italdesign

Will be in Stockholm for 3 nights in July. Need to choose between the two hotels. Both are 10k/night. Any suggestion? Sign is more centrally located, very convenient for Arlanda Express, more chic, more crowded/loud. Stockholm is in a possibly more fun area (Sodermalm), more quiet, but ppl seem to hate the bed.

I do have a 8am flight out of ARN, so Sign's convenience to Arlands Express is great for that, but if Stockholm is significant better...

Is Sign significantly more convenient than Stockholm? It seems a lot of what I want to see are on Djurgarden. I am also interesting in unique / local stuff.

Is the food significantly better/cheaper in Sodermalm than downtown?

GUWonder

I go for the Sign far more than for the Clarion Stockholm, and in large part that is because I get better rooms at the Sign and the location of the Sign makes more sense for most visiting purposes than the Clarion Stockholm.

JAFA13

I have the same decision to make for my September stay. Right now I am leaning toward the Sign for the more central location.

GUWonder

The Clarion Sign is better than the Clarion Stockholm, and the only reason I would choose the Clarion Stockholm over the Clarion Sign is if I had an event to deal with at Globen (for example the Eurovision 2016 song contest this week, something that is filling up the Clarion Stockholm hotel) or that the Clarion Sign was sold-out/unavailable using points.

The Clarion Stockholm is in a southern part of Sodermalm and not as convenient for most tourism purposes as the Clarion Sign. I say that as someone with mucho nights (award and non-award) at both of these properties.

mster

I'm planning a 2-3 week visit to Stockholm in May and am planning to stay at either the Clarion Stockholm or Clarion Sign. It's likely that I'll spend most of my free time in Sodermalm drinking coffee or enjoying the view at Herman's so I thought the Stockholm location might be better. I will need to work from the room quite a bit though so if the rooms are better at the Sign that might sway me the other way.

Are the rooms at the Sign location noticeably superior or just the beds? Is breakfast more or less the same? Which property would you go for?

EDIT: Checking the Nordic Choice property pages for each hotel the rooms at the Stockholm look much larger / better equipped than those at the Sign for the same category types. Are you saying that you get upgraded rooms more reliably at the Sign as an elite member or something?

GUWonder

The rooms are comparable enough, but I seem to get a wider variety of rooms and room locations at the Stockholm compared to the Sign. Sometimes that works in my favor but more often it hasn't when I've chosen the Stockholm. The Sign has never sent me to such a tiny room that the bed is only accessible from one side without climbing on the bed. The Stockholm has assigned me such tiny rooms a few times and then I've had to go back down to the lobby to get reassigned.

The breakfast seating at the Sign tends to be more comfortable for me and less cramped; and the Sign isn't as fast to shut the breakfast down.

The Stockholm property layout and relative darkness of the lobby doesn't really suit me as well as the Sign does.

If the plan is to be around Sodermalm most all the time, then pick based on location. Both properties work about equally well for getting work done, but the Sign has fewer rooms where I've had wifi internet signal problems than the Stockholm. The second floor (i.e. the floor above the check-in desk level) at the Sign works out well for me to do some work when I don't want to do it in my rooms. Perhaps the Stockholm has such an area on the breakfast area level but I've not used it.

I'm also saying the Stockholm is more likely to downgrade me than the Sign.

mster

Yeah, the "moderate double" rooms at the Stockholm are ridiculously small at 14 m2. I'd avoid anything cheaper than the "standard double" rooms there.

Did you use the spa at the Sign at all? Lots of pics of the rooftop pool and such. I remember gym / spa / pool access at the Sign used to require an additional charge - is that still the case now?

I'm booking with Choice points, but I have Nordic Choice status if it makes any difference. Thanks for the incredibly helpful info!

GUWonder

Gym doesn't involve any additional charge any more, but that is now on the floor above the lobby level and quite a hike from the elevator bank.

The spa bar doesn't require paying an additional fee to use, but I think the pool and spa still do ask for additional payment from most hotel guests.

mster

I've stayed at both the Clarion Sign and Clarion Stockholm this week and have some observations others might find useful.

(1) Sign breakfast is significantly better - smoked salmon / gravlax, better omelette bar, better breads / crisps, real syrup etc.
(2) Sign location near Stockholm Central Station (and ARN express train) is better for short stays
(3) Room quality and design elements are very good
(4) Bathrooms at the Sign have zero privacy

(1) Stockholm location is closer to T stop and better for longer stays
(2) Stockholm location has cheaper food, drink and groceries since it's in Södermalm
(3) Stockholm location has a much more local neighborhood vibe
(4) Room finishes aren't quite as nice, but rooms were renovated more recently
(5) Bathrooms at the Stockholm have a bottle opener mounted in the shower ^

GUWonder

Good summary, thanks.

I thought all the room bathrooms at the Sign have frosted glass doors (and frosted glass internal windows, when/where there is such an internal window for the bathrooms) to provide bathroom privacy. But the "peep hole" where a door handle goes does indeed provide a clear look into the bathroom for those wanting to be eagle-eyed.

The Stockholm breakfast does strike me as worse than the Sign, but I thought that both hotels were actually subject to the same food deliveries when it comes to the open-for-all-guest breakfast buffets.

anabolism

Do you mean the Clarion Stockholm does not have smoked salmon or gravlax at breakfast?

mster

Yes, that was my experience.