§ 01 · A resort in development · Sognefjord, Norway
A Casino Hotel in Norway, Planned on an Island of Old Law
Tingholm is a five-star island resort now in development at the mouth of the Sognefjord. The estate is being designed around an old assembly place on the headland; the opening date is to be announced.
Artist's impressions. Layouts, areas and finishes may change during construction.
What casino resorts today can learn from a place built for talking
Tingholm is planned as a casino hotel in Norway of an unusual kind: a low estate of stone and dark timber on a small island where the Sognefjord opens towards the sea. The name joins two old Norse words — ting, the assembly where law was spoken aloud, and holm, a small island.1 On the headland a circle of old stones still stands in the heather, and the whole estate is being drawn around it.
A five-star hotel in Norway could easily have been drawn as a tower of glass; this one is designed to stay low. Weather on this coast arrives from the west in long, wet bands, and the plan answers it the way the farms along the fjord always have: thick granite walls, slate roofs, deep window reveals and courtyards that keep the wind off. Nothing is planned to rise above the ridge line, so from the water the estate should read as part of the island rather than something set down on it.
Everything turns towards the headland. The guest wings, the dining rooms and the baths are arranged as a loose ring, with the round hall and the stone circle at the point where the island narrows. It is the same idea that shaped the old assemblies: people talk better when nobody sits at the head of the table. For now the estate exists as drawings, models and planning documents; none of it has been built yet.2
Project figures. Subject to change during design and construction.
- 58
- rooms, suites & houses
- 3
- restaurants & bars
- 1 400 m²
- baths
- 9
- rooms for meetings
A circle of stones, and a hall built to face it
For centuries, law in Norway was not written down first; it was spoken. Free people met in the open air at the ting, and a lawspeaker recited the rules from memory so that everyone present heard them the same way. Many of those meeting places were marked by stones set in a ring. On the headland of the island, one such circle survives in the heather, weathered grey and without inscription.3 The estate is being built beside it, not on it. The round hall planned a short walk inland repeats its geometry: timber benches in a circle, an open centre and a conical roof that lets light in from above. It is intended for conversation, lectures and small ceremonies — a room in which every seat faces every other.
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Built beside, not on top
The headland is planned to stay as it is. Buildings are set back from the stones, and the footpath is designed to lead around the circle rather than through it.
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A room without a head of the table
The round hall is planned for talks, lectures, readings and ceremonies. With benches in a ring and an empty centre, nobody presides and nobody sits at the back.
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Open to guests, quietly
Guests will be welcome in the hall and on the headland path during quiet hours, in small groups, so that the place keeps the stillness that makes it worth visiting.
Artist's impressions. Layouts, areas and finishes may change during construction.
A wing planned for quiet conversations
The Summit Wing is planned as a separate part of the estate for arbitrations, closed board meetings, industry round tables and working groups that need a few undisturbed days away from their offices. It is designed with its own covered arrival, its own entrance and a separate lift, so that participants can come and go without crossing the hotel lobby. A document room is planned beside the meeting rooms, with a table for working through papers.
Norway has a long reputation as a calm place to talk things through. The wing is designed with that in mind — and with the practical details that make a long meeting easier to run: daylight, thick walls, good chairs, coffee that arrives without anyone having to ask.
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Planned
A separate arrival
A covered drive and an entrance of its own are planned for the wing, so that participants can arrive and leave without passing through the lobby.
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Planned
Rooms designed to be quiet
Double doors, heavy felt on the walls and planned soundproofing between rooms are intended to keep one conversation from reaching the next.
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Planned
No cameras in the meeting rooms
Cameras are planned for corridors and the perimeter only. No cameras are planned in the meeting rooms themselves.
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Planned
A document room
Lockable cabinets, a large table for working with papers and a shredder are planned in a room next to the meeting rooms.
| Room | Planned seating | Arrangement |
|---|---|---|
| Round room | 10 | One round oak table |
| Working room | 16 | Long table, room for papers |
| Two small rooms | 6 each | For side conversations and breaks |
These are design intentions for a building that does not exist yet. Nothing here is a guarantee of confidentiality, and Tingholm is not a law firm and provides no legal services.
Planned chambers, suites and houses
Six kinds of luxury accommodation are planned, from a small writing room for one to a residence on its own islet. Each is described below as it is currently drawn; areas and layouts may change as the design develops.
The smallest of the planned chambers, and perhaps the most particular. The Scribe Room is designed around a writing desk set into the reveal of a tall, narrow window, with a lamp, good paper and a view down the fjord. The bed stands against a wall panelled in oiled oak; the bathroom is lined in grey stone, with a deep basin and a walk-in shower. A window seat with a wool throw is planned for reading in bad weather, of which the coast has plenty. It is meant for a guest travelling alone, or for a couple who would rather spend their days outdoors and their evenings quietly.
- Writing desk in the window reveal
- Grey stone and oak bathroom with walk-in shower
- Window seat with wool throw
The Counsel Room is arranged for the hour between dinner and sleep. Two deep armchairs face a wide window onto the fjord, with a low oak table between them for a book, a glass or a map of tomorrow's walk. The bed sits further back, out of the light, and a chest of drawers with a mirror stands against the panelled wall. The shower is planned in dark slate, with a bench and a heated floor for coming in from the rain. It is the room most couples are expected to choose: large enough to spend a wet afternoon in, and quiet enough to hear the water.
- Two armchairs facing the fjord
- Slate shower with bench and heated floor
- Chest of drawers and mirror in oiled oak
Named after the official who recited the law at the assembly, the Lawspeaker Suite takes a corner of the west wing, with windows on two sides and a ceiling open to the roof beams. The bed is planned beneath the highest part of the roof; a sofa bed allows a third guest. The bathroom has a freestanding bath set in front of a window onto the fjord, and a small balcony hangs directly over the water, wide enough for two chairs and a blanket. Suites with fjord views on two sides are rare on the estate; this is the one drawn with the widest outlook.
- Corner position, windows on two sides
- Freestanding bath facing the fjord
- Balcony over the water
The Charter Suite is planned for guests who come to the island to work as well as to rest. Its study has an oak desk, shelves, a reading chair and an open fireplace, and it closes off from the bedroom with a heavy door. The study is intended for work — reading, writing, calls — rather than for receiving outside visitors; meetings are planned to take place in the Summit Wing. Beyond it are a bedroom with a view along the shore and a bathroom in stone and oak with both a bath and a shower. A daybed in the study can take a third guest.
- Private study with oak desk and open fireplace
- Separate bedroom with shoreline view
- Bathroom with bath and shower
A little apart from the main estate, the Seal House is planned as a stone cottage of its own at the water's edge, under a slate roof. Inside, a living room with a wood-burning stove opens onto a private terrace and a small jetty; two bedrooms sit at the back, away from the wind. A wood-fired sauna is planned in an outbuilding a few steps from the fjord, so the cold plunge is the fjord itself. For families or two couples travelling together, it is the closest the estate comes to a boutique luxury stay in a house of your own, with the restaurant and baths a short walk away.
- Living room with wood-burning stove
- Private terrace and jetty
- Wood-fired sauna by the water
The Island Residence is planned on a separate islet just off the main island: a group of low stone and timber buildings arranged around a sheltered yard. The largest holds a great room with a hearth and a dining table for six; three bedrooms are spread across the smaller buildings, so that each has its own door to the outside. A boathouse and jetty are planned at the water, and the residence is expected to be reached by boat from the main landing — arrangements to be announced. It is drawn for a family or a small group who want the estate close at hand, but not around them.
- Private islet with several buildings
- Great room and dining table for six
- Boathouse and jetty
A kitchen to stand beside the top casino resorts in Scandinavia
That is the ambition, not a claim: the restaurant has not cooked a single meal yet. What is planned is a long, candlelit dining hall of oak and grey stone, with tall windows onto the water and tables long enough to share. The cooking is meant to follow the coast and the season — fish landed along the fjord, lamb from the hill farms inland, berries, grains and dairy from neighbouring valleys — with a short menu that changes as the weather does.
Breakfast is planned to be served in the same hall, slowly, as it should be at a fjord hotel: bread baked on the island, and the view doing most of the work.
The bar
A dark oak room with a pewter counter, planned for the hour before dinner and the long evenings after it. The list is intended to lean on Norwegian aquavit, cider from the orchards along the fjord and a small, careful selection of wine, with alcohol-free drinks treated as seriously as the rest.
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From the fjord
Trout, dill, cucumber
Cold, clean water makes for firm fish. A dish of this kind shows the direction: fjord trout, lightly cured, with dill and cucumber.
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From the mountains
Lamb, roots, dark sauce
Lamb that has grazed the summer hills, slow-cooked, with roots from the valley and a sauce reduced for most of a day.
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From neighbouring farms
Bilberries, cream, oats
Wild bilberries, cultured cream and toasted oats — the simplest dessert on the coast, done carefully.
The cellar
Beneath the dining hall a vaulted stone cellar is planned for ageing cheese, keeping wine and curing fish, as cellars on the coast always have. It is also drawn as a small room of its own: a single table by lantern light for tastings and long, unhurried dinners for a handful of guests.
The entertainment and gaming lounge
Subject to licensing
Norway does not currently license land-based casinos; gambling in the country is limited to operators holding exclusive rights. Tingholm's gaming lounge is therefore planned on one condition: it will open only if the necessary permission is granted. If it is, the aim is a hotel casino of a particular kind — small, quiet and well run, closer in spirit to a private club than to a gaming floor, and the part of a top casino resort that guests remember for its calm rather than its noise.
If permission is not granted, the rooms are designed to work as a lounge for cards, conversation and music, without gaming of any kind.
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Poker Room
A single room of felt tables under low lamps, planned for organised games at a measured pace.
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Roulette
A table game in the classic form, planned for a quiet corner of the lounge rather than its centre.
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Gaming Salon
A small number of machines set into oak niches, with soft light and no flashing signs.
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Private Salon
One table, a fireplace and leather armchairs, planned for small private games by arrangement.
The gaming lounge is planned as a separate part of the estate with its own entrance, and it is kept apart from the Summit Wing.
House rules, as planned
- Entry for adults aged 18 and over only.
- Valid photo identification will be checked at the door.
- Smart dress; the details will be published before opening.
Responsible gaming
Gaming should stay a pastime. If the lounge opens, it will follow Norwegian rules on responsible gambling, and staff will be trained to notice when play stops being fun. Free, confidential help is available now from Hjelpelinjen on 800 800 40.
Water, stone and a great deal of silence
The baths are planned beneath the east wing, cut partly into the rock: a sequence of vaulted stone rooms with light falling from above and one long window onto the fjord. They are designed for slow circuits rather than treatments on a schedule, and for the kind of quiet in which you can hear water moving in the next room.
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The pool
A long indoor pool under stone vaults, lit from openings in the roof. Warm enough to stay in, long enough to swim properly.
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The sauna
A timber sauna with a single wide window at bench height, so that the fjord is the only thing to look at. A second, smaller sauna is planned by the water.
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The cold bath
A deep stone plunge fed with cold water, with broad steps for going in slowly. For the braver, the fjord is a few steps outside.
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The rest room
Daybeds, wool blankets and narrow windows onto the water. No screens and no music, only the sound of rain on the roof when there is rain.
The rhythm
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Heat
Ten or fifteen minutes in the sauna, until the warmth reaches the bones.
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Cold
A short plunge in the cold bath or the fjord, long enough to take a breath.
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Rest
Wrapped in wool by a window, for as long as it takes. Then again, if you like.
The baths are planned at around 1 400 m², shared between the pool, two saunas, the cold bath, rest rooms and a small number of treatment rooms — enough for Tingholm to stand as a spa resort in Norway in its own right, not only as a hotel with a pool. Parts of each day are planned as quiet hours, when the baths are kept for adults and conversation is kept to a murmur. The layout is at an early stage and may change as the design develops.
Gatherings under oak trusses
The largest room on the estate is planned as a hall of oak trusses and tall windows, long enough for a banquet and bare enough to become a conference room, a concert hall or a dance floor. Beside it, a panelled salon with a fireplace is designed for receptions and smaller dinners, and the round hall on the headland can host lectures and ceremonies in a circle.
Together they are intended to make Tingholm a meeting and conference venue in Norway on the scale of a country house: large enough for a company gathering or a wedding, small enough that a group can take over the whole estate.
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Receptions
The Salon
Panelled walls, a fireplace and round tables — planned for receptions, anniversary dinners and the evening after a long day of meetings.
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Ceremonies
On the headland
Small ceremonies are planned in the open air on the headland, for a limited number of guests and only when the weather allows. The stone circle is not used as a backdrop, and guests do not enter it.
| Room | Theatre | Banquet | Boardroom | Reception |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Hall | 280 | 180 | Not applicable | 320 |
| The Salon | 120 | 90 | 30 | 140 |
| The Ting hall | 90 | Not applicable | Not applicable | 110 |
Early questions about gatherings are welcome. We cannot confirm dates or offer terms yet, but we are glad to hear what you have in mind.
[email protected]The charter
This is not a legal document. It is a list of how the estate intends to work; the final house rules will be published before opening.
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Quiet is the default
Rooms, corridors and shared spaces are designed for low voices. Music is kept to the rooms meant for it.
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The headland stays public
The path and the headland are intended to remain open to walkers, guests or not, in keeping with Norway's right to roam. The stone circle will never be closed off for private use.
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No photography of other guests
Guests will be asked not to photograph other guests, and staff will not photograph anyone without asking first.
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Meetings are the guests' business
Staff will not comment on who is staying or who has met whom, and guests' names will not appear in the estate's publicity without their consent.
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Hiring from the region first
Jobs are intended to go first to people from the fjord communities, with training for those who are new to hospitality.
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The gaming lounge stays separate, and 18+
If it is licensed at all, the lounge will have its own entrance, stay apart from the Summit Wing and the baths, and admit adults aged 18 and over only.
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What we cannot promise yet
The opening date, a licence for the gaming lounge, and the final areas and layouts of the estate. Each will be confirmed only when it is certain.
This charter is a statement of intent, not a contract, and not legal advice.
From the project archive
Studies made during the design of the estate, filed as a working archive: the buildings, the rooms, the details and the landscape around them.
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Exterior · Nº 01 The estate from the water at dawn -
Interiors · Nº 02 Oak and stone stair -
Chambers · Nº 03 Linen, wool and a window -
Details · Nº 04 Pewter candlestick and wool -
Region · Nº 05 The Sognefjord between steep slopes -
Exterior · Nº 06 Jetty and boathouse -
Details · Nº 07 Rain on the glass -
Interiors · Nº 08 Library corner -
Region · Nº 09 Heather and old stone field
Artist's impressions. Layouts, areas and finishes may change during construction.
A fjord coast worth the journey
Vestland is a coast of deep fjords, steep farms and small harbours, where the weather changes by the hour and the light with it. Tingholm is planned as a western Norway resort in the full sense: a base for exploring the coast slowly, on foot and on the water.
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The fjord
The Sognefjord runs far inland between walls of rock. Its side arms are narrower still, and quieter.
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Stave churches
Medieval timber churches still stand in the valleys of the region, dark with tar and centuries of weather.
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Walking
Paths climb from the shore to old summer farms and viewpoints. Some take an hour, some take the whole day.
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On the water
On still mornings the fjord is best seen from a kayak or a small boat, close to the cliffs and the waterfalls.
- Vestland coast
- Sognefjord
- Bergen
- Project area — exact location to be announced
Getting here
The estate is planned on the Vestland coast, on an island at the mouth of the Sognefjord. The largest airport in the region is Bergen (Flesland), with flights from across Norway and Europe.
From Bergen, the journey north is expected to continue by road and local ferry, as most journeys along this coast do; the last few miles to an island hotel in Norway are usually over water. Distances, transfers and the estate's own landing for boats are to be announced as the project develops.
Frequently asked questions
Short, plain answers about the project as it stands. For anything else, write to [email protected].
Not at the moment. Norway does not currently license land-based casinos, and gambling is limited to operators with exclusive rights: Norsk Tipping, which is state-owned, and Norsk Rikstoto, a foundation with exclusive rights to horse-race betting. Tingholm is a project in development, and its gaming lounge is planned subject to licensing — it will open only if permission is granted.
No. Nothing has been built yet, and reservations are not open. You can join the interest list, and we will write when there is real news: plans, dates and how reservations will work. You can leave the list at any time by writing to [email protected].
Scale and setting, mainly. Tingholm is planned as a low stone estate on a fjord island rather than a tower, built around an old assembly place with a round hall on the headland. It adds a separate wing designed for quiet meetings and a large bathhouse of stone and water, with the gaming lounge kept small and apart.
A gaming lounge is planned, but only if the necessary permission is granted under Norwegian law, which does not currently allow land-based casinos. Either way, Tingholm is meant to be a hotel with a casino rather than a casino with rooms attached: the rooms, the food, the baths and the landscape come first, and the lounge is designed to work without gaming if it must.
No. Tingholm is a hospitality project. It is not a law firm and provides no legal services or legal advice, whatever the website address may suggest. If you need legal help in Norway, the Norwegian Bar Association (Advokatforeningen) or a local lawyer is the right place to start. Please do not send us details of legal matters.
It is a planned wing for arbitrations, board meetings and working groups, with its own arrival, entrance and lift, meeting rooms with planned soundproofing, and a document room. No cameras are planned in the meeting rooms. These are design intentions for a building that does not exist yet, not a promise or a guarantee of confidentiality.
The opening date is to be announced. The project is still in design and planning, and a date will be published only once it can be given with confidence. Members of the interest list will hear first, by email, together with details of how reservations will work.
On an island at the mouth of the Sognefjord, in Vestland, western Norway. The exact location is to be announced later in the project. The largest airport in the region is Bergen (Flesland); the onward journey is expected to be by road and local ferry, with details to be announced.
They are very different kinds of places. Large destination resorts are built around scale and choice: many rooms, many restaurants, a great deal happening at once. Tingholm is planned the other way round — a small number of rooms on a fjord island, long walks and quiet evenings, with gaming as one modest part of the stay. Editorial comparison only; no connection.
§ 14 · Interest list
Be first in line to book a casino hotel stay
Reservations are not open yet.
Join the interest list