Basecamp Hotel
Vei 224, Longyearbyen, Svalbard
Location
In central Longyearbyen
The hotel sits in the heart of Longyearbyen, a short walk from the town's amenities and restaurants, with views toward the Longyeardalen mountains, in the world's northernmost town at seventy-eight degrees north. Longyearbyen is the main settlement of the Svalbard archipelago, a former coal-mining town that is now the base for almost every Arctic expedition on the islands.
Transfer
In the world's northernmost town
Around fifteen minutes from Svalbard Airport, with the airport bus outside; central to everything in Longyearbyen, with flights via Oslo or Tromso.
Villas
Sixteen rooms, no two alike
Sixteen individually decorated rooms, finished in driftwood, sealskin, slate, timber and leather, with comfortable beds, private bathrooms with showers and deliberately no televisions; doubles, triples, a couple's suite with a loft and a family room. With just sixteen rooms it feels more like a friend's lodge than a hotel, the staff full of local knowledge and happy to help plan the days out on the ice.
Best For
Who it suits
Travellers who want authentic Arctic character and an unplugged, adventure-led base in central Longyearbyen, with the town's best restaurants next door and the wilderness at the edge of town. For travellers who want character over chain comfort and the wilderness on the doorstep, there is nothing quite like it in the world's northernmost town.
Board Basis
Bed and breakfast
A generous breakfast is included; a cosy lounge-pub and the glass-roofed Cognac Attic on site, with Longyearbyen's best restaurants next door.
Overview
A trapper's lodge in the heart of Longyearbyen
Basecamp Hotel is the closest thing to your own Arctic hunting lodge: a characterful trapper's-style boutique in central Longyearbyen, lined with driftwood, sealskin, slate and trapping artefacts. Its sixteen rooms are individually decorated and no two are alike, deliberately TV-free for an unplugged stay, with comfortable beds and private bathrooms. The setting is the heart of the world's northernmost town: Longyearbyen sits at seventy-eight degrees north on Spitsbergen, ringed by glaciers and the Longyeardalen mountains, a place of polar bears, the polar night and the midnight sun, with the Svalbard Museum, the town's restaurants and the wilderness all close. A cosy lounge-pub anchors the ground floor and the glass-roofed Cognac Attic opens to the northern lights or the midnight sun; breakfast is generous and the town's best restaurants are next door. Run by Basecamp Explorer, it is the launch point for dog-sledding, snowmobiling and remote-wilderness basecamps. Authentic, rustic-chic and adventure-led.
Accommodation
Sixteen individually decorated rooms
Sixteen individually decorated rooms are finished in driftwood, sealskin, slate, timber and leather, no two alike, with comfortable beds, private bathrooms and deliberately no televisions for an unplugged stay. From doubles and triples to a couple's suite with a loft and a family room, they make a characterful trapper's-style base in the heart of Longyearbyen, the trapping artefacts and the Arctic light setting the tone.
Entry
Double Room
Sleeps two. A trapper-style room with a private bathroom, comfortable beds and deliberately no television, with a town or mountain view.
Private bathroomDeliberately TV-free
Group
Triple Room
Sleeps three. A trapper-style room with bunks and a private bathroom.
Trapper-style bunksPrivate bathroom
Suite
Couple's Suite
Sleeps two, plus a loft. A bedroom with a loft, a lounge and a private bathroom.
LoftLounge
Family
Family Room
Sleeps four. Two twin bedrooms with a large living room and a private bathroom.
Two bedroomsLarge living room
Food & Drink
Dining
A generous breakfast anchors the day, joined by a cosy lounge-pub and the glass-roofed Cognac Attic for a nightcap under the aurora or the midnight sun, with Longyearbyen's best restaurants next door. It is a warm, sociable base after a day in the cold, the Cognac Attic among the most characterful nooks in town. In a town with more polar bears than people, the Cognac Attic and the lounge-pub are where guests swap stories of the day's dog-sledding or snowmobiling before heading back out.
Breakfast
Included breakfast
Included breakfast, a generous spread to start the Arctic day.
Lounge
The lounge-pub
The lounge-pub, a cosy gathering point after the cold.
Attic
Cognac Attic
Cognac Attic, a glass-roofed nook for the aurora and a nightcap.
Activities & Experiences
Signature Experiences
Dog-sledding, snowmobiling and remote basecamps define a stay — take a dog sled across the Svalbard snow, ride a snowmobile into the wilderness, and head out to Basecamp Explorer's remote-wilderness basecamps. Glacier and ice-cave trips from Longyearbyen, and aurora-watching from the glass-roofed Cognac Attic, round out an authentic, adventure-led stay in the world's northernmost town. Svalbard sits at seventy-eight degrees north, closer to the North Pole than to mainland Norway, and a rifle and a guide are required beyond the settlement for polar-bear safety.
Dog-sledding
Dog-sledding, across the Svalbard snow.
Snowmobile safaris
Snowmobile safaris, into the wilderness.
Remote basecamps
Remote basecamps, run by Basecamp Explorer.
The Cognac Attic
The Cognac Attic, aurora-watching under glass.
Glacier and ice-cave trips
Glacier and ice-cave trips, from Longyearbyen.
Getting There
Location & transfers
By air
To Svalbard Airport
To Svalbard Airport, around fifteen minutes with the airport bus outside.
In town
Central Longyearbyen
Central Longyearbyen, a short walk from the town's amenities and restaurants.
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Good to Know
Good to know
Bed and breakfast
- Bed-and-breakfast, generous breakfast; restaurants next door.
Unplugged
- Unplugged, rooms are deliberately TV-free.
Character, not chain
- Character, not chain, a trapper's-style boutique by Basecamp Explorer.
Getting there
- Around fifteen minutes from the airport.
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Dates & party
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Adults
2
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Budget & accommodation
Budget per person (flights + hotel)
£4,500
£500£50,000+
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Flights
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