Copenhagen recommendations (hotel, transport)..
 

My family of 3 (me, wife and 11 yr old girl) would be flying LAX to CPH end of Mar. Reaching CPH on Mar 31. We are planning 3 nights in Copenhagen and checking out on April 3 and traveling to Sweden.

1) We are looking for a moderately prices hotel near tourist places. I read about Wake Up Copenhagen but there seems to be 2 of them. Which one is the better one? Prices in general seem very expensive.
2) If we take metro / train , are there directions in English written/oral ? we don't want to get lost after landing there as taxis seem expensive to get to city area ( over $40 ).
3) After checkout we plan to take the train to Malmo and stay a night there. So we need some recommendation on a Malmo hotel room also.
4) We are US citizens and would be flying into CPH but flying out of ARN back to LAX. There are no immigration issues doing that , right? Cos we enter Denmark but getting out of Sweden?
5) Should we exchange USD for local currency? are USD accepted anywhere? How about US based credit cards?(visa/mastercard)

There are more questions but I will ask in batches.

Thanks in advance

The two WakeUp hotels are equivalent standard. The one on Borgergade (don't even try to pronounce it) is newer, and more in the heart of the city, but the original one is handy for the station, Tivoli and Vesterbro. The rooms are *very* small, but clean and comfortable.

The train and metro have plenty English signage. Very simple and easy to use - I've never used a taxi in the city.

Plenty options in Malmö. If you're after a budget option again, I like the Moment hotel, but again it does have tiny rooms.

No problem flying out of Sweden - both countries are in the Schengen zone, which is the important factor.

You won't be able to spend USD anywhere. Credit cards are fine, although you may have to pay a surcharge to use them, and may have trouble using cards without chip & pin on automated machines. The easiest way to get local currency (and you will need different currencies in Denmark and Sweden, even if there is very limited mutual acceptance in Malmö at a poor rate) is to use ATMs, with some backup in case your bank fraud mechanisms are triggered initially on arrival.

Thanks for info. how about the Norreport area near the station? Is that a good neighborhood for staying? I see M2 from airport connects to this station and this station also has service to Malmo.

Kongens Nytorv is arguably closer to the Wakeup Borgergade than Nørreport, but both are right in the commercial centre of the city (although there is construction work for a new metro line and the rebuilding of the Nørreport metro/train/bus interchange, but this shouldn't affect you other than a slight confusion when crossing the street). Loads of good restaurants in this area - including several from the excellent Madklubben chain.

Kongens Nytorv is also near Strøget and Nyhavn, and Nørreport near the market halls, the "Latin Quarter" and the inner part of Nørrebro (Nørrebros Bryghus and several of the cafes by the lakes are well worth a visit). This is a slightly edgier neighbourhood, but, well, it's still Copenhagen.

However, central Copenhagen is very compact and very walkable (although I normally cycle, along with half the people there...) so you're pretty flexible wherever you end up...

I've been told that the Malmo Starbucks accepts payment in Danish cash (DKK) and then gives change back in Swedish kronor (SEK). At least the landside CPH airport Starbucks does something of the same sort, and perhaps also the airside Starbucks.

I can't speak to the exchange rate losses by way of this method, but it may be a way: to get rid of SEK in Denmark and get DKK back as change; and to get rid of DKK in Sweden and get SEK back as change.

I don't know if the landside Starbucks at CPH and the Starbucks at Malmo C accept USD cash and give change back in local currency, but the CPH Starbucks used to take EUR cash and give back change in DKK.

Thanks Stut.

Is Wakeup Borgergade close to any metro / train line ? I want to take metro from airport to hotel and then after Copenhagen visit take train to Malmo. If I have a check in bag which most likely would, I don't want to lug it around for long walks to station. I would prefer to be close to rail/metro stations and then walk to touristy places than the other way round...

Kongens Nytorv metro is the closest to that end of Borgergade - about a 5-10 minute walk (there are elevators from the platform right up to street level).

Nearest railway station is Nørreport, about 5 minutes' more. The "regionaltog" (not S-tog or metro) platforms take you to Malmö, although personally I'd be tempted get the metro from Kongens Nytorv to the airport and change there - Nørreport is an overcrowded commuter station and perhaps a little confusing if you're not used to it - plus the trains often change drivers at the main station and so you can be sat there for 10 minutes en route.

That said, if it's busy, Nørreport would give you a better chance of a decent seat for the stunning journey over the bridge.

Have you considered staying near Copenhagen Central Station (Köbenhavn H)? I've stayed at Scandic Webers which is within walking distance from central station. From there, most of the tourist sites in Copenhagen (Tivoli, Rådhus, Nyhavn, etc.) are walkable. And since you will going to Malmo at the end of your trip, you can simply board your train at Copenhagen Central.

I thought about it but wanted some hotel recommendations. Is Scandic webers good for family? I heard some hotels near central station was a little shady..

Scandic Webers is a business hotel and I was fine when I stayed there (will stay there again in the fall). If you want something more upscale, there's Radisson Blu Royal, located on the same street (Vesterbrogade) and across from central station. Also, next to the station, on the Tivoli side, is Copenhagen Plaza. I have not stayed there but walked pass there many times and it has good reviews.

There are several budget hotels near central station and they are located mainly on Istedgade and Helgolandsgade. The area, as you say, is shady because this used to be a red light district and there are still remnants of the old days. But Denmark is a relatively safe place and for as long as you are not wandering on Istedgade or Helgolandsgade at 3 p.m. (believe, there is no reason to be there at that hour unless you've just been to the strip bars), you have nothing to worry about.

I've stayed at the Scandic Webers, and the hotel is not shady at all. It's ok and the neighborhood is fine enough for tourists. While there is a strip club or two and possibly some prositution activity on the back alley streets near the hotel, the hotel and main street (and walking on the main street between the hotel and train station) has never been intimidating to anyone whom I know. And now the hotel and area is much better than it was say around a decade ago when I was also using this property for ten thousand HHonors points a night and the hotel was in desperate need of a renovation (since-completed).

If your only plan for Sweden on this trip involves just visiting Malmo and maybe Lund within 24 hours, I'm not sure changing hotels is necessarily worth it when Malmo can be visited without having to deal with even the small hassle of changing properties.

3 PM?? or did you mean 3 AM?

The intention was to state 3am.

At 3pm, the area around Scandic Webers is as ok as anywhere else with a major hotel in central Copenhagen. At 3am, it's more iffy -- in the sleazy sense -- but no worse than some "safe" neighborhoods in Manhattan.

Thanks for jumping in! Indeed, I meant 3 a.m.

I think the Crowne Plaza Copenhagen Towers provides good bang for the buck. It's easy and quick getting from and to the airport on the free hotel shuttle, and the Ørestad metro station, which takes you into town, is right around the corner, across from Field's mall.

English is widely spoken in Copenhagen, and neither signs nor communicating with the locals should pose any problem even for an English-only speaker.