Rica Oslo Hotel, Oslo

...Still, the website for the Rica Oslo seemed promising and the hotel itself looked pretty smart, which in some cities is not always a given for accommodation so close to the main station.

The location of this hotel is without doubt its greatest asset: no more than 5 minutes' walk separate the platforms for the Flytoget (Oslo airport express train) from the Rica Oslo reception desk. You head out of the front of the train station, cross ...
.../> The website for the Rica Hotels chain states that it is corporate policy to 'to welcome our hotel guests in the same manner as we would a dear guest in our own home' and I can confirm that the staff at the Rica Oslo were unfailingly friendly and polite, even when confronted with an unwanted visitor demanding to use what he regarded as the public toilets in the basement on the morning of my departure.

The ground floor also houses ... more

Finding an affordable hotel in most Scandinavian cities tends to be a challenge, and this certainly proved to be the case on a recent business trip to Oslo. Norway is an expensive country for most overseas visitors and while the global economic downturn has depressed many European economies and driven prices down, Oslo seems to have remained largely unaffected - with the result that most hotels were well out of my price range. Still, the website for the Rica Oslo seemed promising and the hotel itself looked pretty smart, which in some cities is not always a given for accommodation so close to the main station.

The location of this hotel is without doubt its greatest asset: no more than 5 minutes' walk separate the platforms for the Flytoget (Oslo airport express train) from the Rica Oslo reception desk. You head out of the front of the train station, cross the tram tracks and the hotel is on your left as you enter Europaraadets Plass. As it happened, I arrived in Oslo during the celebrations for midsummer, so the square outside the station was full of people heading to and from various celebrations, with the attendant police presence, so once I had negotiated my way past the police horses, I was relieved to see the hotel was so close. The disadvantage of this was that the area around the station was pretty noisy until the early hours of the morning (and the sun was still shining of course) but that's going to be the exception rather than the rule as Oslo, and Norway in general, seems to be a fairly sedate and calm place to visit.

The website for the Rica Hotels chain states that it is corporate policy to 'to welcome our hotel guests in the same manner as we would a dear guest in our own home' and I can confirm that the staff at the Rica Oslo were unfailingly friendly and polite, even when confronted with an unwanted visitor demanding to use what he regarded as the public toilets in the basement on the morning of my departure.

The ground floor also houses the lobby bar, to your left as you enter reception, which caters for hotel guests and visitors and also provides an outdoor seating area during the summer months. The hotel is also home to a wide range of sculptures and works of art - which could lead to the designation of the hotel being changed to 'boutique hotel' in the future if the collection continues to expand. The lifts and stairs are situated on the other side of reception, and the hotel also provides a left luggage service in a secure room in the basement. This came in very handy, but I did find it odd that no chits were issued and no record taken of who had left what items of luggage. So in theory I could have walked in and asked for access to pick up my bags, and walked out with someone else's belongings, as no-one checked how many items I had deposited and/or collected.

The hotel has a total of 175 rooms spread across its four floors, and also has conferencing facilities, several suites and ten business rooms. Mine was a single room on the second floor, looking out over a sidestreet off the main square and I had no complaints at all about the cleanliness of the room or the service provided. Perhaps it was a little on the small side but space had been found for a small wardrobe, trouser press, flatscreen TV, minibar, desk and chair, leaving just about enough room to walk round the room without tripping over - and most importantly of all, the bathroom was clean and functional and the bed was comfortable. Wireless internet access is also provided free for hotel guests and the staff at reception provide access details which are valid for the duration of your stay.

The standard price (currently approx. 1000 Norwegian Kroner / 120EUR per night for a single room) also includes a buffet breakfast in the hotel's restaurant, which I can recommend without hesitation. There is an extensive range of food on offer: fruit, cereal, bread, cheese, cold cuts, traditional Norwegian fish recipes, and the international standard hot breakfast of bacon, sausage and scrambled eggs, complemented by the normal assortment of hot and cold drinks. Whilst it's easy to harp on about the price of everything in Norway, this hearty breakfast is a great opportunity to get your money's worth and make sure you don't go hungry for the rest of the day. And I was not alone in that, the Norwegian soldiers at the next table deserved some sort of medal for the amount of food the three of them managed to get through! The restaurant is also open for lunch and dinner under the name 'Bjørvigen Mat & Vinhus' but as I only sampled the breakfasts, I can't comment on the quality or price of food available during the rest of the day.

All in all, there is no reason not to recommend the Rica Oslo hotel - while it offers nothing out of the ordinary (by Scandinavian standards at least: there is a fitness room and sauna, but no swimming pool) and has no dedicated private parking for guests, the location is unbeatable if you are travelling through or around Oslo by public transport. It's perfect for exploring the city centre, as you are just a short hop from Jernbanetorget station, the key stop on the T-bane (underground) network, and you can also stroll down the waterfront or through the heart of Oslo to the royal palace. The prices may not be cheap, but they are reasonable in relation to many other hotels in this most expensive of cities and make the Rica Oslo an attractive proposition not just for business travellers, but also for tourists who aren't on a tight budget.  

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