We had decided in advance that the second weekend of advent would be a getaway weekend. Originally it was going to be a long weekend in Jönköping, but this time of year the ravel options involved 4 hours of bus each way. 😛 So we instead pivoted to a closer option by searching through weekend deals at castle-hotels. Lejondahl castle in Upplands-Bro had a weekend deal that included julbord dinner, fancy Nordic breakfast, and a visit to the hotel spa. We had viewed the lakefront Lejondahl from the other shore when we were camping last year, so we thought it would be nice to see it from the inside. We booked our stay and took the commuter train up to Bro.
There is a bus but we decided to walk to the castle, and we were rewarded by a visit with a local ginger cat and a tour of many mistletoe trees.
After we arrived and checked in we took a walk of the grounds in the fading sunlight, including the dock, the adjacent manor houses, the waterfront saunas and the stables where there was a little cat catching a mouse.
The inside of the castle was really lovely, and all decorated for Christmas. They had a wall of loose teas and a tea station so you can fill your own pot and then head out to the library, drawing room, fireplace hall, etc. There were empty seats by the fireplace so we settled in with tea before dinner. Dinner itself was very nice – it skewed a bit meaty with a lot of traditional favourites, but they definitely did a nice job. After dinner we went for a swim-soak-sauna in the spa, and then settled in for the night in our awesome room; an appreciated upgrade to the honeymoon suite. Breakfast was great and we looked out at the misty lake with another pot of tea and house-made granola.
Graham by the wall of teas 
hanging out by the fireplace 
Very nice rooms with robes for the spa 
the view from our big balcony 
The dining room 
They have used the antique furniture for the julbord buffet 
the cabinet of deviled eggs! 
The christmasy charcuterietable 
The candy buffet 
Deserts! 
Settling in with tea by the fire again before we left
Certainly more of a splash-out than our first camping visit to this lake, but a nice experience overall. The staff was fantastic and all the surroundings were so cozy and specific – it did not feel like a big-box corporate hotel at all. Looks like I am a convert – I’d go back to a Swedish castle-stay!