Settling into Oslo - Norway - page 82

most famous cafe in Oslo, offer live entertainment. Frankly, although still the
grande dame of Norway hotels, we feel the Grand has lost its cutting edge. Both
the Hotel Bristol and Hotel Continental are less pretentious, lacking such stiff
formality and ritualized service. In spite of its formality, many well-heeled fam-
ilies check in here. Children enjoy the indoor pool, and the reception staff keeps
a list of activities going on in Oslo that will amuse kids.
Karl Johans Gate 31, N-0159 Oslo. & 800/223-5652 in the U.S., or 23-21-20-00. Fax [phone]. www.
grand.no. 289 units. Summer 1,200NOK ($170) double, 2,160NOK-22,000NOK ($307-$3,124) suite; fall, win-
ter, spring 1,935NOK ($275) double, 2,740NOK-22,000NOK ($389-$3,124) suite. Rates include buffet break-
fast. AE, DC, MC, V. Parking 240NOK ($34). T-banen: Stortinget. Amenities: 3 restaurants; 2 bars; nightclub;
indoor heated pool; fitness center; health club; sauna; solarium; shopping arcade; 24-hr. room service;
babysitting; massage; laundry service/dry cleaning; nonsmoking rooms; rooms for those w/limited mobility.
Inroom: A/C, TV, dataport, minibar, hair dryer, safe, trouser press.
Hotel Continental This is a major, immensely prestigious hotel, lur-
ing members of Norway's business community. It opened in 1900 as a rival to
the also-recommended Grand Hotel (see above). Since then, at least two of its
five dining and drinking outlets (Annen Etage and Theatercafeen) have become
enduring and successful staples on the city's restaurant scene. The only Norwe-
gian member of Leading Hotels of the World, and the only major hotel in Oslo
that's still mostly owned by an individual family (as headed by Elizabeth Brock-
mann), it's cozy, a bit inbred, and thoroughly conservative in its approach to vir-
tually everything. Expect lots of personalized touches, such as a masterful
collection of framed original lithographs and woodcuts by Edvard Munch in a
salon near the reception area. Bedrooms are plush and intensely well decorated,
often with wallpaper and an unerring upper-crust touch, sometimes evoking
comfortable bedrooms in private homes. Bathrooms are tiled or clad in marble,
each with a tub/shower combination.
Stortingsgaten 24-26, Oslo N-0117. & 22-82-40-00. Fax [phone]. www.hotel-continental.no. 154
units. Sun-Thurs 2,330NOK-2,750NOK ($331-$391) double, from 3,500NOK ($497) suite; Fri-Sat
1,320NOK-1,540NOK ($187-$219) double, from 2,650NOK ($376) suite. Rates include breakfast buffet. AE,
DC, MC, V. Parking 240NOK ($34). T-banen: Nationaltheatret. Amenities: 2 restaurants; 2 bars; 2 cafes;
24-hr. room service; babysitting; laundry service/dry cleaning; nonsmoking rooms. In room: A/C (in some), TV,
dataport, minibar, hair dryer, safe, trouser press.
EXPENSIVE
Clarion Hotel Royal Christiania This is the second-largest hotel in
Norway, a soaring 14-story tower built to house athletes and administrators dur-
ing the 1952 Winter Olympics. Extensively upgraded in the 1990s, with the
addition of two nine-story wings, today it's a luxury hotel that is often favorably
compared to the nearby Radisson SAS Plaza Hotel. This modern hotel and the
surrounding high-traffic neighborhood don't evoke old-fashioned Norway, but
you will find comfort, efficiency, good design, and a hardworking staff. The
medium-size guest rooms are as quiet, conservatively decorated, and blandly
tasteful as you'd expect from an international chain. The well-maintained bath-
rooms have tub/shower combinations and heated towel racks.
Biskop Gunnerus' Gate 3, N-0106 Oslo. & 23-10-80-00. Fax [phone]. www.choicehotels.no. 503 units.
Sun-Thurs 1,995NOK ($283) double, 2,295NOK ($326) suite; Fri-Sat and June 15-Aug 1 1,195NOK ($170)
double, 1,595NOK ($226) suite. Rates include breakfast. AE, DC, MC, V. Parking 225NOK ($32). Bus: 30, 31,
or 41. Amenities: Restaurant; bar; indoor pool; fitness center; sauna; limited room service; massage; laundry
service/dry cleaning; nonsmoking rooms; rooms for those w/limited mobility. In room: TV, dataport, minibar,
coffeemaker, hair dryer.
Hotel Bastion This hotel, the first Best Western premier hotel to
open in Oslo, is filled with individual charm. The celebrated designer Anemone

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