Sleeping Is Beside The Point At Stockholm's New Hotel At Six

Hotels used to specialize in one thing: providing beds for weary travelers. But not any more. Hotels now not only compete to offer the most comfortable mattresses and best dining experiences, but they present so many other amenities there's hardly time to sleep.

Exhibit A: At Six, a new hotel in Stockholm's Brunkebergstorg Square. You'll be hearing a lot about this hotel. It just landed the prestigious "Best Restaurant in a Hotel" prize at the International Hotel and Property Awards in Italy. So the food alone is worth the trip.

The breakfast buffet, for example, offers a spread of Swedish caviar, all kinds of eggs, cheese and breads and not just one, but three kinds of juice, including orange, spinach pineapple, and kale and apple.

Tak, the rooftop restaurant, not only offers a 360-degree view (for my money, the best in Stockholm), but it has a 30-seat raw bar, inspiring indoor and outdoor spaces and celebrity chef, Frida Ronge, whose fusion of Nordic and Japanese food has landed her on all sorts of best chef lists.

But that's just the beginning.

First of all, there's an official listening lounge, a welcoming living room-like space. This unique music room, the largest in Stockholm, even has its own music curator, a popular DJ named Victor Sanchez who, when he's not recording something for his own vinyl record label, Sound & Echo, is compiling really rare music experiences for hotel guests. To do justice to this one-of-a-kind music library, At Six installed custom-built speakers from Tokyo, hand-built mixers from Australia and high-end Technics turntables. Collectors and guest DJ's give lectures and host record releases, album sessions and inspirational talks. Even the geekiest of music nerd can do little but stand with his mouth agape, muttering something profound like, "Whoa, dude!"

As if that wasn't enough, At Six also offers its own professional podcast studio. That means, if you happen to be Marc Maron (whose WTF podcast is extremely popular), and you happen to be vacationing in Stockholm, you can keep right on interviewing the likes of Lorde, a recent WTF guest. The At Six podcast studio has all the mics, headphones, and other broadcasting equipment that Maron (or any other podcaster) could ever need.

Oh, yes, and then there's the art. Former museum director Sune Nordgren serves as the curator of this museum-quality collection. Look for works by Julian Opie, Richard Long, Olafur Eliasson and other acclaimed international artists. The grand lobby staircase, for example, is highlighted by Mar Whispering, a giant marble head sculpted by famous Catalan artist Jaume Plensa.

So, yes, hotels are still great places to catch a few Z's. Just be sure to leave room in your itinerary to partake of your hotel.