I actually just stayed at the Thief last week. It was my first stay (and first time in Oslo). A few high level thoughts that come to mind:
- Location - The hotel is located in a less than ideal spot for sightseeing, in my opinion. The area does have lots of restaurants, but for my first trip to Oslo, it probably wasn't the best choice, location-wise. I knew this going in, so it wasn't an issue for me, but rather something to consider, especially for those who want to be in the city center frequently.
- Check In - We were proactively offered an upgrade from a Deluxe Room to a Jr. Suite, based on my Nordic Choice Gold status. That same status also provides for late check out up to 6PM (based on availability) - I did not need quite that late, so we agreed on 3PM (which did turn out to be a minor issue the next day, more on that later). Given that it was our first stay at the Thief, it would have been helpful if the agent gave us at least a high level overview of the property, where to find things (e.g., the gym), how the complimentary access to the nearby museum works, etc. - but we figured that all out ourselves easily enough.
- Staff / Service - I was generally very impressed with the service at the Thief, which started from the moment I walked in during check-in. Compared to the 4-5 other mid/high end hotels I stayed in throughout Norway, the staff at the Thief were by far the most professional and helpful. However, I did have one interaction which really frustrated me and despite being minor in the larger scheme of things, unfortunately left a somewhat bad taste in my mouth about the entire stay.
- Room - As noted above, we received an upgrade to a Junior Suite, which I appreciated after being crammed in a number of smaller rooms and a Hurtigruten cabin over the prior 1 1/2 weeks. I thought the modern decor was well done, but the room did feel a little crammed - in my opinion due to a bit too much furniture or a few pieces that were too large for the space.
- Food - We only had breakfast here but as a point of comparison, it was reminiscent of some of nicer Park Hyatt breakfast buffets I've been to - quality over quantity, and particularly good coffee.
- Check Out - This was where things went somewhat awry. As noted above, during check in, we agreed very clearly with the agent on a 3PM late check out. I know this because we had a back and forth discussion about the upgrade she gave us and how it was dependent upon what time we would be vacating the room. On the morning of check out, we decided that we would try to spend a couple additional hours sightseeing and asked about extending the late check out to 5PM. We understood that extending the late check out might not have been possible at such short notice, and frankly I expected to be told they could not extend it past 3PM (and again, I would have understood that). However, we were told by the agent (a different one than who checked us in) that we were not set up for any late check out and would have to vacate our room by 12PM. I noted that we had already agreed on 3PM and were just hoping to extend, and again he said we were not set up for a late check out and in fact, there was a note saying we asked about it at check in and were told no. We went back and forth for 5 minutes with me asking him to double check with the agent who checked us in, which he basically refused to do. The entire time he was acting like I was trying to "sneak" one past the hotel, which I really did not appreciate, especially in front of other guests. Ultimately, I just said we would be checking out at 3PM as we had originally agreed or he could get the manager, and he very rudely agreed. So that was that.
Anyway, despite the hiccup at the end, it is a nice property and I would consider returning under the right circumstances (e.g., dependent upon my plans in Oslo and where in the city I would need to be).
One additional note - the Thief is part of AMEX FHR. I could never get pricing to show up on the AMEX FHR website, but was able to book it over the phone. The special amenity was a EUR 85 Spa credit, which wasn't ideal for us, but when we initially booked, the FHR rate was the same as through the property directly. Ultimately, the hotel posted a promotional rate on their website which was less expensive than the FHR rate (but without the same benefits), and that is was we ended up using since it was an overall better deal for us and our plans.