mobi offers the most comprehensive mobile travel guides available, with over 800 cities in 200 countries listed. Each is developed by the City.Mobi team to combine into a single global travel directory.

However, each city retains its own mobile identity via a dedicated domain. Already on offer are Brussels.Mobi, Paris.Mobi, Sanfrancisco.Mobi and Sydney.Mobi.

Stockholm.mobi is the latest in this illustrious line up, offering click to call functionality – which means no scribbling down telephone numbers.

Most entries are also linked to websites where users can quickly access more detailed information if needed.

Other key features include information on accommodation, restaurants, attractions, entertainment, nightlife, shopping, and transport.

City.Mobi guides include user reviews and traveller utilities such as a translation guide, currency converter, news and local weather guide.