When Islands readers think of the Six Senses brand of luxury lifestyle resorts, we’re guessing you might conjure over-the-top properties in blue water and white sand places like the Maldives (Six Senses Laamu) and Fiji (Six Senses Fiji).
But with the recent announcement that Six Senses has taken over an innovative hotel project that’s been underway for several years now within the Arctic Circle in Northern Norway, fans of the brand have reason to throw something warmer on over their bathing suits to check out one of the world’s most beautiful (albeit hardly tropical) locales.
The 94-room hotel in the Helgeland region near the town of Bodø is Six Senses’ first energy-positive project. And the luxury property, when it debuts, will be self-sufficient when it comes to energy as well as other resources.
Built according to the highest energy-efficiency standards in the northern hemisphere, Six Senses Svart is slated to operate at far lower energy consumption than standard hotels. Harnessing solar power to be off the grid, the project will also have its own waste and water management as well as renewable infrastructure, too.
Despite its many environmental accolades, it’s the aesthetics of Six Senses Svart that might steal much of the storytelling show (not to mention the Instagram spotlight) when it finally opens to the public some time in 2024. For minimal impact on the delicate environment, the hotel was built atop poles and fronts a fjord, with the Svartisen glacier looming large nearby. Iconic Norwegian scenery to the max, in other words. Six Senses Svart has an otherworldly design that appears at once of the place and as if something landed in the spectacular fjord surrounds from outer space.
Its circular shape is inspired by elements from Norway’s traditional coastal fishermen cabins called rorbus and other fishing-related structures from the legendary local cod-fishing culture of the north.
In addition to all the luxe wellness amenities and gourmet dining you can expect from the Six Senses brand, expect a huge emphasis on the surrounding natural beauty of the property’s remote location–and get out to enjoy it like Norwegians strive to, in a sustainable, eco-minded and reverent way.
