In Stockholm I stayed in the oldest department store in Sweden, the PUB opened in 1882 and named after its founder, Paul Urbanus Bergstrom. The lower ground and a few floors of the building are still operating as a department store, however the rest of it, particularly the top floors, they have been converted into a four-star design hotel run by Rica Hotels, a Norwegian hotel group.
I chose this hotel because its right in the smack of Stockholm, on Hotorget (Hay Market Square) corners Kungsgatan and Drotninggatan, both very busy and famous shopping streets. My rule of thumb when travelling alone: When there are a lot of people around especially at night, I feel safe. The hotel has very nice reviews and the rooms looked cool so that made it an easy go. It is a design hotel housed in the oldest department store building in the country occupying one block. On my first day in the city, I of course shopped, and well, I didn’t have to go that far.
The PUB department store showcases high-end designer brands. It’s like Bijenkorf in the Netherlands, Rustans in the Philippines, Selfridges and Harrods in London, Saks and Neiman Marcus in the USA and Galeries Lafayette in France, but on a smaller scale.
I found a really chic designer clothing line from a local designer called Dagmar or ‘House of Dagmar’. I also bought stuff from Filippa K, also a Swedish designer (didn’t know!) and ‘Tiger of Sweden’.
Quite honestly, I love Swedish design. Simple, elegant and classic. Just so my style. I can come back here in Stockholm just to shop.
More fotos of the PUB department store and Rica Hotel here:
Travel Period: August 2011
Destination: Stockholm, Sweden
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