The Bastion Hotel, Oslo, is independently owned and operated under the Best Western marketing group, and is certainly one of their smarter hotels, being officially classified as a four star establishment. The hotel is conveniently located just a few minutes walk from the main city thoroughfare “Karl Johansgate” and was refurbished, to much local acclaim from the press, during 2001.
Website and Booking -------------------------- I booked the hotel, on line, approximately four weeks before my arrival date, having been attracted to the hotel via the website www.laterooms.com. My initial plan was to book the SASRadissonPlaza and I had been watching their late availability rates, however this one grabbed me because of the attractiveness of its rate, and its interior, which was just that little bit different from the normal four star establishments.
Booking was amazingly straightforward. Laterooms advised to contact the hotel via telephone directly and quote their rate, however I saw the same rate as a special offer on the www.hotelbastion.no website, and decided to book from there. Double rooms were available for 790 Kr. and Deluxe rooms from 900 Kr. This equates to around £66 and £76 respectively, including breakfast, per night, and as the deluxe was cheaper than SAS Radisson….you guessed it...I upgraded.
The confirmation process was extremely straightforward, and I simply entered my address details, room type, dates and number of nights, and it was done. It then occurred to me I had not been
asked for a credit card to secure the room. I emailed the hotel and got a response back within the half hour advising me they only needed my credit card if I wanted to guarantee my room (i.e. not release it after a certain time if we had not arrived). As my arrival time into Oslo was mid afternoon I did not worry unduly about this, but I also telephoned the hotel before leaving Scotland and reconfirmed our arrival.
Location and First Impressions ------------------------------------- I first spotted the hotel just off the freeway on the way into Oslo city centre (arriving by airport bus) and for a fleeting moment, I wondered if I had made a bad choice. However my fears were not to be realised. The hotel was within easy reach of the town centre and the lively Aker Brygge Waterfront area, as well as Oslo Sentralstasjon and the Oslo Spektrum.
Check in was swift and efficient. We were warmly greeted and acknowledged immediately for the fact I had called earlier that morning. After a swift processing of payment card, we were given a brief introduction to the hotel namely the location of the “Relax” suite, the breakfast room and times, and we were advised that coffee was available free of charge 24/7 (something which is definitely a benefit if you have to pay Norwegian prices!!) Access to the rooms, lift and landings is via a key card, which is a security benefit that sits well with me. The hotel is a medium/large sized hotel with 99 rooms, deluxe rooms, suites and junior suites. The reception area was extremely warm and welcoming and the décor was extremely tasteful and classic in style but with an unusual contemporary twist. It was extremely warm and inviting with an assortment of cosy seating areas, and had a lovely lived in feel. With the bookcases which were dotted around you could be forgiven for thinking you had walked into some elegant country home. A fire burned in the sitting area, and the tables were not short of magazines, mainly of the Interiors variety, and including one or two in English. 10/10 The Room ------------ Our deluxe room is one of the ones featured on the hotel website and I defy anyone to walk in and say that their initial expectations were not met. The room just had the WOW factor right away. The hotel oozed quality from every angle and the bedroom was no exception. The high ceiling, the white paintwork and the steel blue walls just oozed luxury and quality. Two comfortable Queen Anne chairs, a quality desk, amazing bed and sideboards filled the room. The floor was a solid wood floor, stained a deep shade and a chinese style rug completed the look.
As the furniture was traditional, the lighting and pictures were very modern. Stainless steel lamps lit the room from the bedside, the desk and the seating area. And the funkiest silver bedside alarm clock adorned one of the bedside cabinets.
The room overlooked the street and the window ran the full breadth of the room, its floor to ceiling glass made sure the room was filled with light, adding to that fresh airy feel. The windows were adorned with the thickest and darkest navy curtains ever, which when closed, completely blocked out all signs of natural daylight, like no curtains I have ever seen before. Which is just as well, as it is still light there at midnight at the moment.
The bed was huge, and the mattress was separated into two singles, which could be electronically adjusted at the head and feet, independently of each other. The crisp white linen sheets and duvets; were folded independently of each other and the navy blue bedspread offset the sold wooden frame of the bed. This was a serious piece of furniture!
There was a small double built in wardrobe containing about eight wooden clothes hangers; with shelving above, and the two small bedside cabinets had limited drawer space. The minibar contained a small selection of nibbles and drinks at reasonable prices, and as good value as any of the city’s bars.
Entertainment was provided by way of the normal Hotel TV channels, the main English ones being the CNN news channel and Discovery, although most films are shown in English with Norwegian subtitles. Paid films were available at the cost of 140Kr per day. The TV also had paid internet/email access, which was at the rate of 49Kr for one hour’s access. There did not seem to be a policy of resetting this after check out, and so, despite the fact I did check with reception, I was able to have 45 minutes of internet access time courtesy of the previous guest of room 214! Thank you, whoever you are.
The bathroom continued with the modern and classic styling. Pure white in colour, the tiles around the bath/shower area were the classic brick style and the room was finished with wooden panelling and modern silver fittings. My only real complaints about the room were both bathroom related. Firstly, the over bath shower only had a small shower screen, and this entailed practically having to stand on the slope of the bath and pointing the shower at the wall, or seriously flood the bathroom floor. The second complaint was the towel sizes, only one bath towel, and the rest too small to cover ones-self with; although white bathrobes were provided in the room. 9/10 overall, as I would feel the room would be a definite 10/10 if they just affixed a better shower guard.
Restaurant ------------- The hotel itself does not have a full restaurant which serves evening meals, although light room services were available at reasonable cost, and again no more expensive than outside the hotel.
Breakfast was another quality act. A Smorgasbord of salads, meats, home made breads, sausage, boiled eggs, cheeses yoghurts, cereal, coffee and orange juice awaited those who managed to make it for breakfast, which was served at the very reasonable hours of 7am-11am, with coffee being available around the clock.
Those curtains did make for a long lie though, and the breakfast room was still very busy even at 9.30am to 1000am and was noticeably quieter on the final morning, when we had to be up and having breakfast by 8am to be sure to catch the airport bus. Local and limited international newspapers were available.
Other facilities ------------------ The “Relax” room was small, but did contain a spa pool, some gym equipment and a sun bed. The hotel was able to offer same day laundry service as well as other guest services as expected of a four star property. There were a couple of mid sized meeting rooms, with an ante room, for coffee breaks. Cable free internet access was also available in the lobby.
In a nutshell --------------- Good - Luxury Cleanliness Friendly but unobtrusive service
Not as good - Bath screen Small towels Adjoining red light district (but no problems encountered)
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exceptional by (13%):
very helpful by (88%):
