The 10 best boutique and seaside hotels on Bornholm, ranked

Baltic light, a grand old ballroom and the little harbour almost at the doorstep give Strandhotellet Sandvig its own kind of north-coast pull. The hotel dates from 1895 and has 35 rooms, many newly renovated, with sea views or terraces towards the town and courtyard. The look stays simple and considered: calm colours, Kvadrat curtains, Baleine Studio products and no TVs, which tells you something about the rhythm they want here. There is a restaurant, conference spaces and that restored ballroom, which gives the house more life than a standard seaside stay. Book this for sea air, long breakfasts and Sandvig at walking pace.

Above Allinge harbour, Grønbechs Hotel makes its politics part of the stay without turning the place into a gimmick. The 23-room hotel calls itself Denmark’s first political hotel, a line that lands because Allinge hosts Folkemødet, Denmark’s annual democracy festival where politicians, organisations, media and the public take over the town each June. Inside, drawings by Roald Als, the Danish editorial cartoonist known for sharp political satire, hang with the owners’ private art collection. An oval walnut table replaces the usual reception desk, rooms keep their 1901 proportions and the in-house restaurant covers lunch, smørrebrød, wine, beer and courtyard snacks.