Next year, the hotel plans to launch the first Straand-Bilweekend event in early May with partners.
The goal is that the first weekend in May, Straand Hotel will become a permanent meeting arena for clubs, dealers, car enthusiasts and the everyday motorist, where the season opens with a great trip on the roads to Straand Hotel. It is approx. 2-4 hours drive with a coffee stop regardless of whether you come from Southern Norway, large parts of central Eastern Norway and Innlandet.
“In that sense, we are perfectly located here in Vrådal in Kviteseid municipality in the new county municipality of Vestfold-Telemark,” say Lars Arne Straand and Katrine Straand, who are the 5th generation host family at Straand Hotel. We plan to create an exciting program with a high level of professional content in the lectures, great trips, good dining experiences and varied accommodation options at the car meet. We will also offer good entertainment in historic surroundings with lots of good food and drink. We want to give the participants at the meeting increased insight, understanding and joy, he says.

Stay well during the event
“The base for the events will be at Straand Hotel with 125 rooms, a large conference hall, outdoor terrace, pool, piano bar and restaurant, to name a few of our facilities. We also plan for Straand Camp where it is possible to set up your own tent. It will also be possible to rent a bed in the “get to know the cabin” where you get the opportunity to get to know others who have the same interest. Nice apartments just 800 meters away from the hotel are also ready to receive guests. We have many accommodation options in all price ranges, which we believe is a good tool for making the event accessible to everyone who wants to participate,” says Katrine Straand.

Perfect for car enthusiasts
Perfect roads. Winding roads. Not too much hills. Great nature experiences. This is how the guests who visit Straand Hotel describe the road up to and around the hotel in West Telemark.
“The guests who visit us with an enthusiast, sports or vintage car have really seen that we are now focusing on offering them extra service. This also applies to those who come with vintage buses or trucks. So say Johan S. Straand and Lars Arne Straand, who are respectively the owner and CEO of Straand Hotel. They are the fourth and fifth generation hosts at the hotel. It was established as a coach station in 1864, 156 years ago by the great-great-grandparents of Lars Arne, Kari and Olav Straand.

Engine + nature = Good driving experiences
“3 years ago, the offensive started against those who are particularly interested in 2, 4 or more wheels. We often have visits from car clubs or dealers who arrange an event or a stop with us. “Straand Treffet” 2018 gathered 400 participants, in 2019 there were 1,500 visitors and in September 2020 we expect over 2,000 motorcyclists to this event, says Lars Arne Straand.
“We see that those with good driving equipment, regardless of the number of wheels, get good hiking experiences by visiting us,” says Lars Arne Straand with a smile. The Straand family has a great 1969 Cadillac DeVille Convertable, a 1938 Chevrolet truck, a 1941 Chevrolet passenger car and a 1976 Toyota Crown as vintage cars that Johan has had restored. The Chevrolets are on display at the Z-museum in Treungen. In addition, Telemark Bilruter has several older buses and trucks that are well preserved.

Extra service
In addition to having great roads, we offer extra service to those who come with special vehicles. We offer the opportunity for cleaning, as well as that guests get an extra cup of coffee on arrival. Furthermore, we have developed good maps that show a number of beautiful roads in the surroundings here in this part of the county, so it is easy to choose beautiful scenic driving routes, says Katrine Straand. And then we actively ask guests if they have ideas for additional services and services that we should offer enthusiasts who come by for a visit. She is looking forward to receiving what she hopes will be several hundred cars at Straand-Bilweekend.

We are now working on developing the program that will be posted on www.straand.no, via the Facebook page of the hotel and motor club as we approach.