Settling into Oslo - Norway - page 90

bathrooms come with a tub/shower combinations. In vivid contrast to the glow-
ing paneling of the oldest sections of the hotel, the convention facilities are
extremely modern—the poshest in Oslo.
Kongeveien 26, N-0390 Oslo. & 22-92-20-00. Fax [phone]. www.holmenkollenparkhotel.no. 220 units.
Mon-Thurs 1,395NOK-1,995NOK ($198-$283) double; Fri-Sun 1,095NOK-1,995NOK ($155-$283) double;
daily 2,750NOK-14,000NOK ($391-$1,988) suite. Rates include breakfast. AE, DC, MC, V. Tram: 1. Ameni-
ties: 2 restaurants; bar; health club w/indoor pool, sauna, and Jacuzzi; babysitting; laundry service/dry clean-
ing; marked jogging and cross-country ski trails in the vicinity; extensive convention facilities. In room: A/C,
TV, minibar, hair dryer, safe.
AT THE AIRPORT
EXPENSIVE
Radisson SAS Airport Hotel This is the kind of airport hotel that you
fall into with gratitude, before or after your flight. To travel between the arrivals
terminal and the hotel, designed as an integral part of the Gardemoen airport,
wheel your luggage, using the free carts distributed at the hotel and throughout
the airport, along a series of sloping cement ramps and across a busy access road
(cars will stop and wait for you if you cross on any of the clearly designated
crosswalks). The architecture is as futuristic and well conceived as you might
expect, and rapid checkout (via your TV screen) in the morning eliminates a lot
of the fuss and bother that's otherwise associated with getting to the airport on
time. Bedrooms have lavishly carved headboards in a style that's vaguely Thai or
Indonesian, glistening white-tiled bathrooms, and writing tables, plus bath-
rooms with tub/shower combinations. Like any airport hotel, this one is some-
what impersonal, and trammeled over by hordes of travelers en route to
somewhere else, and the restaurants are far from personalized. But here, the mix-
ture of personalities, races, and agendas makes people-watching genuinely inter-
esting. Other complaints about this place include an awkwardly designed bar
that's a lot less comfortable and accommodating than we might have hoped for,
and a health club whose hours simply don't take into account the stress-related
tension of guests arriving long after it's already locked its doors for the day and
night.
Hotellvegen, Box 163, N-2061 Gardemoen. & 63-93-30-00. Fax [phone]. www.radissonsas.com. 350
units. 1,595NOK-1,895NOK ($226-$269) double; 3,900NOK-5,500NOK ($554-$781) suite. AE, DC, MC, V.
Amenities: 2 restaurants; bar; health club w/sauna; 24-hr. room service; massage; laundry service/dry clean-
ing; meeting rooms. In room: A/C, TV, dataport, minibar, hair dryer, safe.
Rica Hotel Oslo Airport The “other” Gardemoen airport hotel is not
as glossy or stylish as the Radisson SAS (see above), but it's well run and an alter-
native choice if the more popular hotel is full, as it often is. Alas, it's not directly
at the airport, but only a 5-minute shuttle-hop away. Motorists can easily access
the hotel via Route E6. It's a check-in, checkout kind of place housing weary
passengers from all over the world coming from and going to Norway. The four-
story property offers streamlined and rather small bedrooms that are immacu-
lately maintained and comfortable, each with a tiled bathroom with shower. The
clients are mostly business travelers or families traveling with kids in tow, and
the hotel sponsors special children's programs. If you want to work off jet lag,
the staff will point out jogging trails, arrange golf, or book excursions on a pad-
dle steamer traversing the lake.
Gardemoen Naeringspark, N-2065 Gardemoen. & 63-92-66-00. Fax [phone]. www.rica.no. 140 units.
1,095NOK-1,570NOK ($155-$223) double. AE, DC, MC, V. Free parking. Amenities: Restaurant; bar; laundry
service/dry cleaning. In room: A/C, TV, minibar.

Kids