19 Sep Overnight in Oslo: Comfort Hotel Grand Central
The Comfort Hotel Grand Central caters to a younger crowd, focuses heavily on technology (hello free WiFi, #thankyouverymuch) and even has a sense of humor! I can’t tell you how many times I laughed at little things throughout the hotel. I really wish I had more photos to show you, but apparently I wasn’t thinking straight and only have a few.
Walking into the lobby, you are greeted with iMacs and funky decor. You can check yourself in online before you arrive or from the computer in the lobby, and of course they do have front desk staff, too. Be on the lookout for one or two people hanging out in front of the counter where refreshments can be purchased because they are most likely the employees! The lobby has such a laid back and causal feel that right away, we weren’t sure if they were guests or employees. It turns out they were employees and very nice ones at that.
The guy checking us in told us our room was the “King’s Suite”, and we didn’t really think anything of it until we actually got to our room. After finding our room’s completely separate entrance through huge, grand doors, our jaws dropped…this was the strangest, but coolest room we had ever seen. With leather couches, mirrors galore, huge flat screen TV, funky decorations, a chandelier, an old furnace, views overlooking central Oslo, and a bathroom the size of my own bedroom, we were simply stunned.
Apparently, back in the day, our room was the King of Norway’s waiting room for when he had a train to catch, and although it has surely changed since then, there are many touches that resemble a king’s room. Watch the video below to see what I’m talking about, but know that it really doesn’t even do it justice.
There were so many unique, and even some strange touches throughout the hotel, one such strange touch was the ironing room. To reach it, you have to meander down a few halls, but don’t worry because graffiti arrows make sure you are on the right track. Upon turning the corner, I was a bit surprised to find a small psychedelic colored room with an ironing board in the center. I guess it makes sense since it’s the ironing room and all, but it caught me a little off guard. Either way, it’s still something convenient if you need to quick press your shirt before going out on the town. The exercise room is encased in glass overlooking the lobby from above, so you will have a unique view while getting your sweat on–the only drawback, people can see you too, so you might want to rethink those 80’s leg warmers we all know you are dying to break out.
Did I mention this hotel was literally inside the Oslo Central Station–talk about location! You are right in the center of town and within easy walking distance of shopping, the harbor, museums and across the street from the Opera House.
Another great touch was the free delicious and huge breakfast buffet offered in the restaurant. Even better is that it runs until 11 am, aka pretty late into the morning, for those too worn out from studying/working the night before because that’s what we all do on an evening in a hotel, right? The breakfast spread was very good and consisted of both cold and hot options, as well as numerous beverages. And, don’t forget the lazy days late checkout at 6 pm on Sundays; how nice is that?
Throughout the day, you can find free coffee in the lobby as well as snacks and other beverages for purchase. The Italian restaurant downstairs, opens in the evening for dinner. The food at the restaurant looked delicious, but it was too spendy for our all too quickly diminished budget, so instead we brought 7-11 pizza back to our suite and ate contently while sitting on plush leather couches with our feet up. About halfway through our meal I got the giggles because we were eating 7-11 food in a $500 a night King’s suite hotel room–comical, no? I think that right there just sums up the entire experience; awesomely strange and one of our favorite hotels to date. And, the best part about it: it was basically free from redeeming our hotel points!
What’s your favorite hotel that you’ve been too?