every single party –
every single party – which then, as now, rent out the whole property, whether it is two people staying or, as recently, a 20-person family. (The pair agree that 12 people is about the ideal size, based on suites available across the five buildings.) Because Sørli and Brakstad have been in the area for so long, they are deeply integrated into the community. The farm is a place of pride in a microregion that is otherwise not often visited, even Our highest aim is for families and groups to connect with each other – Steinar Sørli by fellow Norwegians. They have hired many locals during the renovation process and continue to host an annual community celebration where everyone from many kilometres around comes for a daylong fête. Activities for guests at Åmot are, like the place itself, deceptively simple. One day you might walk down the road to a neighbouring farm, where resident Øystein Furnes will show you his grass-fed cows (you might eat his steaks later that evening). You might also meet his wife’s charming Icelandic horses and sample his mother’s excellent jam, which is also served at Åmot. And while you’re stopping by this idyllic showcase of rural Norwegian life, you’ll also find out that Furnes is the head of emergency medicine at the nearby hospital and coordinated the region’s Covid response, about which he also speaks freely and easily. There is an ease to speaking with not just Furnes, but all the locals Sørli has curated these experiences with. They are candid and curious and – to the jaded urban eyes of this Londoner – a bit naïve and wonderfully unselfconscious. It’s no surprise to learn that some Middle Eastern royals, dynastically wealthy Americans and a prominent family from east Asia have all had such good experiences here that they have recommended Åmot to their friends. “Our highest aim is for families and groups to connect with each other,” says Sørli. And what Åmot facilitates, for people with the right mindset, is a freedom of spirit to be able to appreciate nature, appreciate humanity and appreciate each other. S ørli recommends that guests stay three or four nights, which is enough to go with their friendly local guides, Sandra and Per Tore Hove, on a couple of hikes (one with llamas, one without), as well as to go out on the boat in the fjords with the Nistad family and stop by their private landing for sundowners and a spectacular view. Salmon fishing or glacier walking or a photo safari by helicopter could be on the cards. And you might also spend an afternoon paddling around the fjord from the slice of paradise called Fosseviken that Anders Pihl has crafted over 20 years, where his goats are friendly and where superyachts often dock to use his handcrafted barn as a lunch destination. During the pandemic, Sørli and Brakstad realised that their offerings might just have been a bit too authentic for global travellers, so they added a selection of modern design pieces across the property and, most significantly, partnered with Bare, Bergen’s first Michelin-starred restaurant, to ensure that there is a chef from the restaurant (and potentially a team of servers) for every night of a guest’s stay. When I am there, it is chef Morten Tungesvik, who co-founded Bare and can cater to your every culinary whim, day or night, in addition to being wonderfully engaging on topics that range from his time at kitchens in New York and London to his beloved mopeds and dogs (his knuckle tattoo reads “LOVES DOGS”). The farm has stopped short, for now, of adding a spa – and that feels right. The place practically exudes wellness, just as it does sustainability and philanthropy, all relatively new buzzwords in travel, but ones that have been part of the property’s story for 20 years. You feel younger, and better, after just 24 hours here. It’s a model of connecting with – rather than exploiting – a local community that estates and resorts around the globe could learn from. And it leads to the inevitable question: is more high-end hospitality going this way? Norway has already laid its claim to global prominence in recent years in chess (Magnus Carlsen), architecture (Snøhetta) and literature (Karl Ove Knausgård): might hospitality too be part of the rising tide of Norwegian worldbeaters? Not everyone will enjoy Åmot, or its approach. Certainly not. But if you’re open-minded and curious about something new, there might be nowhere better. amotnorway.com 48 CENTURION-MAGAZINE.COM
Clockwise from top left: a chef places the finishing touches on a dish; a handsomely resorted residence at Åmot; Øystein Ellingsen, owner of Michelinstarred Bare, which partners with Åmot; the new fireplace in the barn CENTURION-MAGAZINE.COM 49
