This Nordic Hotel Brand Includes Dinner With Every Stay

Traveling in the Nordic countries can lead to incredible experiences, but it can also be expensive. For example, a meal for 2 can easily cost $100, even without drinks. Lodging that includes a complimentary breakfast can help your food budget. But what if your hotel also provided an evening meal?

Home Hotels have comfy surroundings, and just like home, stays include breakfast, afternoon coffee and sweets (fika), and an evening meal.

Home Hotels are part of the Strawberry brand, a Choice Hotels franchisee, with over 250 hotels throughout the Nordic countries, of which more than 50 are Home Hotels.

Here’s where you’ll find Home Hotels and what you can expect from their generous meal plan.

Hotels Offering Breakfast, Fika, and Dinner

You can find Home Hotels throughout Sweden, Norway, and Finland. There are more than 50 properties, all of which offer complimentary breakfast, fika (afternoon coffee and sweets), and an evening meal.

Home Hotels typically provide an ample buffet-style breakfast featuring several local specialties — homemade bread, hot dishes, meats, cheeses, and fresh fruits.

In the afternoon, expect a delightful sweet option and a selection of beverages, including coffee, tea, and cocoa. During my stays at Home Hotels, the sweet options I enjoyed included homemade cake, Belgian waffles with jam, and pie.

There are currently 33 Home Hotels in Sweden, 22 in Norway, and 2 in Helsinki, Finland. Dining out can be particularly expensive in these Nordic countries, although the quality is typically excellent. According to Numbeo, a well-established cost-of-living statistics website, dinner for 2 at a midrange restaurant averages over $100 in Norway, $86 in Sweden, and $93 in Finland.

Of course, you should still experience the local cuisine, but having the option to enjoy multiple meals at your hotel can offer significant savings and convenience.

What To Expect at Dinner Time

Complimentary doesn’t always mean quality, but Home Hotels provide a decent meal. Served in a cozy setting, the evening buffet is much like a home-cooked meal, and there may even be a fireplace nearby.

The weekly menu is posted in advance so you can select the days you prefer to eat at the hotel and the evenings you’ll dine out.

The buffet typically features bowls of fresh salads, homemade bread, and soup. There are always hot dishes, such as roasted potatoes and assorted vegetables, along with a protein like fish, pork, beef, or chicken. There’s likely to be some pasta and local specialties as well.

The meal isn’t necessarily gourmet but leans more toward comfort food. There’s also a lot of variety in their meals. As a vegetarian, I never left hungry, and after a full day of exploring, returning to a warm meal was a real treat.

There are a few dessert options on the evening buffet, including local specialties. Water and coffee were included in the evening dinner at the hotels I stayed at, but there was also a beverage menu with soft drinks, coffee, tea, alcoholic drinks, and more. Prices were very reasonable, in my opinion.

Where To Find Home Hotels

Strawberry offers a complete list of Home Hotels on its website, which can help you find Home Hotels by country (Sweden, Norway, or Finland), along with helpful descriptions of each property.

You can find the list on Strawberry, but the Choice Hotels website includes both Home Hotels and Choice Hotels. When searching on the Choice website, you can also filter your results to find Home Hotels specifically.

How To Book With Choice Privileges Points

A huge positive of booking on the Choice Hotels website is that you can book Home Hotels with Choice Privileges points. Once you’ve found a Home Hotel that fits your needs, select the option to book with points. A typical night at Home Hotels in the Nordic countries costs between 20,000 and 30,000 Choice Privileges points. 

At Upgraded Points, we currently value Choice Privileges points at approximately 0.6 cents each, making a 20,000- to 30,000-point redemption worth roughly $120 to $180. Home Hotel rooms could otherwise cost much more, especially in peak season.

If you have a stash of Choice Privileges points, redeeming them for Home Hotels could provide good value. If you don’t have Choice points, here are 4 flexible rewards programs that are transfer partners, along with their transfer ratios:

• American Express Membership Rewards points — 1:1
• Capital One miles — 1:1
• Citi ThankYou Points — 1:1.5, depending on the card
• Wells Fargo Rewards points — 1:2

We don’t recommend transferring flexible points to Choice Privileges at a 1:1 ratio unless you need a small amount to top off your balance for a specific hotel stay redemption. Transferable points are more valuable than Choice Privileges points.

However, transferring Wells Fargo Rewards points at a 1:2 ratio can offer exceptional value. The Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card and the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Card earn Wells Fargo Rewards points that can be transferred to Choice Privileges at a 1:2 ratio.

Final Thoughts

Free breakfast during a hotel stay is a valuable perk, but having afternoon sweets and a complimentary evening meal takes it to the next level. Home Hotel’s evening meal offers real convenience and savings for travelers in Sweden, Finland, and Norway.

While the complimentary meal may not replace fine dining at a popular local restaurant, enjoying a home-cooked meal at your hotel can be quite enjoyable. If you’re traveling in the Nordic countries, consider staying at a Home Hotel to experience a complimentary meal and local hospitality.