By: Chris ⎜ Last updated
Nobel Peace Prize laureates stay here. Every December, the winner stands on the balcony overlooking Karl Johans gate and waves at the crowds below. Ibsen had a reserved table at the Grand Café, and Munch was also a regular. The hotel has been serving locals and visitors alike since 1874. No other hotel in Norway carries the same weight.
The location on Karl Johan is amongst the most central locations of any Oslo hotel. The Royal Palace is right up the street, the Parliament across the street, and The National Theatre around the corner. Aker Brygge and Akershus Fortress are a 5-10 minute walk, while the Opera House and MUNCH are about 15 minutes on foot. Nationaltheatret station, where the Flytoget airport express stops, is also just a few minutes away. You don't need to take the tram, bus or the T-bane unless you're heading to Bygdøy, Holmenkollen, or the Vigeland Park.
Inside, the lobby sets the tone with marble floors, high ceilings and a quiet atmosphere. Everything on the ground floor suggests a hotel operating at the highest level, but whether your room follows up on that depends on what you book.
Palmen
Palmen opened in 1913. The dining room has chandeliers, opulent furniture, white tablecloths, and expansive skylights filling the room with light. It has been serving people for over a century and it still feels like you need an occasion to come here. The menu is Nordic-European influenced and the kitchen does well with the classics. You're not here for any contemporary, boundary-pushing cooking, you're here because the atmosphere here is difficult to find anywhere else in Oslo.
Weekend lunch is the best time to go, especially the afternoon tea which was voted Oslo's best by Aftenposten.
None of the Grand's restaurants are chasing Michelin stars though. If you want a proper destination dinner, you have to leave the building. Statholdergaarden, which has been operating for decades with one Michelin star, is a 10-minute walk away. Brasserie France is right around the corner for good French bistro cooking.
Othilia, the lobby bar, is a decent spot for a drink before or after dinner, but nobody is crossing town for it.
Eight Rooftop Bar
Eight is located on the 8th floor, with views across the Parliament, and out towards the fjord. The cocktail list is decent, and the terrace is a popular spot in summer. It fills up with a mix of hotel guests and locals, and it's one of the better rooftop bars in Oslo. They occasionally host live jazz performances.
Breakfast at the Grand Café
Buffet breakfast is served in the Grand Café on the first floor, a room with high windows looking out on Karl Johans gate. The spread covers the standard fare of Norwegian salmon, fresh bread, a proper cheese selection, hot dishes, and good coffee. Breakfast is not always included in the room rate, and at separate pricing it runs fairly expensive, above 300 NOK.
The hotel is large and the café fills fast during peak hours, especially on weekends.
Book the right room
Standard double rooms start at 16 square metres. That's tight by any measure, and in an 1874 building that has been renovated in phases, the room you get in this category is unpredictable. Whether it's newly renovated or in need of renovation is difficult to know in advance. You're paying for the name and location, and in the lower categories the room might not follow up on your first impression in the lobby and common areas.
Book Deluxe or above. Deluxe rooms are significantly larger and face the Palmen courtyard or side streets. They come with a separate seating area with sofa or armchairs, and ample space. Superior rooms with a Karl Johans gate view have French balconies that look down Oslo's main street, but this means that noise may be an issue. Junior suites on the Palmen courtyard side give you high ceilings and a lounge area without the street noise. In any case, get a courtyard-facing room if you're noise-sensitive.
The 54 suites feel kind of like a different hotel. The Nobel Suite has the famous Parliament-facing balcony and was recently fully renovated. The Tower Suite sits in the Grand's bell tower with a panorama that takes in both the fjord and the Royal Palace. The Grand Penthouse Terrace Suite on the top floor was renovated in 2025 and includes a private rooftop terrace, the largest of its kind in Norway.
The Scandic factor
The Grand is managed by Scandic, one of the largest hotel chains in Norway, and it shows in places. Service can be warm and polished on a quiet weekday and stretched thin on a full Friday evening. This is a 284-room chain-operated property, not a boutique hotel.
Artesia Spa
There is a spa, but you need to read the fine print. The spa is run by Artesia, a separate company that also operates locations at Majorstuen and Hotel Norge in Bergen. Facilities include a heated pool, a steam room, sauna, infrared cabin, and several treatment rooms. The pool area is lined with birch trees and designed to feel like a Norwegian lakeside.
Spa access costs extra. Hotel guests pay a separate entrance fee (250 NOK at time of writing) and access is subject to availability on a drop-in basis. Pre-booking is not possible. If a pool and spa is important to you, look at The Thief or Sommerro where spa and pool access is more readily available.
Check out these hotels
Looking for a 5 star hotel in Oslo? Check out these alternatives.
Amerikalinjen is in the old Norwegian America Line headquarters across from Oslo S. Rooms are compact but well decorated, there's a basement jazz club (Club Gustav), and the breakfast, included in the rate, regularly gets called the best hotel breakfast in Oslo. There's more personality here than the Grand.
If consistent service is more important more to you than grandeur, Hotel Continental is the safer bet. It's been family-run since 1900 and is located directly opposite Nationaltheatret station. There's no pool, no rooftop bar and no spa, but what it has are rooms and 5 star service that usually delivers.
The Thief sits on Tjuvholmen at the tip of the harbour with waterfront views and a full spa with pool and hammam. It's a contemporary art hotel, quieter and more modern than the Grand, but slightly less central.
Then there's Sommerro, an Art Deco building in Frogner with a rooftop pool, a restored 1920s bathhouse spa (Vestkantbadet), live jazz daily, and breakfast included. It won Best Hotel in Norway from Grand Travel Awards three years running (2022, 2023, 2024). If you want a hotel that feels like a resort and that justifies spending time inside the building rather than just sleeping there, Sommerro is the one to consider.
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