an exotic chapter

In 1961 an exotic wind blew into Strand Hotel Fevik, as Mrs Espinoza took over the leadership.  Married to an employee at the Cuban embassy in Oslo, she ruled the hotel with an iron fist until 1975. Every winter, Mrs Espinoza and her husband visited  Spain, and many foreign dishes found their way back to Fevik. Few people know Mrs Espinoza’s first name, but her personality has been printed into the memory of many. She didn’t smile often, but she was a formidable woman who contributed to many anecdotes about the hotel.

In 1975, the hotel was sold to Torbjørn Evenbye, who built the conference building and modernized many of the rooms.  After the businessman Ugland took over in 1982, the modernization was completed – so now the original summer-hotel has become an all-year-round hotel.  Since then, the hotel has had several owners, and before the present owners took over in June 1998, the hotel was owned by Choice Hotels and Petter Stordalen. During this period, a lot of work and money was being put into refurbishing the hotel.