Dalen Hotel

Dalen Hotel sits in the village of Dalen in Telemark, where the valley opens towards Lake Bandak. Travellers have found their way here for about 130 years.

The hotel has 49 rooms and suites, including a Tower Suite in the Dragon Tower, and a restaurant called Bandak. Guests can choose to arrive by boat through the Telemark Canal, and the hotel's gardens and historic salons give you more than one setting. It suits couples who like a wedding with a sense of place, with mountains, water and old timber all within reach, rather than a modern resort.

The ceremony can be held at Eidsborg Stave Church, a short drive away and described by the hotel as one of Norway's best preserved stave churches and surrounded by mountain landscapes, or in the hotel garden or one of the historic salons. Dinner and the celebration happen in Restaurant Bandak and the historic salons, which look out over Lake Bandak. The venue tells us it can host up to 120 guests. Ask the team about the music curfew and how the day runs from church to dinner. Family and friends can stay in the hotel, and everyone gathers again over breakfast the next morning.

Family and friends can stay in the hotel's 49 historic-style rooms and suites. Options range from the Tower Suite and the St Olaf Suite with a balcony to deluxe doubles and smaller historic rooms, so ask the team which to give your parents and which to keep for the couple. For a bigger guest list, ask about nearby places to stay. The Telemark Canal is the headline activity, with canal journeys and day trips by the water. Breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea are served, so a relaxed day after is easy to plan. Ask the team about getting to Dalen from Oslo, since the distance is not published on the pages we checked.