Norway Lodging Reviews
Oslo
HI Oslo Haraldsheim
I stayed two nights at HI Oslo Haraldsheim for approximately $100 USD in total. The hostel is not quite centrally located–it’s about 20 minutes away from Jernbanetorget / Oslo Central Station by public transit, and it’s not a very social hostel. For the price, I thought it was a good value. Overall, I would recommend the hostel if you’re on a budget but still want to stay somewhere nice with clean facilities.
I chose to stay at HI Oslo Haraldsheim because it is supposed to be a social hostel and I was traveling alone. I enjoy meeting people and finding others to pal around with. Unfortunately, that did not pan out for me at HI Oslo Haraldsheim. Most people were traveling with a partner or in a group, and didn’t seem interested in making new friends.
The hostel provides sheets and towels, which cuts down on items you need to lug around Norway with you. The bedrooms are very clean and the beds are comfortable. When I booked my stay, I selected a mixed dorm, but ended up in an all-female dorm room. Not a problem, just noting for the record.
The beds are arranged as bunk beds. Each bed folds down if there is an occupant. When some of the beds are folded up, the room feels larger than it otherwise would. If there are more than two or three people per room, space becomes tight and the furniture at the back of the room blocks access to the lockers.
The other issue I had with the rooms was that while there are lockers provided, they are too small for a larger bag. This meant I had to leave my luggage out in an already tight space, and store my valuables in the locker. Not ideal, but manageable. Security aside, I had a little trouble figuring out where to put my luggage in our dorm room. Ultimately, I found a little corner by my bunkmate’s bed where I was able to fit my luggage standing upright. My bunkmate graciously offered to let me use that space, even though it was by her bed. There was no similar space next to my bed. Takeaway: don’t bring big luggage to HI Oslo Haraldsheim.
Note, there are no power outlets in the women’s bathroom or the women’s shower room. If you want to dry your hair, I believe they have hair dryers you can borrow from the front desk, but there isn’t really anywhere to plug them in except for your room. In other words, don’t plan on doing your hair at 7 am or everyone will hate you. Unless you’re all jetlagged and up at 7 am anyway. Then go for it.
There are separate bathrooms and showers that are specifically designated for women, with locks on each. There are also unisex bathrooms and showers that are available to anyone. The toilets are cleaned every day and someone keeps the toilet paper stocked. The shower room was very clean and each shower has a little separate area where you can put your clothes and anything else you want to keep dry.
Breakfast at HI Oslo Haraldsheim is included in the room price and was very good. They have a wide selection of food, and a lot of traditional Norwegian breakfast foods, including waffles and brown cheese. They also had several gluten free options, and, of course, there was coffee, tea, and juice. As I found to be typical of Norway, I needed three or four of their coffees to wake up and the coffee was on the bitter side. No worries though. They have these add-ons called sugar and milk. They’re also things in Norway. Just use extra.
Bodø
Radisson Blu Hotel, Bodø
I stayed at the Radisson Blu Hotel for two nights while I was in Bodø. I paid roughly $125 for the one night I stayed there. Radisson Blu is a chain hotel throughout Norway—I believe there is one in almost every major city and each has conference space available.
For a four-star hotel in Norway, the Radisson Blu in Bodø was affordable and quite nice. My room was pleasant and modern, with an armchair by the window, a nicely finished wooden desk for working, a minibar fridge, a flat screen TV, a smart looking comfortable bed and a nice bathroom. My one minor complaint was that both the room and the bathroom weren’t overly large. I was fine by myself, but for two people trying to move around in there at the same time it might have been a bit tight. Additionally, I was a little surprised to find that there were no snacks or alcohol available for purchase in the room. This seems to be a common theme throughout the hotels in Norway though. Take note if you are counting on finding food in your hotel room—there most likely won’t be any.
Breakfast was included in the room price, and I thought they provided a very good spread. They had the standard continental breakfast, Norwegian waffles and brown cheese (my favorite!). The food was good and there were gluten free options for almost everything. However, the coffee situation was a little confusing.
First, I had to flag down a server and ask where the drip coffee was. I was told to just take an entire carafe for myself. I found one sitting on a side table. Now, as I was drinking three cups of coffee on the regular in Norway, I kept the carafe for myself while I ate breakfast. Yes, multiple people at other tables stared at me as I gulped down my first two cups in one swallow each. Like I was dying of thirst in the desert. I don’t know who’s drinking coffee at the Radisson Blu in the morning, but apparently they aren’t coffee guzzlers. I had to keep a tight grip on the carafe too because finding the coffee in the first place had been difficult. If you prefer to use a coffee machine, however, you will have no trouble finding that. Tons of people seemed to think that was great and super refined. I’ll stick to my swill, thanks.
The Radisson Blue in Bodø has a rooftop bar, called Top 13 Bar & Lounge, with quite a lot of good google reviews remarking on the quality of the cocktails. Though I am an avid cocktail-lover, I decided not to visit Top 13. I got the impression from the front desk at my hotel that the bar is often occupied by conference attendees, and not the best place to meet other people if you’re traveling solo in Bodø.