"When the first room was finished, there were only 19 rooms left to renovate. And a few yard houses…"
The renovation we started in spring 2001 wasn’t any little project but a 540 square meter -sized project of a lifetime. Soon we learned that setting smaller milestones along the way was worthwhile, so that the final target wouldn’t appear so miserably distant. When the first room was finished, there were only 19 rooms left to renovate. And a few yard houses… After four years of renovating we were able to open the doors and warmly welcome guests to the new opening of Kvarnbo Pensionat in 2005. By then we had managed to renovate three guest rooms downstairs. Since then the construction work has proceeded steadily, and at the moment we can house all in all 24 guests in eight rooms and one apartment. Our intention has been to save as much as possible of the house’s original style and atmosphere. The scuffed doorsteps the past century has timeworn have been left as they are, the hand-blown windows have been carefully rescued and repaired, and the floors have been left in their original condition. The house has told us numerous stories during the renovation and we have tried to listen carefully.
Martin Cromwell-Morgan lived his first years in England but moved to Åland at school age. He has always been intrigued by old objects, design solutions, engines and people. In Kvarnbo Pensionat he has been able to use his knowledge and skills within all of these areas. He has had the main responsibility for the renovation project and has been involved in all phases of the process. He relaxes best up in his old workshop crafting with his motorcycle projects.
Ella Grüssner Cromwell-Morgan had just graduated from music school in Sweden when the couple bought the pension. She has always been interested in gastronomy and service, and during the renovation she began her studies in the restaurant sector. Now she has no less than six degrees from the sector. Enology, wine study, is her biggest passion. She teaches at restaurant schools, is a wine specialist in the “Strömsö” -TV-show, and hosts wine tastings in “Vinsmedjan” besides running the pensionat.
Sons of he family, Hugo and Harald, have grown up in the pension and are waiting to start their summer job in Vinsmedjan, in the very same building where their grandfather’s mother ran a bakery.
House cats
The cats Munken, Lingon and Semla also live here. They like to be petted, and they think they own the whole place.