SOEDER Countryhouse & Kitchen– a table in the countryside
By Thea Johansen | Photos: SOEDER Countryhouse & Kitchen
Tucked away on the Bjäre Peninsula in southern Sweden, SOEDER Countryhouse & Kitchen offers a retreat shaped by good food and wine, thoughtful hospitality, and the rhythm of the countryside. With only a few rooms and a shared dinner table, the boutique hotel invites guests to slow down and settle into a different pace of life.
The story of SOEDER begins with a shared dream. Owners Michael and Marianne Bittel, a couple who met while working in the wine industry, spent years travelling and discovering inspiring hospitality concepts along the way. However, it was the smaller places that stayed with them long after the journey ended.
When the opportunity came to create something of their own, the vision was clear: a small, intimate getaway, centred around food, wine and personal hospitality – and this is exactly what they have created.
Marianne & Michael Bittel. Photo: Dennis Camitz
Farmhouse character
The property housing SOEDER dates back more than a century and was originally built as a farmhouse. Over the years, it evolved into a private country home, before the Bittel couple carefully transformed it into the boutique hotel it is today.
Rather than dramatically redesigning the house, they chose to preserve its character and atmosphere, allowing the building’s history to remain visible while adding carefully selected details. “We tried to respect the house,” Michael explains. Many of the interior details are carefully chosen objects connected to the Bjäre Peninsula and the couple’s travels, from historical prints and photographs to pieces that reflect the local culture and landscape.
An intimate countryside escape
With only four guest rooms, SOEDER is intimate. The scale allows the hosts to create the kind of stay they value themselves: personal, unhurried and centred on genuine connection. Michael describes meeting and interacting with guests as “both inspiring and enriching.”
The house sits quietly in the landscape of the Bjäre Peninsula, “surrounded by golden fields,” as Michael describes it. Here, the countryside stretches gently toward the Kattegat coast, offering a peaceful contrast to the lively seaside town of Båstad just a short drive away. Guests often set out by bicycle provided by the hotel to explore the area’s small villages, farm shops and galleries, following winding country roads through open farmland. The sea is close by, and many visitors take the opportunity to bathe in the ocean or walk along the shoreline.
Back at the house, the pace naturally slows. The garden extends across more than an acre of land, with quiet corners where guests linger with a book or a glass of wine. There is also a wood-fired sauna and an outdoor bathtub available for rent, offering a warm, simple ritual after a day outdoors. As Michael says: “SOEDER is a place for calm and peace.”
Around the table
At SOEDER, the evenings are spent gathered around the table. Food and wine are at the heart of the experience, shaped by the many years that the Bittels spent working in the wine industry and travelling through Europe’s culinary regions. “We have a passion for what’s behind a good bottle of wine,” Michael says.
The menu changes every night, guided by what the owners source from nearby farms and local markets that day, and the honey served at the table comes from beehives on the property. The philosophy is honest: “Keep the dishes simple and let the ingredients speak for themselves,” Michael explains.
The name SOEDER, meaning south, reflects more than the hotel’s location. It also nods to southern Europe, where meals are meant to be shared and enjoyed slowly. Each evening, guests take their seats around a single communal table, often as strangers but rarely leaving that way. Conversation unfolds as carefully chosen wines are poured and plates begin to arrive.
Much of the food is served tapas-style, encouraging guests to share flavours together. As the evening continues, dinner becomes more than a meal. Stories are exchanged, glasses refilled, and the table settles into the warm rhythm of a slow evening. “It’s almost like meeting up with friends and family,” Michael says.
A place to return to
Looking ahead, the Bittels have no plans to expand SOEDER. Its small scale is part of what makes the place special. “The moment we expand the number of guests, we lose the sense of intimacy,” Michael says. This is what the couple believes makes a difference.
Instead, the focus remains on refining what already exists: a house where guests feel genuinely welcome and where each stay carries its own small moments. “Our ambition is that everybody has at least one unique experience,” he says. It might be a long dinner that stretches late into the evening, a quiet glass of wine in the garden, or a conversation shared across the table with people who were strangers only hours before.
Web: www.soedercountryhouse.com
Facebook: soedercountryhouse
Instagram: @soedercountryhouse
SHARE
Requests to commercially license our content for republishing are now being processed through PLSclear. Please visit www.plsclear.com to complete your permission request. You can search PLSclear by title, ISBN/ISSN, author, or keyword.
Subscribe to Our Newsletter
Receive our monthly newsletter by email
