Scandic Park Hotel (formerly Rica Park Hotel) is a large hotel in

Sandefjord, Norway Sandefjord () is a municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Vestfold. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Sandefjord. Other population centres in Sandefjord include Andebu, ...

. The Park Hotel was completed in 1960 and was the largest and most luxurious hotel in Vestfold County when established. Park Hotel was built on a site that previously belonged to Sandefjord Spa. It is located next to the harbor and near the city center. It caters for conferences, business functions, and courses. Most rooms overlook the Sandefjordsfjord. The hotel houses three restaurants: Parkstuen, Kosmos, and Vinstuen. It has spa facilities, gyms, solariums, saltwater swimming pools, saunas, conference halls, and a banquet hall. The hotel was designed by architect

Arnstein Arneberg Arnstein Rynning Arneberg (6 July 1882 – 9 June 1961) was a Norwegian architect. He was active professionally for 50 years and is often considered the leading architect in Norway of his time. Personal life Arnstein Rynning Arneberg was b ...

, and opened as “The Whaling House” (Hvalfangstens Hus) in 1959. It was frequently visited by the shipping magnate

Anders Jahre Anders August Jahre (28 May 1891 – 26 February 1982) was a Norwegian shipping magnate and philanthropist. After his death, it was discovered that he had undertaken tax evasion on a large scale; however, his legacy continues in the form of two f ...

. A whale jawbone arch from a

Blue whale The blue whale (''Balaenoptera musculus'') is a marine mammal and a baleen whale. Reaching a maximum confirmed length of and weighing up to , it is the largest animal known ever to have existed. The blue whale's long and slender body can ...

killed in 1956 has been placed outside the hotel.

History

The first parts of ''Hvalfangstens Hus'' were completed in the fall of 1959. The hotel was built on the former site of ''Socitetsbygningen'' which belonged to

Sandefjord Spa Sandefjord Spa (, often shortened to Kurbadet), was a spa in Sandefjord, Norway, established by Heinrich Arnold Thaulow in 1837. The main building from 1899 is one of the largest wooden buildings in Norway and in the Nordic countries overall. Kurb ...

. In the 1950s, Socitetsbygningen were demolished to give room to Hvalfangstens Hus (the Whaling House). When it was established as Hvalfangstens Hus, the eighth floor was occupied by offices for Norges Hvalfangstforbund and other whaling organizations. The ninth and tenth floors occupied

's business offices. The hotel became the basis for modern-day tourism in Sandefjord. The

Oslo City Hall Oslo City Hall () is a municipal building in Oslo, the capital of Norway. It houses the city council, the city's administration and various other municipal organisations. The building as it stands today was constructed between 1931 and 1950, wi ...

was one of architect

’s inspirations when designing the hotel. Park Hotel was highly modern for its time in the 1960s and had maids equipped with teletypewriters, waiters equipped with radio receivers, and electric doors. In 1967, a heated seawater swimming pool and spa were installed at the hotel. The hotel has views of the adjacent park Badeparken, surrounding hillsides, and the Sandefjord Harbor and Sandefjordsfjord.Bertelsen, Hans Kristian (2000). ''Sandefjord i bilder / Sandefjord in pictures''. Grafisk studio forl. Page 102. ISBN 8290636024.

Gallery

File:Norway_Park_Hotel,_Sandefjord_(7998937027).jpg File:Park_Hotel,_Sandefjord._-_no-nb_digifoto_20160511_00202_NB_NKF_P_02_E_004.jpg File:Park_Hotel,_Sandefjord._-_no-nb_digifoto_20160511_00206_NB_NKF_P_02_E_009.jpg File:Park_Hotel,_Sandefjord._-_no-nb_digifoto_20160511_00205_NB_NKF_P_02_E_008.jpg File:Park_Hotel,_Sandefjord._-_no-nb_digifoto_20160511_00204_NB_NKF_P_02_E_007.jpg File:Park_Hotel,_Sandefjord._Festsalen._-_no-nb_digifoto_20160511_00208_NB_NKF_P_02_E_011.jpg File:ParkHotelSandefjord.jpg File:Badeparken1.JPG

References

{{Coord, 59.1273, 10.2207, region:NO-30, format=dms, display=title Buildings and structures in Sandefjord Companies based in Sandefjord Hotels in Vestfold Hotels established in 1959 Hotel buildings completed in 1959