A 1935 bathing hotel in the Danish seaside village of Hornbaek has reopened as CORI Hornbaek, a five-star hotel and spa. The property opened in late September with 77 rooms and five townhouses, about 45 minutes’ drive north of Copenhagen on the east coast of Zealand.
The white functionalist building was designed by Ole Falkentorp as a badehotel, and its copper tower has turned pale green over the decades. Nazi soldiers occupied it during the Second World War, and it later served as a hospital. Hornbaek itself has a white sand beach, dunes, a harbour and thatched cottages, some dating from the early 1800s. In the late 19th century, painters including Peder Krøyer worked in the village before moving on to Skagen. During the war, Hornbaek was both a Nazi base and an escape route for Jewish people, who could reach Sweden by boat. The building’s original masterplan even included a swimming pool modelled on the one built for the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
The developer is Copi, the property group run by Jesper Brunander, 44, which bought the building in 2022. Its best-known project is Holstein Palace in Copenhagen, restored into luxury apartments in 2017. “We specialise in listed buildings, renovating them, converting them and adding value,” Brunander said. His sister, Maria Brunander Vøgg, 40, is managing director and has worked on the hotel with him. Danish practice NVMBR handled the architecture, and roughly a third of the building is new.
London-based designer Afroditi Krassa created the interiors, aiming to respect Danish restraint while adding comfort and warmth. Gubi made custom furniture, and 1930s Nordic pieces were sourced at auction. Collector Christian Just Linde lent art, including a nine-panel work by Julia Haller and paintings by Anna Zacharoff and Pierre Alechinsky. Rooms range from 24 sq m to a 120 sq m combined suite, and every room has a fireplace. Toiletries come from Isabelle Burdel, perfumer for Hotel Cap-Eden-Roc, and use sea buckthorn from the local dunes.
Bocuse d’Or winner Brian Mark Hansen oversees the food, which focuses on simple dishes made with local produce. Experts from The Chedi Andermatt in Switzerland are developing longevity treatments for the spa, and children are welcome there. Brunander wants a relaxed feel and says guests may arrive from the beach in swimming trunks. “We won’t mind if you go for a swim in the middle of dinner,” he said. Nearby, the Louisiana Museum sits in Humlebæk, and Gammel Holtegaard opens a show of later works by Georg Baselitz on 10 October.
