Stavanger - Norway - page 238

brick walls and the mechanism for a 19th-century gear-driven windlass or hoist
form part of the decor.) Sunnier, more dramatic, and more panoramic are the
big-windowed accommodations in the newer section, some of which might
evoke greenhouses if it weren't for their leather-upholstered furniture, hardwood
floors, Oriental carpets, and sense of high-tech flair. All accommodations come
with immaculate private bathrooms with tub/shower combinations. This hotel
doesn't have a restaurant of its own, but there are at least 14 eateries and lots of
bars within a very short walk.
Skagenkaien 30, N-4004 Stavanger. & 51-85-00-00. Fax [phone]. www.skagenbryggehotell.no. 110
units. Sun-Thurs 1,450NOK ($206) double, 1,500NOK-2,750NOK ($213-$391) suite; Fri-Sun year-round and
daily July 850NOK ($121) double, 1,500NOK-2,750NOK ($213-$391) suite. Rates include breakfast. AE, DC,
MC, V. Amenities: Entrance to a nearby health and exercise club for 30NOK ($4.25) fee; exercise area with
sauna; laundry service/dry cleaning. In room:A/C, TV, minibar, safe.
Victoria Hotel Inaugurated in 1900 in a building with a redbrick-with-
stone-trim design that's now carefully preserved as a town landmark, this is the
oldest hotel in town. It's set prominently at the edge of the harbor, but in a less-
touristed waterfront area used for the mooring of fishing boats and supply ships
servicing the North Sea oil platforms. Over the years the hotel's role in Stavanger
has changed: Once its clientele was primarily concerned with the herring and
canning industries; now about 85% of its clients are middle-bracket employees
within the oil service industries. Expect a thoroughly decent, muted hotel with
a helpful staff, and a lobby that's outfitted in a paneled style that you might have
expected from a 19th-century hotel in England. Rooms are clean, well main-
tained, and not overly large, each with conservative traditional furniture and a
tiled bathroom with a tub/shower combination. Each has a floor plan that,
thanks to the hotel's U-shaped layout and antique shell, is different from each of
its neighbors. The in-house bar (the Holmen Bar) and restaurant (Big Horn
Steakhouse) are competent, catering mostly to residents of the hotel. Also on-
site is Cartellet Restaurant, which we recommend below (p. 242). This is not a
hotel where a rock star would be understood or catered to, but if you're a hard-
working sales rep for an oil service company, or a leisure traveler with a normal
set of expectations, it will work just fine.
Skansekaien 1, N-4001 Stavanger. & 51-86-70-00. Fax [phone]. www.victoria-hotel.no. 107 units.
Mon-Thurs 1,245NOK-1,445NOK ($177-$205) double, 2,200NOK ($312) suite; Fri-Sun 695NOK-895NOK
($99-$127) double, 995NOK ($141) suite. AE, DC, MC, V. Amenities: Restaurant; bar; laundry service/dry
cleaning. In room: TV, minibar.
INEXPENSIVE
Best Western Havly Hotel The only member of the Best Western hotel
chain in town is positioned on a street that runs parallel to the wharves of the
Vågen (harbor), 1 block uphill. Small-scale, boxy, and modern, it was built in the
1960s in a low-rise design that doesn't interfere (too much) with the otherwise
antique buildings of old Stavanger that rise around it on every side. There's no bar,
no restaurant, and very few amenities, but in light of the clean and well-main-
tained accommodations, and because of the many bars and restaurants that lie
within a few blocks, no one seems to care. Don't expect old-fashioned charm or
nostalgia, because that isn't what this simple hotel tries to provide. It attracts busi-
ness travelers from other parts of Scandinavia and there's an aura of brisk, matter-
of-fact efficiency permeating a decor that includes smallish, weather-tight
windows (without any particularly interesting view) that you might have expected
in a Best Western in, say, a cold-climate region of the Pacific Northwest. Despite
that, we prefer this hotel's accommodations to those within the comparably priced

Value