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Introduction I rank Radisson at the very bottom of international hotel chain loyalty programs so I almost never book Radisson when I have other options but Oslo is not a city with lots of attractive choices. GHA used to have lots of Thon hotels in Norway and was arguably the strongest chain in the country but unfortunately Thon quietly left GHA which is a bummer. Marriott has a new Moxy in Oslo but this is not a brand I am in a rush to try, and Hilton+Hyatt+Accor+IHG+SLH have nothing at all. I stayed at Radisson Blu Plaza Oslo many years ago and due to the lack of choices I decided to return. My stay ended up being moderately unpleasant. Location By far the biggest advantage of Radisson for me is location. From the airport to the hotel door, the transit is very smooth thanks to the Flytoget airport express train which brings passengers non-stop to Oslo’s main station in less than 20 minutes and Radisson is only a short walk away with ramps which do not prevent from reaching the hotel with large heavy suitcases. Check In My arrival was poor because the queue for check-in was long and was compounded by the fact that the lobby bar was overflowing on the opposite side so both crowds converged at the entrance – it was awful. On subsequent days almost every time I went downstairs to get out of the hotel it was a similar mild chaos and long waits at front desk. To make matters worse, on one day my key card stopped working and I was forced into the queue despite wanting to minimize contact with staff as much as possible. Room Not only Radisson is one of the least generous hotel loyalty programs for upgrades, but in addition Radisson was full on one of the days of my stay so I did not expect any upgrade at all as Gold tier member. I guess I was moderately surprised by an upgrade to a premium room which was a nice gesture given the circumstances; I was told the differences with standard rooms are: higher floor, bathrobe and coffee machine – nothing to write home about in fact some things I might get without an upgrade at other chains, but at least they proactively made status count. Besides the upgrade, I think one of the few benefits of Radisson Gold tier status is the welcome gift : here it was far from impressive with three chocolates and a bottle of water. Anyway the room was relatively nice thanks to a lack of carpet and it was in decent shape so I would not complain strongly. The main weakness was we could hear doors slamming very easily, one morning there was loud talking in the hallway at 5:30am. The bathroom toiletries were unbranded and nothing impressive and also the curtains did not extend all the way to the wall so there was a bit of sunlight in the room which can be a problem during the summer time with very early sunrise; it prevented us from sleeping well in the morning. However when there is very little local competition from hotel chains, the hotel can be weak and I must accept it nonetheless and it tempers my criticism. Service Service left to be desired not only because of the long waits at reception but also because of staff trying to get rid of customers instead of answering questions properly which I noticed on at least a couple of occasions, including the day of departure when I wanted to resolve the billing while my wife was packing suitcases and I was asked three times by the receptionist to come back to check out when we were ready to leave which I repeatedly refused because of the long queues. The receptionist insisted I had to come back to give the room keys; finally it had to be resolved with a supervisor telling the receptionist that it would be no problem if I left my keys in the express checkout box near the entrance if the payment was taken care of. Gym The gym was on the top floor with great views however the shape was odd: a very long and narrow room. If walking from one end of the gym to the other, sometimes we had to crouch under the triangle shape roof to avoid disturbing people who were lifting weights. Wifi Wifi worked well with speed of 20 Mbps. Overall Overall I am not a big fan of this hotel but location is excellent. That said on my next stay I might try Hotel Continental (LHW) rather than to return again to Radisson so that I can compare and judge if the price premium of Continental is worth it over Radisson.