Best Western Anker Hotel, Oslo

...it was to book with Best Western direct - so take this into account if you're planning on visiting here. We stayed here for five nights and the weekend nights were given to us at a discounted rate, which was nice. Overall it worked out cheaper than staying in most hotels in other capital cities (for example London) which we were quite impressed with seeing as Norway is reputed as being one of the most expensive places to go in the world.

...hotel itself has a big Best Western sign and is pretty straightforward to get into once you've actually found it. The reception area was lovely and warm and festively decorated. We decided to see if we could check in early on the off chance that our room would be free and it was! The staff were really nice about this and didn't charge us extra for arriving 3 hours early.

We were on level 8 and there are two lifts in reception, so we ... more

This year my boyfriend and I decided to take a break in December to make a change. We decided that, rather than chase the winter sun, we'd instead embrace the cold and have a Christmassy holiday. Having recently been to Iceland, we decided to go for a similar country and booked up our hotel in Oslo in Norway.

It was my boyfriend rather than myself who physically did the booking, but he noted that it was far cheaper to book through a website like last minute or Expedia than it was to book with Best Western direct - so take this into account if you're planning on visiting here. We stayed here for five nights and the weekend nights were given to us at a discounted rate, which was nice. Overall it worked out cheaper than staying in most hotels in other capital cities (for example London) which we were quite impressed with seeing as Norway is reputed as being one of the most expensive places to go in the world.

Arriving at the Hotel

Our flight got us in to Oslo at about 11am but we weren't supposed to check in to our hotel until 3pm. Although this might not sound like a long time, it is when it's minus 6 outside and you're dragging a big suitcase. Having previously looked up the route to the hotel on Google maps, we decided to set about finding it.

It wasn't particularly easy to find the hotel as, although it was near the centre of town, it was hidden away down a back street and isn't near many other attractions. Its also right next to the Anker HOSTEL - so don't get confused and try and check into that by mistake!

The hotel itself has a big Best Western sign and is pretty straightforward to get into once you've actually found it. The reception area was lovely and warm and festively decorated. We decided to see if we could check in early on the off chance that our room would be free and it was! The staff were really nice about this and didn't charge us extra for arriving 3 hours early.

We were on level 8 and there are two lifts in reception, so we decided to take these rather than go up the stairs. Unfortunately one lift was out of action while we were there, but having read another ciao review on this hotel they mention an old style lift and a new one, so I wonder if the other lift was being updated. The lifts were a bit weird in that u just pulled a door open and then a thin metal one slid across afterwards, but they didn't seem scary at all, and I'm usually quite a wimp in such matters.

The Room

The rooms are accessed with key cards and we had no problems getting in ours. The furniture is pretty basic - it's kind of like a slightly posher Travel Inn. Our room had two twin beds (but we knew we weren't getting a double), bedside tables, bedside lights, a desk, a straight-back chair, a comfy chair, a small table, guest stationary, a TV, an open wardrobe with shelves, a heater and an en-suite bathroom (with hairdryer).

The room was nice and warm and the heater was adequate for the space despite the freezing temperatures outside. It would have been nice to have tea and coffee making facilities, but there was a machine in the lobby (this cost 10 NOK to use though, even if you just wanted hot water). The beds had an extra thinner mattress on top of the usual one which was surprisingly comfy and extremely soft pillows. I thought it might be a little chilly with just one duvet, but it seemed fine.

The bathroom was supposed to have under floor heating, but I'm not sure if ours actually worked. We found the controls outside the door to it, but the dial was limited to 3 (out of 10). The floor didn't seem particularly warm, but then again it also wasn't freezing. I've added photos on the end of this review of the bathroom. It just had a shower and the basics, but we got clean towels every day (if we wanted them) which was a nice bonus. Some hotels only seem to change these every couple of days. I was suspicious of the shower when I saw how basic it looked, but upon testing I found it to be divine. It was so warm and I didn't have it anywhere near the highest setting. It was lovely having this as it meant I actually had an incentive to get out of bed in the morning, even though I knew it was going to be horrendously cold outside.

Free Breakfast

One reason that we chose the Anker hotel was that it offered free breakfast in with the room price. Not only was it free; it was free all-you-can-eat-buffet breakfast - my favourite kind of free breakfast. If you're visiting Norway, or indeed any other expensive country, on a budget then free breakfast is a must. We ate loads each morning and, although the range of food from day to day didn't vary much, it was filling and good quality. On a weekday breakfast ran from 6-10 and at the weekend it was open 7-11.

An average spread included hot items (Sausage pieces, potato wedges, fish cakes), toast, jams, butter, cereal, rolls, cold meats, cheese, tomatoes, cucumber, pickles, cracker biscuits, and a whole range of foodstuffs that I couldn't identify! There was also a fruit juice machine, 3 different milk dispensers, and tea and coffee facilities (free at breakfast). We also took a roll with us each day filled with cheese and suchlike to have for lunch. With the cold temperatures outside we found these stayed fresh all day until we ate them.

Free Wifi

The free wifi at Anker hotel was accessible throughout the building and we were able to access the connection from our hotel room on the laptop we brought with us. Accessing the connection was pretty straight forward as all we had to do was enquire at reception and we were given a sheet of paper with the key on it.

Location

I'd say we were roughly 5-10 mins walk from the city centre, depending upon which bit you class as the centre. The neighbourhood is certainly less posh than a couple of minutes walk down the road, but it felt perfectly safe. One thing I would say is that the hotel isn't particularly soundproof, so if you have the chance request a room at the back of the hotel away from the road, and perhaps also quite high up.

Fire Alarm

The only annoying point of our stay was one night at 3am when the fire alarm went off. Luckily my boyfriend had read reviews that mentioned this happens quite a lot at this hotel, so when it stopped ringing after 10 seconds we realised it wasn't a real emergency. However, in case it was I made a point of looking out the window and checking the corridor to see if anyone else was leaving their rooms. This is a point at which it would have been useful to have a room phone as we could have called reception to check it out. As it was we would have had to go down (and then back up) eight flights of stairs to see what the matter was. At that time in the morning we decided it was time to go back to bed, but this kind of event could be more unnerving to a more worried traveller.

Overall

I was impressed with the staff at the hotel for our whole trip as they were polite and friendly and had such a good understanding of the English language. Rarely did we have to simplify what, looking back on it, were perhaps rather confusingly constructed sentences!

The food was nice, the rooms were clean and comfortable and the hotel wasn't too far from anywhere. In fact we walked everywhere for our whole stay in Oslo except one day when we took the T-bahn (underground train) to the ski jump, which was quite a way away. The hotel reception always had a good supply of thin cinnamon biscuits - perfect to make you feel warm inside just before you brave it out into the cold - and it was simple and straightforward to check out.

All in all this was a great base for a lovely winter holiday. As a tip to travellers who check out at 11 on their last day, and then find they have a whole day to fill whilst in possession of their suitcases, I would suggest using the lockers at the bus station which are 30 NOK for 24 hours and are massive.

If you're looking for luxury then the Anker hotel isn't for you, but if you want comfort and convenience at an affordable rate then definitely check here out. Please feel free to look at my photos of the en-suite bathroom and some Oslo attractions within walking distance of the hotel.

Thanks for reading!

©tac20 

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