The history of Sola Strand Hotel goes back to 1914, right before the outbreak of the First World War. In that year the construction of the hotel was started by restaurateur R. Christoffersen of the Sandnes Steamboat Company. Upon completion of the building it was used as an inn and advertised as follows:
“Solastranden’s North Sea baths in Stavanger offer the honoured public a health-promoting destination. Lovely beach for swimming. Highly saline water with the whole of the North Sea beyond the shore. Safe sandy beach, no steep drop. Wonderful seaside climate. Charming walks. The hotel has bright and airy rooms. Dining room seating 100 guests. Excellent sanitary facilities. Opportunities for sea fishing. Excellent kitchen. Trunk calling. Car Stavanger – Sola”.
Despite the elegant description, business was rather slow in the first ten to twelve years and in 1927 the hotel was sold to Ellen and Axel Lund. Following renovation at the hands of the couple, the hotel re-opened as Sola Strandhytte in 1928.
In 1930 the Montroyal cruise ship was broken up at the Stavanger ship breakers’ yard after having sailed the Atlantic between England and Canada for 24 years. Axel Lund had a keen interest in ships and ship interiors and purchased the entire smokers lounge from the Montroyal which was then re-created, exactly as it had been on the ship, as an extension to Sola Strandhytte. At the same time, the hotel was re-named Sola Strand Hotel.
When the old warship Kong Sverre was broken up in 1932, Axel Lund purchased materials from the ship and used these to construct a new dining room at the hotel – Sverresalen. The new dining room, together with a swimming pool and a new guest wing, was ready in time for the inauguration of Stavanger airport in 1937.
When the Second World War erupted in 1939 the hotel was used as lodgings for Norwegian Air Force officers. On 9 April 1944 German forces occupied the hotel and used it as lodgings until the end of the war in 1945. It was then used by allied troops until the end of 1946. When Ellen and Axel Lund took over the hotel again after the war nothing remained of the original fittings and fixtures, and all of the buildings were in desperate need of renovation and repair. The hotel re-opened in the spring of 1947.
Ellen & Axel Lund’s Foundation was established on 10 January 1950 and it was decided that Sola Strand Hotel should pass into the care of the foundation. The objectives of the foundation state that the hotel shall be run as a first-class tourist hotel, and that any profit should be used for training professionals in the hospitality and catering trade. The Norwegian School of Hotel Management therefore moved to Sola from Oslo in 1952 and took over the running of the hotel until 1967 when the board of the foundation ceased hotel operations due to poor financial results. The Norwegian School of Hotel Management thereafter used the complex until 1977, although solely as boarding accommodation during the last three years. The foundation then decided to re-start the hotel business and the buildings were gradually made fit for welcoming guests.
Today’s Sola Strand Hotel guests are greeted in the foyer by Mathilde Christiane – the figurehead of a Swedish bark of the same name that was shipwrecked on Jæren in 1822. She now welcomes all guests to a safe harbour.
The walls of the foyer are hung with paintings of the famous Jæren beaches by artist Ole Nesvik who is also represented with eight works at the National Gallery in Oslo and with one painting in the Norwegian parliament.