Settling into Oslo - Norway - page 85

the highest occupancy rates in downtown Oslo. Some of the most charming
rooms are on the ninth (uppermost) floor, where the sloping walls of the
Mansard-style roof add a general coziness. Regardless of their location within the
hotel, rooms have wood flooring and tile-covered bathrooms, about half of
which have a shower. (The remaining rooms have tub/shower combinations.)
Rooms are conservative, dignified, and comfortable, with an appealingly non-
standardized format that includes a number of windows, rounded corners, and
color schemes of golds, dark blues, and russets.
Rosenkrantzgate 13, N-0121 Oslo. & 24-14-70-00. Fax [phone]. www.rica.no. 199 units. Sun-Thurs
1,490NOK ($212) double, 2,450NOK-2,700NOK ($348-$383) suite; Fri-Sun and mid-June to July daily
880NOK ($125) double, 1,600NOK-1,850NOK ($227-$263) suite. Rates include breakfast. AE, DC, MC, V.
Parking 175NOK ($25) per night. Tram: 10, 12, 15, or 19. Amenities: Restaurant (the Victoria Havn); bar;
babysitting; laundry service/dry cleaning. In room: TV, minibar.
Quality Hotel Savoy Newly renovated in 2004, this centrally located hotel
is installed in a classic early-20th-century building. It is recommended for its
spacious, well-kept bedrooms, its stylish public areas, and its good facilities.
Bedrooms are beautifully furnished and well maintained, each equipped with a
medium-size bathroom with tub/shower combinations. On-site is restauranteik
(see review later in this chapter), serving well-prepared Norwegian and interna-
tional dishes in a smoke-free atmosphere. The soft upholstered chairs of the
hotel bar also attract many nonguests.
Universitesgata 11, N-0164 Oslo. & 23-35-42-00. Fax [phone]. www.takehotels.com/Quality-Savoy-
Hotel-Oslo.htm. 80 units. 1,595NOK ($226) double; 1,795NOK ($255) suite. Rates include buffet breakfast.
AE, DC, MC, V. Parking 200NOK ($28). Tram: 11, 13, 18, or 19. To locate the Savoy on Oslo hotel map, search
for Kristian IV's Gate. Place hotel red dot to the right of Gate (about 1 ⁄ 8 in.) on south side of the street. Ameni-
ties: Restaurant; bar; limited room service; laundry service; nonsmoking rooms; rooms for those w/limited
mobility. In room: TV, fridge, hair dryer, iron/ironing board, safe.
MODERATE
First Hotel Millennium This hotel opened late in 1998 within
what was originally a 1930s Art Deco office building. It's within walking dis-
tance of virtually everything in central Oslo, including the Akershus fortress and
the shops of the Karl Johans Gate. Rising nine floors behind a pale pink facade,
it's noted for a stylish kind of minimalism, which in the bedrooms translates into
ocher-colored walls with dark wood trim, streamlined wooden furniture, and
lots of comfort. This is one of the “personality” hotels of Oslo, known for its
atmosphere and character. The accommodations are among the most spacious
in town, with many Art Deco touches in the furnishings and designs. On the
top floor are a dozen accommodations with their own large balconies opening
onto cityscape views. Each unit has a large bathroom equipped with a
tub/shower combination. Primo & Ciao, the on-site restaurant, offers first-rate
Mediterranean specialties.
Tollbugate 25, N-0157 Oslo. & 21-02-28-00. Fax [phone]. www.firsthotels.com. 112 units. Mon-Thurs
1,499NOK ($213) double; Fri-Sun 948NOK ($135) double. AE, DC, MC, V. T-banen: Stortinget. Amenities:
Restaurant; bar; limited room service; babysitting; laundry service/dry cleaning; all nonsmoking rooms; rooms
for those w/limited mobility. In room: TV, minibar, hair dryer.
First Hotel Nobel House This elegant boutique hotel, whose lobby
has a seven-story glassed-in atrium with Oriental carpets, columns, and a fire-
place, has a personalized feel. A member of a Sweden-based hotel chain, the
hotel has a polite staff and a lot of idiosyncratic style. Oddly, this is one of the
few hotels anywhere where we prefer the regular rooms to the oddly laid-out,
curiously spartan suites, where lots of room might be devoted, say, to an interior

Finds

Finds