There are a few reasons why we wanted to stay at the Hotel Continental in Oslo.
We
are big fans of Leading Hotels of the World (LHW) and have stayed in
over a dozen by now. The Hotel Continental is a long term member and
ever since we laid eyes on it in our first LHW catalogues we wanted to
stay there. Until recently we were unlucky with flight prices or the
hotel was not available or the season was wrong. We don't like snow, so
coming in deep winter seemed a bit odd for us.
It is a grand hotel - a bit of the history is described below -, which we like too.
It is newly renovated and in our opinion tastefully done.
The
location is unbeatable with direct access to Oslo Gardermoen Airport
via the Flytoget Express Train. The Hotel Continental is just across the
road from the National Theatre, a very short stroll from the sea or the
Royal Palace and major shopping.
It is the only five star hotel and member of LHW in Norway.
It is family owned and managed.
The
hotel is in the hands of the same family for over 100 years. It all
started with Caroline Boman, who was originally from Sweden, and
Christian Hansen, her future husband. They met at the Grand Hotel (today part of Rica Hotels), where they both worked. In 1909 they leased
the hotel and three years later bought it.
The original building
is still there. It contains the Theatercaféen and the Annenetagen today.
Arne Boman Hansen, the son of Caroline and Christian, bought the two
adjacent buildings, demolished them and completed a new hotel wing in
1932. It is Art Deco style and contained 76 new hotel rooms with their
own bathrooms and the lobby bar Dagligstuen. The main entrance was moved
from the Art Nouveau building to the new wing. Due to the financial
crisis of 1929 meant the expansion nearly didn't happen, but the bankers
trusted the reputation of Caroline Boman and lent the money.
Ellen
Brochmann, the daughter of Arne, was responsible for a few restoration
and renovation projects. It had been Arne's wish to open an
American-style cafeteria on the site of the second plot of the block.
His untimely death crossed that plan, but Ellen made Arne's dream come
true. In 1960 the cafeteria was closed and demolished to make way for an
8 storey building with 88 new hotel rooms, restaurants and a banquet
hall. The layout with three interconnecting buildings hasn't changed
since then and takes in a whole block. The current owner Elisabeth
Caroline Brochmann, daughter of Ellen and Caspar, took over the hotel
thirty years ago and is responsible for the newest renovation.
After
a pleasant direct flight with SAS from Dublin to Oslo we took the
Flytoget towards Drammen - it's important or you're ending up at the
Central Station and you have to find your way to the National Theatret
Station. Return tickets are available at counters or ticket machines and
cost 170 Norwegian Kroner (NOK, ca. 20 Euro or 21.60 USD) each way. The
journey takes approximately 27 minutes.
We had been in contact
with the hotel before arrival and our e-mail was promptly and warmly
answered. Our wish for a room on a higher floor was fulfilled.
From
the train station we walked down the hill, the Royal Palace to our
left. It didn't take longer than three minutes to reach the hotel.
When
entering the lobby the reception was straight in front of us, the
Theatercaféen to the left, the lifts and Dagligstuen to the right.
There is also the Eik Annen Etagen, Steamen, the sidewalk cafe, and Caroline, the breakfast restaurant.
Check
in was very quick. The receptionist was friendly. Within two minutes we
were on the way to our room. We had booked consciously a Deluxe Room,
because we thought the Standard and Superior Rooms were too small and we
wanted a seating area.
To our surprise we received a Deluxe Room
with balcony. It was unfurnished, but we enjoyed every day during our
two night stay to go outside. The views were over the city and the Oslo
fjord.
The room was large and bright with wooden floors, high
ceilings and a mix of classic and contemporary styles in mostly white,
light brown and red colors.
The tapestry with plant prints was
amazing and looked even better when the sun was lighting it. The color
was silver and reminded me of our room at the Berkeley Hotel in London.
Please see also review.
There was a sofa with coffee table. On it
were the LHW catalogue, Collection and Feel Good of Norway magazines.
The upholstery was very soft.
On the writing desk was a glassed
in TV, general information about the hotel and the city, a hotel
brochure and the twenty four hour in room dining menu including the mini
bar price list. There was also an invitation to join LHW for a one year
complimentary membership, which could be done by filling in the form
provided with the title "Welcome at LHW".
TV channels were mostly local. There were a few international channels included, like Bloomberg, CNN and BBC World.
The
room had a built in wardrobe, where the minibar and safe were located.
It had good storage space and longer stays shouldn't be a problem.
The
minibar contained soft drinks, the Hotel Continental's own beer and
liquors. Voss water and lemonade were for example 60 NOK (ca. 7.15 Euro
or 7.80 USD), snacks ranged between 40 NOK and 60 NOK (between ca. 4.80
and 7.15 Euro or 5.20 USD and 7.80 USD) and Bowmore 12 years old Whiskey
was 130 NOK (ca. 15.50 Euro or 16.90 USD).
In room dining is 24 hours available. The selection was small, but sufficient.
Sandwiches
start from 139 NOK (ca. 16.55 Euro or ca. 18 USD), salads from 175 NOK
(ca. 20.80 Euro or ca. 22.70 USD), starters from 189 NOK (ca. 22.50 Euro
or 24.50 USD), main courses from 195 NOK (ca. 23.20 Euro or ca. 25.25
USD) and desserts from 95 NOK (ca. 11.30 Euro or 12.30 USD).
The
queen sized bed was like a cocoon, soft and warm. It was a bit too short
for him, though, but didn't impact his sleep quality.
It had a beautiful throw and a bench in front of it, which made this particular space very elegant and inviting.
The artwork included a lithograph of the National Theatre and a sketch of a female.
The
tiled bathroom was small with under floor heating, a bath tub/shower
combination, sink and toilet. The amenities were by Molton Brown London,
which we like.
Water pressure was good and the temperature constant.
Our bed was every evening turned down while we weren't there.
The
only small critscism about the bathroom would be the placement of the
sink. It is too near to the shelve above it and I always feared I would
bang my head when bending down. Thank goodness I was always careful and
it didn't happen, but I splashed water on my feet and pajamas each time.
We
enjoyed spending time on our large room and could relax there, but also
exploring the hotel. It was very detailed, tastefully decorated and
artworks were everywhere.
Our rate included breakfast and free WIFI.
The internet access was fast and reliable.
We
went every morning to the Caroline Restaurant, where cold items were
served buffet style and hot items could be ordered a la carte.
We were brought to our table by the Maître d'.
A
waitress took our orders for coffee/tea, juice, pancakes and omelets.
Specialty coffees weren't a problem either, so we had our favorite brew
Cappuccino.
All of the breakfast staff took great care of us, delivering cutlery as needed - without even asking - and clearing plates.
They were friendly, warm and good spirited.
At
the buffet were some local specialties, like brown cheese and pickled
herring beside cold cuts, cheese, yogurt, smoked salmon, fresh fruits,
jams, bread, different flavored milk, including lactose free blueberry
milk (We liked it very much.), smoothies and much more.
The selection was good and the quality of the hot and cold items very high.
On the Friday
morning the restaurant was not that busy. There were more guests the
following morning. The majority were from the region. The rest were
French, German and British. During our first breakfast there were more
single travelers. On Saturday there were more couples and families.
One
night we also had dinner at Dagligstuen. We were impressed by the
service, ambience and quality of the meal. A more detailed review is
going to follow soon.
Before flying on to Berlin we needed to
print our boarding passes. Reception was so kind to let us use the
Business Office on the landing between the ground floor and the 1st
floor. It is really just that. It's very small with a writing desk, a
computer and printer. The office is only accessible by key. Normally the
charges are 75 NOK (ca. 9 Euro or 9.90 USD) per 30 minutes, but the
staff let us use it for free.
All wake up calls were reliable and on time.
Staff remembered our names and pronounced it perfectly. We were very happy about it.
We can't say enough positive things about the kind and attentive staff.
As always check out approached too fast and it was done as quickly as check in.
We were a bit sad to leave and have very fond memories. Our expectations were exceeded.
Should we be in Oslo again, we will definitely include the Hotel Continental in our itinerary.
©2015
