Grand Hotel Oslo

It was such a great experience staying at the Grand Hotel-Oslo. From the check-in, exquisite room with the best bed I have ever slept on and extensive breakfast buffet. Everything was quite a great experience. Nothing beats the location and warmth hospitality of everyone. Special thank you to Filippe. Selma and the very professional Manager Ms. Henriette for making this stay a memorable one. Will surely be back.

Unfortunately, this hotel is anything but five-star. It is inconceivable that any reputable hotel association would award five stars to such a tasteless, worn-out, dreary room. The furnishings are of poor quality and mismatched, the bed is unusably soft, the tiles cheap and unattractive, and the patched, scuffed door leaves much to be desired. Even the lift, which serves floors four and five together, announces you have arrived at “minus five” – surely an issue that could be corrected with minimal care. I could go on, but it would be pointless… At breakfast, the staff were unfriendly and unable to manage the crowd when there was a queue outside. One scene was both amusing and depressing: when I asked where the butter was, a lady replied that the dish had been taken away to be refilled and would be back in ten minutes – which is about how long it takes me to finish breakfast. Coffee has to be begged for. In short, this hotel deserves at best three to four stars, and that only because of the public areas and its location. We stayed in one of the higher-category, larger rooms; I shudder to think what the smaller ones are like. I cannot recommend it!

This hotel is advertised as a historic 5-star grand hotel. It is certainly historic—I’ll give them that—but it’s in serious need of updates throughout. The room felt dark depressing. The shower is difficult to step in and out of, the toilet is crooked, and the door opens in an awkward direction. The bed covering barely fits for two people, and there are no drawers for storage. The hallways are uneven with multiple small steps and odd layouts. Strangest of all, the elevator somehow goes to both floors 4 and 5 at once—maybe there’s a historical reason, but it just added to the confusion. Breakfast is included, but the experience is far from intuitive. You’re seated with no explanation, and left to figure things out on your own. It’s a buffet, but even getting beverages is unclear. Asking the kitchen for a made-to-order egg earned a confused look rather than service. I still have five more nights here, and I regret booking it. The only thing this hotel truly has going for it is the central location.