The Sheraton Stockholm is one of Stockholm's most iconic hotels - and after one of Scandinavia's most ambitious hotel renovations in many years, it is now also one of the city's most exciting. Mood Nordic was entrusted with shaping the sensory experience of the entire facility: tailor-made music programs for four different zones, one exclusive signature scent and amplified sound for events.
Sheraton Stockholm opened in 1971 as the first Sheraton in Europe and has for more than half a century served as a meeting place for heads of state, cultural figures and travelers from around the world. With 463 rooms - many with views of the City Hall, Old Town and Lake Mälaren - and as one of only three hotels in Stockholm with the capacity to receive VIP guests under stricter security requirements, this is a hotel with real weight in the city's history.
Now, after an investment of over SEK 400 million and a thorough renovation designed by the world-renowned ADC & Tuneu - the studio behind some of the world's most acclaimed Soho House properties - Sheraton Stockholm is reborn. The transformation introduced two bold new restaurant and bar concepts: Mr. Bronck Restobar & Grill, a New York-style dining experience based on the story of Jonas Bronck, the Swedish sailor who founded what would become The Bronx; and Sally's Cocktail Bar, a disco-inspired speakeasy inspired by the legendary Disco Sally bar that once made the original Sheraton New York famous. The renovation also expanded the hotel's conference facilities and introduced Juicy Jane's - a juice bar and entrance to the SLVK Townhouse wellness club. SLVK Townhouse is a new fitness and recovery concept in the eastern part of the hotel, open to both hotel guests and visitors to the city.
OUR CHALLENGE
At the center of the transformation is the General Manager Elin Roquet, whose vision extends far beyond architecture and interior design. As she told Vogue Scandinavia ahead of the relaunch:
”It's not the thread count, even though we love the thread count. It's walking into a place and feeling like it was made for you. It's the unexpected: a handwritten note, a perfectly curated playlist in the lobby, a scent you'll forever associate with that moment. A great hotel seduces you.”
It was precisely this philosophy that brought Sheraton Stockholm and Mood Nordic together.
The newly converted plant needed a coherent sensory identity - one that could honor each room's unique character and still hold together as a unified experience. Four separate zones each required a carefully crafted music program: Mr. Bronck Restaurant, Sally's Cocktail Bar, the conference floor and Juicy Jane's. Each zone had a different target audience, a different energy and a different story to tell.
The biggest challenge lay in Sally's. With its disco-inspired bar concept, the music identity was obvious for late nights - but Sally's shares open space with the hotel lobby and reception. The music needed to work as naturally for the business traveler checking in in the morning as for the guest ordering a Disco Sally cocktail at midnight.
On top of the music mission came perhaps the most personal element of all: a exclusive signature scent for the entire resort - something that would distinguish Sheraton Stockholm not only from other hotels in Stockholm, but from every other Sheraton in the world.
OUR APPROACH
Mood Nordic's Head of Sales and music designer, Andrew Adams, was responsible for designing the music programming for Sheraton Stockholm. With extensive experience in creating sensory guest experiences for hotel and restaurants, and a deep understanding of how music shapes atmosphere and behavior, he was well equipped to meet one of Stockholm's most ambitious hospitality projects with the musical precision it required.
One platform for the whole site - four zones, two players
Mood Nordic delivered tailored music programs for all four zones via Harmony platforms - a centralized media management system that allows each zone to be programmed, scheduled and monitored from a single control panel. Thanks to Harmony's dual zone capacity per media player, the entire solution was delivered with just two physical media players - less hardware, more functionality and a cleaner installation.
For on-site management, key staff members were equipped with Harmony On-Site apps, allowing them to adjust volume, change tracks or switch programs in real time - an invaluable tool for those moments when the energy in a room changes faster than a pre-set schedule can anticipate.
Mr. Bronck Restobar & Grill - a program that lives with the day
Mr. Bronck required a musical identity as complex as the concept itself - sophisticated but never stiff, cosmopolitan but warm. Mood Nordic designed four distinct programs shaping the restaurant's soundscape from early morning to late night.
During morning and lunch service, the tone is calm and collected - warm enough to welcome the hotel's guests at breakfast, but reserved enough never to disturb. As the day turns to evening, the music shifts to something richer and more characterful: a soulful, cosmopolitan soundscape befitting a restaurant full of life and good conversation.
As the evening gets underway, there is one more step to take. The regular evening mix is complemented by a more energy-rich variant for those times when the restaurant is packed and the atmosphere needs a little more oomph. On Fridays and Saturdays, the program steps it up a notch - a more energetic soundscape that transforms Mr. Bronck into the social destination it was meant to be on the city's busiest nights.
Sally's Cocktail Bar - disco glamor meets the hotel's everyday life
Sally's presented the most nuanced challenge of the project. With its disco-inspired bar concept, the music identity was clear for late nights - but Sally's shares open space with the hotel lobby and reception. The music had to serve the morning business traveler as well as the nighttime disco guest. Mood Nordic solved this with three programs that carry Sally's through the day without ever feeling out of place.
During the day, the tone is calm, professional and sophisticated - a soulful background music that works just as well for those working at their desk as for those waiting to check in.
Towards the afternoon and early evening, the transition begins. The music warms up, the retro feel is gently introduced and the energy gradually builds - an invitation to the experience that awaits later in the evening, without taking a premature step into the disco.
When Sally's late night takes over the disconarrative is fully embraced. Extravagant, funky and theatrical, the music fills the entire open space with an energy that makes the lobby itself feel like an event - carefully calibrated to reward those who came to be a part of something, without alienating those who are just passing by.
The conference floor and Juicy Jane's
The conference floor program is designed to support focus and productivity during the day - professional and thoughtful, with the right energy for meetings and presentations without distraction.
Juicy Jane's - The juice bar that serves as the entrance to the SLVK Townhouse wellness club - will have its own music program designed to reflect the healthy, energizing nature of the concept. Light and lively, it's perfect for everything from pre-workout warm-ups to post-workout recovery.
The signature scent - a unique sensory imprint
About how music shapes the experience of a room, the scent determines how it is remembered. Mood Nordic worked closely with General Manager Elin Roquet to develop a unique signature scent that would become strongly and indelibly associated with the Sheraton Stockholm - something no other hotel in the city, and no other Sheraton in the world, can claim.
The process was thoughtful and personal. Mood Nordic presented a curated selection of recommended scents and allowed Elin to make a choice that felt true to the character of the establishment and her vision for the guest experience. The chosen scent is a warm, modern amber scent - luxurious and inviting without being heavy, with depth from woody and spicy accords lifted by lighter, fresher elements. It's a scent that feels as Nordic as it is cosmopolitan: warm enough for a Stockholm winter, refined enough for an establishment of this caliber.
Scent does not work in isolation from music it works in harmony with it. Both the scent profile and the music programming share the same design intention: to create an atmosphere that feels sophisticated but alive, rooted in heritage but inherently contemporary. A guest entering the lobby one evening, greeted by the warm signature scent just as the evening program begins its transition to something more festive - experiences something carefully composed, yet feels completely natural.
An establishment like Sheraton Stockholm doesn't just run a hotel it runs events. In the months following the grand re-opening, Mood Nordic amplified the hotel's event sound with BASSBOSS speaker rental, which provided powerful and high-quality sound for various parties, launches and evenings marking the hotel's new chapter.
One of the most memorable was The Board Meeting - an evening that perfectly captured the spirit of the transformation. The Sheraton's newly renovated Ballroom was transformed into a full-scale halfpipe show, paying homage to what locals affectionately call ”the Sheraton years”: the early 1990s Stockholm skate scene, for which the hotel's underground garage served as a central meeting place for skaters and creators. The event brought together skaters, photographers and cultural voices for a halfpipe show, an exhibition of Jens Andersson's photos from the era, and never-before-seen archival footage on the Ballroom's impressive 32 square meter LED screen. Med BASSBOSS loudspeakers in the room, the sound fully matched the scale and energy of the occasion.
The leasing partnership meant that the hotel's permanent installation - optimized for daily hotel operations seamlessly reinforced for high-energy events without compromise, whatever the occasion required.
THE OUTCOME
Sheraton Stockholm's rebirth is, by any measure, one of the most significant hotel transformations in Scandinavia in many years.
Mood Nordic's contribution sits at the heart of the guest experience - invisible in the best possible way, but felt in every moment. From the morning's quiet mood in Mr. Bronck to the night's groove in Sally's when diners have given way to something more festive; from the first whiff of the signature scent at the hotel's entrance to the presence of the BASSBOSS speakers when the Ballroom's stage was at its peak - Mood Nordic's contribution is at the heart of the guest experience. each element was designed with one purpose: to make this place feel like it was created just for you.
Just like a really good hotel should do.
Visit Mr. Bronck Restobar & Grill and Sally's Cocktail Bar at Sheraton Stockholm and experience it first hand!
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