FROM COACHING INN TO LARGE HOTEL....
Sjur Johnsen Brakanes built the house and coaching inn in Ulvik in 1860, with 5 rooms, 3 spare houses in the summer and 1 in the winter. Ulvik was included in the route for the paddle steamer "Vøringen" in 1862. The number of tourists increased a lot over the next few years, and the boat from Newcastle to Bergen brought 4468 English tourists into the town in 1886. The Voss Railway (Vossebanen) opened in 1883 and brought the tourists out into the districts. This increased the need for more hotels, and Sjur exbanded the coaching inn to a total of 50 rooms in 1891. His grandchildren Sara and Marta took over the hotel in 1924 when their father, Hans Lindebrække died. The Lindebrekke sisters ran the hotel well and gained a reputation for their hospitality. The hotel became well known abroad and well to do people from all over Europe and even America started arriving. Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands with her daughter, the Princess Juliana and an etourage of 16 people spent their holiday here.

German war ships opened fire on Ulvik on the 25th of April 1940. The entire village centre was set alight. Sara and Marta managed to escape.
The Lindebrekke sisters wantetd to rebuild the hotel after the war and planned the building process in two stages. Brakanes Guest House was built behind the burnt out ruins, and opened on the 26th of June 1949. An increase in tourism was anticipated in the fifties, and the sisters led by their brother Gjert, formed a shareholders company in order to build a top class hotel with high European standards.

The hotel was opened on the 9th of May 1952. It presented itself as the country's leading fjord hotel with 124 beds, 44 bathrooms, custom desighed furniture and textiles, and a very stylish interior. Many wll known and lesser known guests have stayed with uss since then including the Princess Juliana who returned as a Queen of the Netherlands.