My gosh, we’d really like to go off-grid right now. Somewhere isolated. Somewhere barren but still beautiful. Somewhere where you almost feel like you’ve reached the very edge of the planet.
The island of Hamneskär, off Sweden’s western coast, is just that sort of place. For decades, this rocky island has been home to a lighthouse, a few random outbuildings and a house for the lighthouse keeper’s family. Now the house and surrounding buildings have been restored and turned into a luxury nine-bedroom hotel, Pater Noster – making it quite possibly the ideal off-the-beaten-track place to escape to.
The island has a longstanding reputation for its perilous location – surrounded as it is by hundreds of jagged rocks hidden beneath the water’s surface – that led to it becoming a refuge for many a shipwrecked sailor. These days, visitors can only reach the island by helicopter or expertly-manned boat.
Once you’re there, you can take tours of the lighthouse and enjoy freshly caught seafood at an on-site restaurant. The hotel will also offer deep-sea fishing, scuba-diving, sailing, kayaking and seaweed-cooking classes. Or you could simply chill out, read a book, and watch the sun set over the waves. With rooms starting from £442 ($563, A$800), it’s not the cheapest getaway – but then again, when was the last time you stayed in a place as exhilaratingly wild as this?
Got five minutes to spare? Want to tell us what life is like in your city? Take the Time Out Index survey here.