Kudhva
Trebarwith Strand, Cornwall · Sleeps 2–6
Radical architect-designed hideouts on stilts in a disused slate quarry above the Atlantic.
££
- Sea views
- Wild swimming
- Sauna
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Photographs by Manshausen, used with permission.
Manshausen
Steigen, Nordland, Northern Norway
Sea cabins cantilevered off a private island's stone quay in Steigen, north of the Arctic Circle.
Why we love it
A private island north of the Arctic Circle, reached by boat, with cabins built out over the water on the old stone quay of a nineteenth-century trading post. Three glass walls each, so the weather is the entertainment — and in Steigen the weather is genuinely entertaining.
Manshausen belongs to the explorer Børge Ousland, which explains the tone of the place: kayaks, diving, and mountains straight out of the sea rather than a spa menu. Northern lights in the dark months, and no night at all in June.
Best for: the Arctic, taken seriously
Worth knowing
- Closed from November through January — the hotel's own words are that these are the three stormiest winter months.
- A two-night minimum booking is required on weekends.
- Wi-fi reaches the Main House only, not the Sea Cabins.
The practicalities
- Check in
- from 15:00
- Check out
- by 11:00
- Phone signal
- Good
- Bring
- Woollen garments
- Windproof or water-resistant clothing, several sets
- Good footwear
- Included
- Breakfast
- Linen
- Towels
- The final clean
- Use of the two rowing boats
- Extras
- Lunch — 350 kr
- Light dinner — main course and dessert — 650 kr
- Three-course dinner — 950 kr
- Tasting menu — 1570 kr
- A single kayak, with paddle and life jacket — 750 NOK per day
- A sea-fishing rod with jig and three lures — 250 NOK per day
Getting there
- Nearest station
- Bodø
- Without a car
- Possible
Manshausen is an island. Most guests take the express boat from Bodø Sentrumsterminalen to Nordskot, about an hour and a half, and the hotel collects you from the quay; from Svolvær in Lofoten it is about two hours. Bodø is the last stop on the Nordlandsbanen, roughly eighteen hours from Oslo. By car it is a little over three hours from Bodø in good weather, and about three hours forty from Narvik. The hotel's own verdict on the bus is that it is not quite so simple: the Bodø–Narvik service stops at Tømmerneset, an hour by car from Nordskot, with very few connecting buses.
What is around it
Shops
- Nina's grocery shop, Nordskot — A small supermarket. The hotel says Nina is friendly, incredibly helpful and has most of the food you need.
Towns
- Nordskot — The express-boat quay; the hotel collects guests there.
- Bodø — About an hour and a half away on the express boat.
- Svolvær — About two hours on the express boat.
Days out
- Nordskot Brygge — A neighbouring business across the bay that rents boats, and the guest harbour the hotel recommends if its own pier is full.
Who runs it
Børge Ousland, with Maria and Darek as the resident hosts
The island's welcome is signed by the polar explorer Børge Ousland, who is often at Manshausen. Maria and Darek are the host couple who, the hotel says, keep the wheels turning and help with whatever you want; it describes them as genuine Manshausen enthusiasts who both love nature and care about the experiences, the interplay, the sustainability and the pleasures the island and Steigen can offer.
Where it is
Checked August 2026 · We re-verify prices and opening every quarter.
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