Dalen Hotel was opened in 1894 in a grand and romantic Swiss style with dragon heads, towers, spires, balconies and cornices. The hotel is described by the National Heritage Board as the best preserved of all the old Swiss hotels in Norway. The hotel's beautiful gardens face Lake Bandak, with the steep mountainsides plunging into the deep Lake Bandak. This stunning and unique landscape creates a dramatic and majestic setting for Dalen Hotel's garden.
The garden has been planted with plants and trees for 130 years, and the garden landscape is a very important part of the historic hotel. A rare maple tree, a yellow spotted maple (Acer psedoplatanus cultivar Variegatum), was planted at the inauguration of Dalen Hotel on September 8, 1894 and still adorns the garden.
Dalen has a flora that you don't see anywhere else in Norway. The climate here in the spring and summer even makes it possible for the hotel to grow grapes. The garden contains a large collection of very rare trees and shrubs, carefully numbered and described. A separate map is available for guests at reception.
