Sandtorgholmen lies in an idyllic spot on a peninsula jutting out into Tjeldsundet, approx. 30 km south of Harstad. This old trading place is situated adjacent to the shipping route through Tjeldsundet and Kong Olav's way, Lofotveien E10. Sandtorgholmen has its roots as a trading place far back in time. The site had a good harbour and was centrally situated in terms of all the traffic passing through Tjeldsundet. Over the centuries, large-scale sailing-boat and Russian Pomor trading has taken place here. In 1770, this site was the first privileged guest house and trading place in the region. The old trading place consists today of seven buildings: the main house, the annexe, the wharf, the carpentry shed, the storehouse, the cowshed and the earth cellar.

Sandtorgholmen had a sub-post office, bakery, general store, farming and steamship office here from the beginning of the nineteenth century. During the 1860s, the first telegraph station in the district was opened. King Oscar II visited Sandtorgholmen in 1873, indicating that Sandtorg was a significant location in the region at that time. Between 1955 and 1996, the site was owned by the Ministry of Defence. Since 2000, it has been run as Sandtorgholmen Hotell AS.

In 2003, Milly Sivertsen and Rolf Trulsen were awarded the "Olavsrosa" (Olav's rose), awarded by Norsk kulturarv (Norwegian Heritage) for their restoration of the old trading place.