TheFlyingDoctor

Room Type: Large double
Nights: 1

I had to switch hotels for my final night since there was no rooms – of any category – available at the Radisson. Checking out it was clear why – a cruise group had arrived and presumably block-booked. They’d also completely filled the luggage store, so whilst I was welcome to leave my case, it spent the day out in the lobby. I figure crime is low in a community this small – my bigger fear is that it would be loaded onto a ship by mistake!

Fortunately it was still there on my return from the seed vault, so I dragged it the short distance along the pedestrian high street to my new digs – the Svalbard Hotell and Lodge. As a business this has existed for a while, but the building I’d be staying in is practically brand new, the rooms having been completed in February. I’d made sure to book a ‘large double’ as a result, to guarantee I’d be in the modern main building.

Perhaps because it’s new, they take the shoe thing more seriously than the Radisson, with a big reminder emblazoned across the floor just as you get through the door. Storage is to the right, and houses a contraption which I can only assume is a double-headed hairdryer for shoes:




Padding across the lobby to reception in my socks, I was immediately impressed with the communal areas – the Radisson lacked social spaces that weren’t for eating or drinking, but here there’s some very cosy-looking seating wrapped around a fireplace and the central staircase.





The room was also clearly very new, and I liked both the wood-cabin styling and the abundance of window (although that did mean a bit more light and noise pollution at night). It’s really not a lot of space though, especially considering they have a smaller room category than this! The bathroom was pristine, and the shower put out plenty of heat and pressure (useful as I spent the next day dog sledding).





This property is not part of Spitsbergen Travel but instead the Svalbard Adventure Group. This means that you can order room service from either the hotel itself, or nearby group member Svalbar. There’s also a small menu of fancy but pricy dinner options at the hotel restaurant, but as soon as I spotted ‘arctic kebab pizza’ on the room service menu I knew which way my evening was heading (I probably should have mentioned a few thousand words back that my trip reports are never going to introduce you to a world of sophisticated cuisine). My first couple of calls to reception went unanswered, but once I got through it only took fifteen minutes for the food to arrive (plus plates and cutlery for two):




This monster, which is presumably meant for sharing, should have set me back 179NOK but I noticed (a few days) later that it had grown to 240 on the bill. Whether there’s extra tax/delivery/plate charges to be factored in, or they just muddled it up with the cheese plate, I don’t know.

Having skipped the restaurant for dinner, I at least got a look at it for breakfast. The range available is less impressive than the Radisson, and of course you don’t get that view, but it’s still a decent start to the day in pleasant surroundings:



Since I wasn’t flying home until the evening I had hoped for late checkout, but the best I was able to negotiate was an extension to 1pm – not much given the standard of 11am, but enough to shower, change and reconfigure my luggage/camera case after a morning of dog sledding.

I’m glad I got to try a couple of hotels here, but as with Oslo I think my recommendation varies based on what you’re looking for. If you have points to redeem or can make use of the ones you’ll earn, the Radisson is clearly the way to go; likewise if you want a more spacious room and better sleep. But the Svalbard Hotell is newer, much more stylish, even more centrally located, and cheaper – I can definitely see an argument for five nights here rather than four at the Radisson.