doc04

My wife and I (late 30s) are planning a summer trip to Scandinavia with two nights in Oslo. Debating between The Thief and Hotel Continental. Any thoughts on these two or other suggestions?

GK1998

The thief is the only decent option in town. We stayed there 2 years ago, rooms are nice, food decent, service is a bit lacking (arrival of my elderly parents with lots of luggage, front desk staff just chatting, no offer to help whatsover). having said that, service is still better than other Oslo and Stockholm places we stayed at.

dodgeflyer

The Thief is probably the best hotel in Oslo. However, I have yet to bother staying there. Paying ~$350-500/night simply isn't worth it in Oslo. Service just isn't very good and if you get it, it is individual specific, not standard specific. However, for the summer, the location is quite nice and it may sway it for me.

Not a fan of the Continental. As someone who sleep with an open window, the noise from the tram lines outside ruins the option for me. The rest of the hotel is okay, however as it is a SLH hotel, you should know the standard is not even across. Though not luxury hotels, others to consider are:

* Christiania Teater (not luxury, however somewhat modern)
* Grand Hotel (refurbishment finished in July, however done somewhat cheaply but has a rooftop bar, rooftop pool (indoors), a good but small gym following refurbishment and a bar worthy of most luxury hotels) Still considered 4 stars but could probably be a 5 star in the Oslo scene again.
*Do not think any of the Radissons, Holmenkollen Park Hotel, etc... fit the bill

Musken

I would definitely stay at the Theif, especially in summer, but it is expensive for what you get service wise (comparing to non-Scandinavian hotels), no doubt about that. Rooms and location and spa and roof terrasse very good though, and you can walk anywhere downtown (as you can from all hotels in central Oslo).

aa213bb

The Thief is perfectly nice, but I agree with everyone else ... service is well-intentioned but far from polished

speedbird001

The service at any luxury Nordic hotel is far from perfect. It has to do with culture.

aa213bb

Ain't that the damn truth. Our recent stay at the Grand in Stockholm perfectly exemplified that.

speedbird001

Actually, The Grand is one of the better ones as is The Nimb in Copenhagen. But again, the service throughout the Nordic region is lacking.

Musken

Yes, very true it has to do with culture. I am a Norwegian myself, but married to a foreginer and have lived abroad 20 years and have travelled a lot, so I am starting to understand this. It is the way we talk (there is no word in the Norwegian language for please for example meaning that we might sound rude if speaking English because we translate directly), the way we are seeing equality between all as very important ("serving" others are difficult with that mindset), the way noone should show off or seeing themselves as better etc. etc. etc. So; the kind of service you get in a hotel like the Thief is in fact very good for Norwegian standards, but different - or worse or what you would like to call it -compared to hotel service in other parts of the world. In addition, there is the cost of wages which is FAR higher than any other places I know off (I pay my cleaning lady 35 euros per hour, compared to 12 when I lived in Germany). So; If you want to travel in Norway, you have to accept that service might be different than in other countries but still a wonderful country to travel to.

dodgeflyer

eh...? "vaer saa snill" is the direct translation, alternatively "vaer saa god".

GUWonder

Those are multi-word phrases rather than single words. The latter phrase is used akin to how we use "you're welcome" in English; and the former is used in ways that are sort of akin to how we use the word "please", but I wouldn't translate the former as being necessarily akin to "please". And generally I don't hear those Norwegian phrases or their Swedish versions as often in Scandinavia as I hear "please" and "you're welcome" in English. This can be rather fascinating if you deal a lot with young bicultural/multicultural children who start of being equally fluent in say English and Norwegian or Swedish.

dodgeflyer

Well as a Norwegian I feel fairly confident of my own language, albeit having lived in the UK for 16 years since boarding days. You're right that "vaer saa god" is the translation for "you're welcome", however, it is also what you would say (in polite Norwegian which is what I was brought up on) if you're giving something to someone, e.g. "please, here you are".

The fact there is no single-word translation doesn't matter as the direct translation does exist.

However, I agree the usage of it is diminishing, and I'd say that my partner hears "please" more than I hear "vaer saa snill/god" whenever we are in Oslo.

Anyway - it is all OT. The simple fact is that really good service doesn't exist. The Swede's are better at that in local context. You're more likely to get a judgemental "jaha-ja" than "please" if you go to a restaurant...!

aa213bb

I've stayed at damn near every option in the Nordic/Scandics, and - at least for my one stay - The Grand rates towards the bottom. So many small, stupid things, that are easily fixable.

Suffice to say I was not impressed - either with (most of) the staff, or the GM herself.

TravelinSperry

No Marriotts, Hiltons, or Starwoods in Oslo. Why?

GUWonder

Hilton used to be affiliated with the Scandic hotels in Oslo. None of those were even close to "luxury".

Starwood has an affiliation with Design Hotels, and they have a bit of a presence in Oslo with The Thief.

The Thief in Oslo is first and foremost a Choice Hotel -- affiliated with the Nordic Choice hotels. [Choice Hotels = mainly Quality, Comfort/ComfortInn, Clarion hotels.]

Marriott in Scandinavia is mostly Courtyard, Marriott or a Renaissance, but not in Oslo.