Hotel Union was built in 1891, right when tourism was taking off in Geiranger. The architect was Christian Thams, and he designed it in the dragestil, the dragon style, mixed with Swiss chalet influences. The original building was made entirely of wood. A near-identical hotel was built around the same time in Øye, which still stands today in its original form.
In 1899 the hotel was bought by Julie and Karl Mjelva. And this is where the story gets interesting. The tourist season in Geiranger was only a few weeks long, so the Mjelvas had to be creative to survive. In 1907, Karl built his own hydroelectric power plant at a nearby waterfall, generating enough electricity not just for the hotel, but for other businesses in the village as well. Then they started a factory producing stoves and ovens. But their most remarkable venture was a partnership with the German car maker Opel. From around 1911 they built custom car bodies on Opel chassis, seven to nine seats, designed to handle the steep mountain roads. These were used to drive tourists on guided excursions. Some of those vintage cars still exist and are on display at the hotel today.
Julie Mjelva also helped establish what became the Norwegian School of Hotel Management. She was clearly ahead of her time.
The original wooden hotel was demolished in 1979. What you see today is a modern building with 197 rooms, a spa, several restaurants and that vintage car collection. The hotel is still run by the Mjelva family, now in the fourth generation with Sindre and Monja Mjelva.
Among the famous guests over the years were Queen Alexandra of Denmark and the author Roald Dahl.
In August 2024, the hotel made international headlines when Princess Märtha Louise married the American Durek Verrett here The wedding was highly controversial in Norway and made international headlines. A Netflix documentary followed in 2025.