You’re going to Oslo and what’s the first thing people will tell you… it’s expensive. Really really expensive.
You know what, it is, but no more so than say Sweden or even London. So when we were looking for an Oslo hotel anything central was coming in at pretty much £100 per night – not really part of our lets-do-trips-under-a-100 budget.
Luckily the Radisson Blu Park hotel, is just ten minutes from the city is available for approximately £70. Brilliant – but realistically only a good option if you are hiring a car, which we did.
The hotel itself is easy to find provided your navigation system recognises the address! Ours did not, but luckily google maps on my phone saved the day – it was lucky we had that available to be honest. It was late at night and there really wasn’t many people about so having a back up map was pretty lucky.
The hotel has plenty of car parking spaces, there’s a charge (as you would expect at any hotel) so it’s worth double checking this first. The front desk are pretty sharp on email correspondence if you do have any questions about your stay.
The lobby and reception areas are warm, comfortable and inviting. Comfy leather sofas, a grand piano and a lovely modern fireplace greet you as you walk through. The hotel itself is undergoing a renovation, it seems the first two floors of rooms have been done and they are working there way through the rest of the hotel.
We were given the wifi code upon check in and I can safely say the internet speed was top notch. Thankfully, it’s not one of those logins where you have to re-enter your details every time you come back, only needed to do it once and it kept us signed in for the duration of our stay. I know it’s something small but we all know it’s the small things that make the difference. When we had to sign in and out of wifi in Thailand, it really did drive us round the bend!
We loved our room. It was on the third floor, spotless and most importantly… nice and warm! It was a decent size, great bathroom, VERY comfortable bed and a lovely view of the coast. The décor though was something out of the 80’s. Art Deco-Grace Jones inspired wall masks, bold bursts of red and chipboard style furniture, all in good condition mind.
My sister and her husband were also staying at the hotel but they were placed on a lower floor. On Saturday Mo and I walked down to pick them up on our way to the lobby bar and we discovered their bedroom was completely different to ours! Ultra modern, lovely earth tones and a brand new bathroom with walk in shower (no bath). Obviously this was one of the rooms the hotel had renovated and if the rest of the hotel was going to be made up to match, then they really are onto a winner. It looked great!
I would like to point out, even though our room wasn’t as trendy as my sisters, there was absolutely nothing wrong with it. But if 80’s style isn’t your thing, ask for a room on either the first or second floor.
The only meal we had at the hotel was breakfast, and as we’ve experienced in other Radisson hotels, it was wonderful. All the usual options, hot and cold buffet, great variety, always full and something for everyone. We didn’t come across many guests during our stay in the hotel and this reflected in the number of staff to hand. However, the one waitress who was there in the mornings with us was always smiling, cleared plates efficiently and we watched her make polite conversation with all the guests.
As a matter of fact, all the staff at the hotel spoke fluent English and were helpful when we interrogated them with our many questions.
The only thing that I would say disappointed us… was not being able to buy hot chocolate at the bar!! After a day playing out in the snow we were craving it by nightfall but alas, it wasn’t meant to be… there were still hot drinks available in the form of teas and coffees, so we were happy with that.
The Radisson Park Blu is a popular business hotel, but they still cater for holidaymakers too and you can buy the Oslo tourist pass from the hotel reception. This saved us some valuable sight-seeing time as we were able to buy ours first thing in the morning and start using it straight away.
As we were visiting in winter, we wanted not only to go and see the sights of the city but also to venture out and see some of the winter sport spots and the famous ski jump Holmenkollen. From our hotel, we were able to easily navigate (with the help of lady sat nav), to all the sights we wanted to see, with nothing more than a twenty minute drive away.
We unfortunately didn’t get time to walk around the area surrounding our hotel but from what I saw online and the view we overlooked from our window, it seemed like a great place to take a long stroll. One to add to the to do list for next time.
Sticking with the Radisson theme and adding another item on my to do list for next time is to pay a visit to the Sky bar at the Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel in the city centre. A bar that has full length glass windows and boasts a stunning 360 view of Oslo.
If, and when we return to Oslo be it in summer or winter, we would definitely choose to stay here. It was the perfect base point for us to travel from and the 24-hour reception desk is handy for any Ryanair flight travellers flying into Oslo Rygge on a late night flight!
Big thanks to all the staff at the Radisson Blu Park Hotel for being oh-so helpful throughout our stay. Look forward to returning again soon 🙂
