Hotel Continental Oslo: Classic luxury

Hotel Continental is one of the most convenient luxury hotels in central Oslo. It's located right next to Nationaltheatret station, so you have the airport train, trams, metro, and buses literally across the street. The Royal Palace is a five-minute walk. Karl Johans gate, Aker Brygge and the National Museum are all close enough that you can walk in a few minutes. 

The service is one of Continental's clear strengths. Staff tend to be professional, attentive, and good at anticipating what you need. They handle luggage, restaurant bookings, and concierge requests whenever you need something. The breakfast at Caroline is one of the better in the city, and the hotel has a classic, slightly grand atmosphere that newer design hotels in Oslo cannot replicate.

That said, Continental is expensive and the value is not necessarily obvious to everyone. The cheapest rooms can feel small for the price. There is no spa or pool, and noise from the street can be an issue. If any of those things are important, keep reading before you book.

Central location

From the front door, Oslo is walkable in every direction. The Royal Palace and Palace gardens are just uphill. The Parliament and Oslo Cathedral are 5-10 minutes up Karl Johan street. The National Museum is a 5 minute walk towards Aker Brygge, and the harbour to the south. If you have a couple of days in Oslo, you can access the most popular attractions and museums on foot, maybe except for the Vigeland Park which requires a short tram or metro ride.

Individually styled rooms and suites

The rooms are traditional, not trendy, with proper furnishings, muted colours and good linens. Rooms are properly equipped with Nespresso machines, Apple TV, Molton Brown bath products, and minibars. 

The room categories go from Standard Single and Petite Double up to large suites, some with terraces and fjord views. The junior suites and deluxe rooms get consistently strong feedback from guests: more space, bigger bathrooms and some rooms have a balcony. The entry-level rooms are fine if the room is just somewhere to sleep and shower, but at a luxury hotel at Continental's price point, a small room with a basic layout feels wrong. 

You are paying a premium for the Continental's name and address. Do yourself a favour and upgrade to a larger room, otherwise, the steep price tag might not feel justified, especially due to the lack of wellness facilities.

Street-facing rooms can pick up traffic, tram noise, and sound from nearby bars and public spaces, especially on weekends. If that bothers you, request a room facing the back.

Breakfast at Caroline

The hotel's breakfast restaurant, Caroline, serves both a buffet and à la carte options. The buffet is generous and well presented, while the à la carte menu adds things like eggs made to order, elevating the hotel a notch above the majority of hotels in Oslo. Just make sure it's included in the room rate. It's one of the better hotel breakfasts in Oslo.

Theatercafeen

Theatercafeen has been open since 1900 and it is still one of Oslo's best-known restaurants, frequented by locals. The dining room is a grand old European café, with a large number of portraits of Norwegian cultural figures on the walls. It serves lunch and dinner, mixing classic dishes with more modern cooking. It fills up with locals and hotel guests alike, especially on weekends. Don't come here expecting a quiet, intimate dinner. The grand, open, wood-paneled room hums with clinking glasses and loud conversations.

Restaurant Eik Annen Etage on the second floor is good for more formal fine dining, serving 3-5 course dinners with wine pairings at prices that are good value for Oslo. We find the quality very good as well. Bar Boman has one of Norway's largest private collections of Edvard Munch graphic works, with several pieces on display. It is a good spot for a drink before heading out, at least you should pop in for a view of the art. 

No spa or pool

The hotel has a 24/7 fitness studio with TechnoGym equipment, but no squat racks. It is fine for a short workout, but it's not a hotel you choose for the gym. Neither is there a pool, a sauna, or treatment rooms. If you enjoy hitting a steam room after walking miles around the city, you'll need to look elsewhere. This is the major reason to look at one of the alternatives below, which is a shame, because otherwise it's an excellent hotel. 

Alternatives with spa and pool

If the lack of a spa, pool and sauna does not matter for you, Hotel Continental is a really strong contender. Otherwise, you should check out the alternatives below.

Sommerro

Sommerro has Vestkantbadet, a restored Art Deco bathhouse with a pool, cold plunge, Finnish sauna, infrared sauna, treatment rooms, and a large gym. The rooftop pool and sauna are heated year-round, with views across Oslo. Access to the rooftop pool depends on your room category, so check before you book.

The hotel also has six restaurants, live jazz at the brasserie, a cinema, and a rooftop bar. It has won Best Hotel in Norway at the Grand Travel Awards three years running. Sommerro is the better choice if you want to spend time inside the hotel, but the location is slightly less central.

The Thief 

The Thief is located on Tjuvholmen at the end of Aker Brygge, next to the Astrup Fearnley Contemporary Art Museum. Thief Spa has a 12-metre heated pool, Finnish sauna, hamam, steam room, and sensory showers, where hotel guests get discounted access. 

Tjuvholmen is however about a 15-minute walk from the centre and the airport train. The waterfront setting in one of the most expensive areas in Oslo is great, but it´s a less convenient base for getting around Oslo quickly.

Grand Hotel Oslo 

Grand Hotel is the closest match in character: historic, formal, central. The Artesia Spa on the 7th floor has a heated pool, steam bath, sauna, and seven treatment rooms. You need to pay for spa entrance at a discounted rate, and there´s no possibility to book in advance, so Sommerro or The Thief are better options if the spa access is important. Grand is now run by Scandic, which gives it a slightly more corporate feel than the family-owned Continental.