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From wasteland to summer paradise

During the second part of the 19th century it became fashionable to spend summer at a seaside resort where you could relax and enjoy beach life. In Halmstad a couple of leading persons initiated the idea that the town with its nice nearby beaches should be able to compete with more established seaside resorts.
 
The main question was where to establish a seaside hotel and restaurant. In September 1912 a delegation of gentlemen went out to Långenäsudden and Tjuvahålan to seek out a suitable location.
 
Shortly thereafter the local paper Hallandsposten with slight excitement reported that: ”The commissioned was especially delighted by an area on the west side of Tyludden, the so called Tylösand. Here you could surely  be able to create a typical west coast seaside resort that could compare with – and surpass even – our foremost seaside resorts here on the west coast.”
 
But for that to happen, the communications between Halmstad and Tylösand must be sorted out. There’s talk about building either a road or a railway, but none of those plans are realised. Instead one decides to rely on the boat traffic that since the turn of the century has taken the few seaside enthusiasts out to the remote beach.
 
SMUGGLER'S NEST
Before all this, the place wasn’t especially glamourous. The area around Tyludden and Tylösand was difficult to reach and mostly frequented by fishers and smugglers – which explains the name Tjuvahålan (The thief’s hole).  In 1870 The Customs authority built a customs station in Tjuvahålan to fight the smuggling, and the same year a lighthouse with living quarters was built on Tylön.
 
For hundreds of years the land around Tylösand had been seen as worthless – a big deserted area of sand without vegetation or settlement. The land was owned by the city of Halmstad, but situated in the village of Söndrum. Most people regarded the project as doomed.
 
But with the smuggling behind them, the growing summer tourism in view and French seaside resort Trouville in Normandie as a role model, photographer Johan Hallberg in 1915 builds Restaurang Tylösand; a beautiful but modest building with restaurant, porch and ten guest rooms.
 
THE SUCCESS BECOMES INCORPORATED
On August 31 1915 the hotel is officially inaugurated, and everyone who has shook their heads in disbelief at Hallberg’s plans will see their misgivings were unfounded. The timing is perfect; the new resort by the sea is a success, and already the year later three new rooms are added.
 
At the same time plans are made to incorporate the business. The process turns out to be slow, however. In April 1917 a constituent shareholder’s meeting is held, but it’s not until March 5 1920 that AB Tylösands Havsbad is registered at the Royal agency for Patents and Registration. 100 years of love by the sea can start.
 

1921 - From tents to Masonite houses

A country road has been built to Tylösand and buss traffic from the city starts in 1921. The first campers establish themselves there in the early 20’s. They rise their humble tents in the greenery around Tjuvahålan, and on a rock by the sea someone scratches their initials and the year 1921.

The camping trend is spreading fast, and soon the area around Tjuvahålan is full. When the campers move up to the forest where the current cabin village is situated, a rent agreement is made with the Tylösand company that is leasing the land. For 1925 the lease for a lot is SEK 25 a year.  

The first settlements are simple tents with rag carpets as floor and a ”larder” consisting of box that’s dug into the ground. In the 1930’s some of the tents are replaced with small beach houses in masonite, that eventually will look well equipped summer cottages with water, discharge and electricity. In 1961 there are 370 Masonite cottages in the area, with a yearly lease of SEK 60 per cottage.
 

1924 - Tjuvahålans Pensionat

In the middle of the 1850’s the coastal rider Carl Martin Meuller at the Coast Guard buys 10 hectares of land from the Halmstad Castle, and builds the Carlsberg house by Tyludden and Tjuvahålan.

The city of Halmstad buys the property in the early 1920’s and leases it to the Tylösand company, who rebuilds Carlsberg to an elegant guest house with social areas, 16 rooms for rent and a garage for four cars. Tjuvahålans Guest House opens in style on May 30 1924, and quickly becomes very popular.

Between November 1956 and June 1957, the guest house serves as a camp for close to 400 Hungarian refugees that have fled during the failed revolt against the communist rule in Hungary. It is later run as a dance hall and later discotheque in the 1960’s, but in the early 70’s the abandoned buildings are torn down.
 

1927 - Everybody wants to visit Tylösand

The 1920’s saw a rising interest in outdoor living, with more social classes being able to enjoy beach life in the summer. The record-breaking heatwave of 1925 attracts more people than ever to Tylösand, making the restaurant and hotel business boom.

Demand is so big that architect Uno Forthmeiier after the summer season is commissioned to plan a new hotel. The building is financed in an unconventional deal where the City of Halmstad as land owners pays for the building and then lease the new hotel to the Tylösand company.

When the new hotel with its 39 rooms is ready in the spring of 1927, it is described in the press as ”a first-class hotel building” (which still remains, now as “Herrgårdshuset”). At the same time the restaurant is expanded in continental style with a ballroom for 200 persons, terrace and a club room.

The artist Axel Olson – later to become famous as a part of the artist community Halmstadgruppen – does the decorating, and the ballroom’s wall panels with motives from the world of 18th century poet Carl Michael Bellman give it the name Bellmansalen (the panels are preserved in the Hallbergska café on the second floor – welcome to have a look).  

Demand for rooms in Tylösand is strong and the expansion continues: three villas with an additional ten rooms for rent is built close to the hotel, together with a hot and cold bath by the beach and a garage.

But even more important is that the road from Halmstad to Tylösand is modernized so that traffic can increase. Other innovations are running water supply, electricity and – last but not least – licence to serve alcohol.
 

1929 - Art exhibition creates attention

June 20 1929 is a big day in Halmstad. The great art exhibition Halmstadsutställningen is inaugurated and the whole town is in party mood. In Tylösand a crowd of people and the press awaits the arrival of king Gustaf V and his company in a long caravan of cars.   

The king gets a tour of the facilities, and is of course also presented to the brand-new tennis court. Finally, he signs the Kungastenen (King’s stone), which still can be seen up on the rocks outside the hotel.

When the Halmstadsutställningen is over a month later, more than 200 000 day tickets have been sold. The success has created a broader awareness of the new attraction by Tylösand, which in many ways gets its break thanks to the exhibition. With confidence strengthened by the success, The Tylösand company opens Café Paradiset (Café Paradise).
 

1931 - Modern times takes shape at Tylöhus

Tylösand takes its biggest step towards the future when the functionalist style of architecture is spreading out by the sandy dunes. Restaurang Tylöhus by architect Uno Forthmeiier is built by leftover timber from Halmstadsutställningen, and Hotell Tylöhus with its 74 rooms is a work by county architect Erik Friberger.

All rooms are equipped with running hot and cold water, some oven with their own bathroom. The spacious restaurant has a ballroom on the upper floor with club rooms, shops and a post office on ground level.

Both buildings are built in the new functionalist style that has had its big break during the Stockholm exhibition the year before. It’s only 16 years since the original inn invited its guests in 1915, but it now looks like a remnant from days gone by compared to the futuristic look of the two new buildings.
 

1938 - Tylösand’s golf course in full swing

On September 17 1938 the new Tylösand golf course is inaugurated, which will increase the stream of tourists even more. The initiative again comes from Johan Hallberg, who convincingly argues that Tylösand won’t be able to compete as a seaside resort without a golf course, finally giving the Halmstad Golf Club from 1930 a proper course.
 

1939 - Who took the liquor money?

In the night between August 13 and 14 – with the outbreak of World War II only weeks away – someone steals SEK 3 600 from the liquor cash register (equivalent to 105 000 today). Nobody is arrested for the crime and the money is never found.
 

1948 - Johan Hallberg withdraws

In the City council, "acquisition of Tylösands Havsbad” is discussed on January 19 1948. For the first time there is a general agreement that the City should do what it can to stimulate Tylösand’s development in a way that improves Halmstad’s status as a seaside resort.

Johan Hallberg is now approaching his 70’s, and feels that after more than three decades of leadership, it’s time to withdraw. He sells 300 of his 450 shares in the company, and the deal also stipulates a right to access three rooms in Tylögården for the rest of his life.

The new VD Jan Hörberg and the new direction immediately starts a renovation and rebuilding programme, but the hotel is not a cash cow. WW II has dampened demand for seaside resorts and losses are made both before and after the acquisition.
 

1952 - Restaurang Tylöhus destroyed by fire

On the morning of August 29, a fire breaks out at  Restaurang Tylöhus. It’s spreading fast, and within two hours the building is destroyed. The fire also spreads to the nearby private villa Strandgården, which also is eaten up by the flames.

The fire corps are trying to save the original building from 1915 and as much of the new hotel as possible. All hotel guests are evacuated and nobody is hurt. Water to the fire hoses is first taken from the water lily pond, but when that isn’t enough the hoses are dragged over the dunes down to the sea. In the new hotel building the southern part with entrance, reception and a few hotel rooms are destroyed.

The fire creates an estimated loss of SEK 30 million (today) in just a few hours, but despite thorough investigations the cause of the fire is never explained.
 

1953 - New building, new records

At first, the fire is regarded as catastrophe, but in perspective history will show that the hotel will rise like a phoenix from the ashes. There’s never any hesitation about rebuilding the place, and the project advances fast. The new restaurant gets more functional spaces with shared kitchen facilities for the old hotel and Tylöhus.

By this time, Tylösand has become a well know seaside resort in Sweden. Both the fire and the rebuilding get extensive coverage in national media who follows the hotel’s race against time. Will they be ready in time for the summer season of 1953?

Yes. On June 13 1953 the new Tylöhus is inaugurated, being fully booked since months. The new establishment at Tylösand quickly regains its position, so much that it that 400 employees are hired during the coming summers. The bill for the rebuilding lands on almost SEK 2 million, translating to almost 30 million today.  
 

1955 - Beach racing draws record crowd

In August 1955, a new attendance record is set at Tylösand. The resort is a part of Västkustrallyt (West Coast Race), a combined car race and fashion show arranged by the Swedish Royal Automobile Club and the weekly magazine Vecko-Journalen. Around 25 000 persons is on the beach to cheer as the cars pass the finish line.
 

1957 - The Tylösand seminar

The first traffic seminar in Tylösand is arranged by MHF (association for sober drivers) in August 1957. It’s a 12-day course with 20 participants - 60 years later it’s the most important road safe seminar in Sweden.  
 

1960 - Nightclub not good for youth

In the spring of 1960, the authorities are considering no less than four applications to open a night club in Halmstad during summer – and one of them regards Tylösand. If it’s a yes, Halmstad and Söndrum will get four nightclubs together – which would have been a small sensation.
There are but six nightclubs in Stockholm, and they won’t get more permissions than that. Gothenburg only has two.

But nightlife in the more continental sense will have to wait awhile more, both in Halmstad and Tylösand. Erik Hagman is responsible for granting the rights, and his argument is in principle that dancing in combination with the serving of alcohol is a less desirable form of entertainment for youth, and that care of said youth should prevail over pleasing tourists from abroad. And with that, the idea of nightclubs at Tylösand is postponed indefinitely.
 

1964 - The Copper Tent says hi

Tylöhus new bar Koppartältet (The Copper Tent, today’s Leif’s Lounge) is inaugurated. Nit has got its name from the semi round extension with a copper roof facing the beach.  
 

1965 - Natti Natti with striptease

On July 2 the authorities worry about the local youth’s wellbeing caves in for the free spirit of the 60’s, when the nightclub is inaugurated. Trio Canaro accompanies six Polish ballet dancers that call themselves Syrenki-Ballet. Last but not least there’s also a striptease show performed by Siam Sandré – a form of entertainment that will be a regular part of the show until 1968.
 

1966 - Charter competition and half-board

By the mid 60’s the Swedish tourism business is in crisis, as a result of the growing charter tourism. The Swedish tourist resorts can’t compete with neither weather or price in the foreign resorts. The answer at Tylösand is half-board with breakfast and late dinner. Without it, price increases would have been necessary.
 

1968

Torsten Senje becomes MD and immediately starts a comprehensive rebuilding program. On July 25, the first Rose Ball is held – a charity event arranged by Lions in Söndrum. The whole ballroom is covered in roses which are auctioned out after the dance. The arrangement is a huge success which will continue throughout the 70’s.  
 

1970 - Conferences pick up the pace

Tylösand is well into the 60’s a typical summer resort, but coinciding with the reopening of new Restaurang Tylöhus the demand for conferences during autumn and spring increases. This will soon become an integral part in the strategy to expand the season beyond summer.

The first guests outside the summer season is Sweden’s school for Civil Defence, which is held in Tylösand between September 1 And May 15 during most of the 60’s.

In 1970 the whole hotel is made winterized. The restaurant and the hotel are joined with a recreation space containing a swimming pool, fitness areas, medical clinic and conference facilities.  

Torsten Senje is convinced that future hotel guests will put even higher demands on sport and recreation facilities at the hotel. He seems to have gazed into the future.
 
 

1975 - Beach Club creates queues

The original hotel building is rebuilt into the trendy 70’s disco Beach Club, attracting party people and creating long ques outside the entrance. Do we dare to guess that the DJ had stacked up hot disco singles like The Bee Gee’s ”Jive Talkin”, Labelle’s ”Lady Marmalade”, Carl Douglas’ ”Kung Fu Fighting”, Gloria Gaynor’s ”Never Can Say Goodbye”, Barry White’s "You're The First, The Last, My Everything" and Van McCoy’s ”The Hustle”? Most certainly.
 

1978 - The shrimp boat is a success

”Cheap Monday” and ”Shellfish evening” on Tuesdays – with a plastic rowing boat filled with shrimps – is introduced to attract more people to Restaurang Tylöhus in the beginning of the week. It’s a hit, suddenly it’s full house all days of the week, and people will have to book tables weeks in advance. The concept is followed by ”Candle light evening” on Wednesdays the next year.
 

1979 - Axel Olson signs panels

Artist Axel Olson from the famous art community Halmstadgruppen is invited by MD Torsten Senje to sign the wall panels he decorated as a young and unknown artist in 1927.
There are around 30 panels to be signed, and when the then 80-year old Olson gets tired in his arm, Mr Senje and the caretaker Ove Henningsson helps him by supporting his right hand so that he can make it all the way around the Bellman hall.
 

1980 - Venture or close?

Tylösand’s future is discussed in Halmstad’s city council. Two options are on the table; continue as before and close within five years or expand the conference facilities. The later alternative wins and a five-story building on the location of the former original hotel building is presented. The project is budgeted at SEK 40 million and becomes heavily discussed and criticized.

After two years the council’s chairman gives the opposition an ultimatum: if they vote no, the city will have to sell the whole hotel business. The opposition votes no.
The shareholder’s meeting commissions the Tylösand company to find a suitable buyer or leaseholder. The possibilities to build the controversial hotel building is a part of the conditions for the sale.
 

1982 - Reso becomes the new owner

In March it’s clear that the cooperative travel agency and hotel group Reso buys 60% of the shares in Tylösands Havsbad. The plans to build a big five-story hotel are shelved, and instead Reso renovates all rooms in 1983 and the following year expands the hotel facilities with rooms. Rolf Johansson becomes new MD.
 

1984 - The original building says bye-bye

On July 18 the new hotel building is inaugurated by Prince Bertil, the Duke of Halland. After almost six decades it’s also time for the original building from 1915 to be replaced by a new conference building. The plans causes an uproar among many locals – including the building preservation authorities – but research shows that the building is beyond repair. Again, there is a heated debate in the local newspaper Hallandsposten, and the decision is appealed. But on November 20 the fight is over, and the first excavator sinks its teeth into the first hotel at Tylösand.
 

1985

The new congress hall is inaugurated on October 15.  
 

1986 - After Beach kicks off

The future institution After Beach at Hotel Tylösand kicks off with the band Bortalaget from Åre. Anders Nissen becomes MD.
 

1987 - A stone desert becomes a flop

The restaurant Akvarell opens in May, and quickly becomes one of the most talked-about fine dining restaurants in the county of Halland. One of the many young and talented chefs that’s hired is 24-year old Melker Andersson, soon to become one of the countries absolute stars in the field.  
 
Underneath Akvarell the outdoor Verandan Club Natti opens in what is now the library, serving pizza and Mexican food. The restaurant flops due to complaints on its rather offside location as well as dark and draughty interior. A few years later, the whole area is glazed-in and the Rockbaren (Rock Bar) is opened with an interior of stone and rock formations. In a yearly chronicle in Hallandsposten the venture is summed up in two sentences: ”The lavish at Club Tylösand. A stone desert that nobody discovered.”
 

1989

The swimming pool facilities are rebuilt into a tropical oasis with palms, waterfall, comfy chairs and small paths. 
 

1995 - Two new owners create new energy

On July 7 Björn Nordstrand and Per Gessle buys Tylösands Havsbad from Reso. Many are surprised by the unexpected constellation between the business man Nordstrand and the international pop star Gessle.
 
But both of the owners have their roots in Halmstad and shares an affection for Hotel Tylösand’s history and future. They see the acquisition as a long-term venture and intends to invest to transform Tylösand into an ever-growing attraction.
- I’ve spent a small fortune in the bar, so it’s just about right that I get a chance to get some of it back, Per Gessle comments.  
 
The new ownership allows for an injection of innovative thinking where the hotel and conference facilities in the coming years will be complemented with an art gallery, new restaurant concepts and a spa. 

1996 - Leif opens the doors

The new owners get things moving fast. Club Natti is transformed into Leif’s Lounge (named after Per’s self-drawn mascot Leif from high school) and on June 28 the doors open. The new nightclub quickly becomes a dream for fans of Roxette and Gyllene Tider. On the walls there’s gold and platinum records,  guitars, rejection letters and other memorabilia from Per’s pop career. Soon everyone gets used to the sight of starry-eyed “Roxers" from all over the world.  

Shortly thereafter, the new gallery Tres Hombres Art with Per Gessle, Lars Nordin and Jan Beime as owners opens, and the whole hotel is made into an exhibition space for art objects, and especially photo art. The whole idea starts when Per and Åsa Gessle is about to buy a sculpture by an art dealer, who goes bankrupt before the deal is done. Instead the piece comes into the hands of the liquidator, and the whole thing ends with the Gessles buying the complete collection of 1 300 art objects.

Combined with a fast-growing collection of photo art, Hotel Tylösand soon transforms into a huge gallery with amazing art experiences around every corner.
 

1997 - Concerts and star chefs

On July 9, the concert activities kick off on the recently expanded Solgården with the package tour ”Visor & Rosor” featuring The Real Group, Anna-Lena Brundin, Mikael Wiehe and Mikael Samuelson.
The same year the star chef Torsten Kjörling is hired as the head cook. His resume speaks for itself: ”Chef of the Year” 1984, member of the national chef team, having served several times at the Nobel Prize dinner etc. He stays until his retirement in 2017, but continues to make guest appearances before the “Christmas tables” are served. Nobody wants to celebrate Christmas without his wonderful liver pâté.
 

1998 - Tylösand gets a spa

In November Hotel Tylösand’s new spa with pools, treatment rooms, and fitness facilities opens its doors. It’s the start of a serious effort that will be a major part of the hotel’s attraction in the coming decades.
 

2000 - Elisabeth is the new manager

Elisabeth Haglund is appointed as the new MD. In May, a new entrance with reception and a big lobby is finished, as well as an updated Leif’s Lounge. Gone is now the old Copper Tent, replaced by the new Café Spa.
 

2002 - Tylösand flooded

On August 6, Tylösand is hit by a summer rain so intense that the street inlets are filled. The water then streams down to the hotel reception, which is the lowest lying place in the area. It quickly rises outside the windows, floods a brand-new Ferrari that’s parked outside the entrance, and soon starts to soak in through doors and window chinks.  

Panic erupts when the water stands 50 cm high. Using bed linen and towels from the laundry, hotel staff and guests helps to create a canal that leads the water down to the pool. The area’s storm water system is rebuilt to handle these kinds of rainfalls some years later, after a similar incident almost repeats the incident.  

In the spring, the restaurant entrance is rebuilt. The new art decorated mingle area Hall of Fame adds new possibilities to arrange bigger events and conferences. 

2003 - A new kitchen

During winter 2002-03 the hotels kitchen gets a total makeover. For three months all hot food is prepared in containers outside the hotel, while the cold cuts is prepared in the library. A great effort by the staff, who endures the logistic challenges in a brilliant way.  
 

2004 - Expansion to the island?

In the summer Restaurang Tylöhus launches its Piano bar, introducing much beloved house pianist CM Carlsson.

During late summer plans for starting a conference business at Tylön are revealed. The National Property Board needs to renovate the lighthouse, and to cover the costs Hotel Tylösand is offered to rent the spaces to establish a smaller conference facility.

Adversaries to the plans claim that the bird protected area should not be exploited, but authorities still gives the green light. In 2007, the hotel decides not to go ahead with the plans, finding the logistics a bit too complicated and not wanting to draw attention away from the growing number of guests in the current business.
 

2006 - Bettan’s Bar and more spa

Bettan’s Bar is launched as Hotel Tylösand’s new summer restaurant with a focus on seafood and sushi. The name is a tribute to the hotel’s MD Elisabeth Haglund, despite her denials that so is the case. 
On October 6 the spa is expanded with a second floor featuring relax facilities, outdoor pool, new gym and fitness areas.  

2011 - The Beach House says hello

In May, the new five-story building Strandhuset (The Beach House) with its 73 rooms and two new conference rooms open its doors. The new building replaces the old hotel from 1931, and with its SEK 147 million bill it’s the largest investment in the hotel’s history.
Again, the project is controversial and is delayed by resistance and debate. Appeals are made in several instances before the projects gets a go ahead from the authorities.
 

2014 - Leif’s Bar & Grill heats it up

In April, a totally rebuilt Leif’s Lounge is launched with the restaurant Leif’s Bar & Grill, focusing on all things grilled and pizza with “lots of taste” being the buzzword.
 

2015 - Titus Tapas replaces Akvarell

On June 24 Titus Tapas replaces Restaurang Akvarell. Classic ”fine dining” has lost a bit of its former appeal, and tapas with a creative crossover attitude is the new buzzword – or ”fun dining”, as we say in Tylösand.
 

2016 - The Spa rethinks its own concept

Having received several international prizes as well as being named Sweden’s leading spa resort, The Spa somewhat daringly decides to rethink the winning formula completely.
 
With teaser messages like ”Always change a winning concept” and ”Don’t go against the stream, run”, the hotel’s guests have been made aware that something’s up. When the Spa reopens in August, the traditional spa culture’s peace and pale colours has been replaced by strong emotional triggers like music, film, flavours, light and a broad spectrum of colours.
 
Music is now a major part of the concept ”sound therapy”, with special playlists during treatments or the possibility to enjoy one’s favourite music during the visit. Other new ideas include the watching a movie in the pool, the Mixology Bar and the Spa Lab.  

2018 - Solgården is weather-proof

When the Summer launch party kicks off, guests are invited to the completely rebuilt Solgården with new terraces both on the ground and in the building, new lighting, two new bars, a new wooden deck, glazing, windshields, and a textile roof for protection when it rains.
 

The future - Hotel Tylösand builds a new front

A hundred years of almost constant expansion continues when Hotel Tylösand gets a whole new front façade. A new annexe by the current entrance will add 40 hotel rooms and a new conference room as well as an exhibition space.

Fredblad Arkitekter in Halmstad gets the commission with a winning five-story building that is linked to the present entrance.

Which takes us to a future that begins now. But it wouldn’t have been possible if not a couple of fearless innovators more than a decade ago had ventured to a piece of worthless land by the sea to see if anything fun could be done there. It could.