Third and last in the triptych Copenhagen hotel reviews: the Radisson Blu Royal, also known as the SAS Royal Hotel. Earlier posts included STAY (November 15) and CPH Living (November 17).

The Royal Hotel in Copehagen, now Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, opened in 1960 completely according to the design of Arne Jacobsen, one of Denmark’s most prominent architects and designers. Jacobsen literally designed everything for the hotel: from door handle to china, and including the world famous “Egg” and “Swan” chairs. The Royal Hotel was a sensation, not only due to its overall modern design but also of its height. With twenty floors it still is one of Copenhagen’s city centre  tallest buildings. The Royal Hotel claims to be the world’s first design hotel.

A multifunctional building, the lower part housed the SAS (Scandinavian Airline Systems) city terminal where passengers could check in and where then brought by bus to Kastrup airport. Times change, passengers now take the train to the airport from the Central Station in front of the hotel. The terminal was changed into a supermarket and fitness centre. And although the partnership between SAS and Radisson Hotels ended, the SAS logo still proudly tops the tower (hotel) part of the building.

In the 80′s of the last century the hotel was completely overhauled, but just one room. The beautiful Egg and Swan chairs were sold close to nothing to hotel staff and the public. To be bought back twenty years later with another renovation multiple the price what they have cost originally in 1960. Jacobsen, who died in 1971, is ‘the’ man once again.

The room kept in the original state, “606” or “Arne Jacobsen suite” can be still booked a such. It is a favourite with architects and designers. All other rooms and suites have been renovated in an international style, which is less outspoken than Jacobsen’s designs. However, the Royal Club rooms which are located on the corners of floors 10 to twenty have a nice Jacobsen feel as well. They boast the original windows on two sides, including one in the bathroom giving a sensation of space. Not to mention the fabulous views. When I stayed at the Radisson Blu Royal I had a room on the 15th floor. Although on arrival Copenhagen was covered in mist, the next sunny morning brought views as far as the Swedish coast.

With its history you may come to expect a certain stuffiness. Not so: the Royal is still one of the prominent members of the Radisson Blu chain known for its innovations. The Royal is a first class hotel, popular with both business clients and individual travellers. The mentioned gym is huge, there is a business centre (which replaces the original glass covered winter garden), a classic hotel bar in the lounge, a street level restaurant and the 20th floor Alberto K restaurant. With all the rage of Danish cooking (Noma in Copenhagen billed as the best restaurant in the world) you will not be surprised that Alberto K specializes in Danish (seasonal) cooking. I don’t know if you will be gazing at your plate or out of the window, as every table is window site….

Two weeks ago I stayed three nights in Copenhagen at three different hotels listed on the stylehotelsweb website. Here’s the review of hotel #2: CPH Living.

Named as hip as STAY, but CPH Living is quite something different. Take its size: CPH Living is a small barge moored in Copenhagen’s harbour with just twelve rooms. It is of the houseboat kind you see in Amsterdam, but then with an added floor. The barge was ‘found’ in a German harbour, then taken to Poland where some extra metres were added and on to Tallinn, Estonia, where the 12 rooms where built in. The last journey over the Baltic Sea ended spring 2008 in Copenhagen’s harbour where the hotel was finished.

Interiors have both Scandinavian and boating design influences. Rooms are minimalistic decorated with the utmost needed. But they sure are not cold, due to the abundant use of wood for the floor, a desk/bench/baggage storage and a cupboard with sliding doors which hides the TV, DVD, and storage space. A desk chair by Fritz Hansen, an IKEA light, a small red metal night stand perfect for loading your cellphone with a socket right underneath it (there is no phone in the room by the way, like STAY no reception or room service to call).

Bathrooms are an example of Nordic effiency too. Completely tiled in glass mosaics, they just offer a shower, toilet and wash basin. No range of toiletries, just a simple dispenser for soap and shampoo. But the pressure of the hot shower is as it should be, and the gimmick of showering while overlooking the bedroom and water through the glass partition is quirky. Untill the partition gets fogged-up…

But if you don’t feel very private you can always close the floor-to-bottom blinds. However the main attraction of CPH Living is this amazing water view. You will see the water taxi pass by, rowers or a family of swans. In summer maybe even human swimmers, as the (sea)water here in central Copenhagen is clean enough to swim. You will find a public open water pool just at the other side of the bridge. All rooms have the same view, and it was wonderful to have the door open to let in the fresh air and gently swing on the waves. I seldom had such a good sleep at a hotel, bunkered up in the bunk bed. There is some noise from the bridge which is one of only two bridges spanning the harbour in central Copenhagen.

Apart from staring over the water, either from your own room or from the roof deck there is not much else to do at the CPH Living. There’s just a small lounge acting as reception, a place for vending machines selling soft drinks and snacks or free coffee and tea. You can also use the refrigerator to stall some of your things. Also, the ‘light’ breakfast is served here with a small, but good selection of rolls, cheese, meat, youghurt and ofcourse Danish!

Location is more than fine. Located on the quiet side of Copenhagen’s central harbour, you can walk to the Tivoli, Central Station and City Hall Square in about 10 to 15 minutes. At 10 minutes walking to the other side you will find the Christianshavn subway station, taking you in one stop to the Stroget shopping street or in the other direction to the Kastrup airport. Just beyond the subway station is Christiana, the ‘free state’ within Copenhagen.

If you do not mind not having all the facilities of a four star hotel, but just a cozy, tasteful retreat this is your place!

Two weeks ago I stayed three nights in Copenhagen at three different hotels listed on the stylehotelsweb website. Here’s the first review of hotel #1: STAY Copenhagen.

STAY actually isn’t really a hotel. Buit in the sixties of the last century as a wharehouse and office complex, in the eighties already moribund. In 2000 a new owner made plans to the turn the A shaped building into apartments. The neighbourhood where it’s located, Islands Brygge, was already burgeoning and slowly turning from industrial wasteland to Copenhagen’s hippest place to live. The building was temporarily used by artists between 2003 and 2007 and got quite a name in the Copenagen scene. However after a complete strip, with nothing left than the concrete skeleton, 2010 saw the opening of STAY.

The credit crisis also hit Denmarkt and the once booming real estate market (Copenhagen has some of the world’s most expensive real estate) collapsed leaving many of STAY apartments unsold. Thus came the idea renting out the apartments as short stay facilities. Now STAY is so succesful as a hotel, the owner only sells you one of these magnificent apartments at a premium price.

But you do not really need the cash to stay here. The hotel rates are very reasonable, especially considering the amount of space you’re getting for it. Not to mention the fabulous, cool, minimalistic Scandinavian design that goes with it. The smallest ‘studio’ is 65m2 (700 sq feet), the largest the Loft XL measures 154m2 (1650 sq feet). On checking in I got a Atelier XL Loft of 135m2 (1450 sq feet) (pictured). If you love minimalist, Scandinavian, design this is heaven. Interiors are by furniture maker HAY. Shiny white cast floors, white plastered walls, underfloor heating in the whole apartment including bathroom, a huge kitchen with built-in aplliances, everything is chic and sleek. In the bathroom you will find a rain shower and the kitchen cupboards hold a washing machine and drier. So you can move in right away!

The design as a apartment building has it flaws looking upon them as hotel rooms. You will not find a minibar, but you have a full sized refrigerator built-in the kitchen. There’s loads of space in the bathroom to put all the toiletries in the cupboards you did not bring anyway. But no hook to hang a wet towel. There is no phone to call roomservice (which there isn’t anyway) or reception. In case you have to you can always use your own cell phone. Or use your laptop while the free WiFi is working perfectly. You should also be familiar with the Danish mentality on privacy. My Atelier XL Loft had floor-to-ceiling windows on three sides, and neighbours on two. Maybe you should opt for one of the river overlooking apartments, the riverside being non built untill this moment. Or simply close the sexy black curtains.

So if you can do without the regular first class hotel service and do not mind being on your own and living the hip Danish life, you’ll be more than fine here. STAY is located a 25/30 minute walk from Copenhagen’s city centre. On the way there you will see some fine examples of urban renewal. Though there is a bus stop in front of the hotel and a subway stop 10 minutes walk (nonstop to the Stroget shopping street and one stopover for the airport).

STAY serves a breakfast but you can also opt to buy groceries at the eco-supermarket downstairs or freshly baked bread at the bakery. There’s enough space to host a dinner party at your own apartment or dine at the Italian restaurant also located in the complex. Plus, STAY has a fitness studio and a gigantic roof terrace (Copenhagen’s biggest) which is sometimes used for events.

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If Copenhagen is (more than probably) the best city in the world for its quality of life and status as a cutting-edge design centre, then Arne Jacobsen’s Radisson SAS Royal Hotel is one of its defining design statements. The ground and first floor public areas are currently benefitting from a comprehensive ‘refreshment’ under the direction of the interior team from designers Graven Images.

The Danish capital was recently awarded top spot of the list of the world’s best cities in which to live by lifestyle magazine Monocle, and the SAS Royal which celebrates its 50th Anniversary this month, set the ball rolling when it opened as not only Europe’s but the world’s first design hotel. The pieces created by Jacobsen specifically for the hotel, such as the Swan and Egg chairs, are still specified worldwide to this day.

The building itself has an incredible history and pushed boundaries as soon as it was constructed; it was the largest hotel in Denmark when it was completed in 1960 as the SAS Royal Hotel and was the first skyscraper in Copenhagen, with interiors which epitomised the 60s – think Don and Betty Draper of TV’s Mad Men, or the young Britt Ekland.

Although it has remained a style icon during the ensuing decades, time has taken its toll on the SAS Royal with inevitable wear and tear resulting in the loss of some of its original elegance. In addition some of the public areas have been subjected to some unsympathetic interventions, such as the clumsy conversion of a smart and sexy concession boutique area into a restaurant.

Graven Images was commissioned in 2008 by Radisson as interior designers to restore the integrity of what is arguably the most important project undertaken by Arne Jacobsen, and certainly the best showcase for his trademark functionalist approach.

The interior designer’s mission was to bring the public areas of the SAS Royal up-to-date, restoring their design integrity and thereby making them accessible to a wider audience without compromising any of the unique features. The focus has been on streamlining and ‘cleaning up’ the original spaces, rationalising the layout and providing a more appropriate back-drop to showcase the original Jacobsen features.

Design Director Jim Hamilton said, “It’s been an honour to work on such an important and interesting project, which is close to the hearts not only of the design community but of hotel aficionados worldwide. The new hotel will share many qualities with the old – it will be glamorous, stylish, contemporary and with outstanding comfort to attract a wide variety of clientele from Copenhagen’s own design and style conscious population, as well as visitors to the Danish capital many of whom come because of its reputation as one of Europe’s most important design destinations.”

Crowne Plaza Copenhagen Towers opens its doors at the crossroads of Scandinavia

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has opened its first hotel in Denmark with the Crowne Plaza Copenhagen Towers.

The 366-room Crowne Plaza Copenhagen Towers stands 85 metres tall with stunning views over the Copenhagen skyline and the whole Oeresund region. The hotel is located minutes away from Copenhagen International Airport and a stone’s throw from the motorway, underground and overland train stations providing easy access to attractions such as Tivoli, the Royal Castle and Nyhavn. This makes the hotel ideal for business and leisure travellers alike.

The hotel has a bar and a Scandinavian restaurant as well as 3,500 square metres of meeting room space made up of 12 flexible meeting rooms and a large ballroom that can accommodate up to 800 guests.

The Crowne Plaza Copenhagen Towers is one of the world’s greenest hotels with EU Green Building and Green Key certification. The hotel is a member of the UN Global Compact. The hotel building is on a journey to becoming carbon neutral. Environmentally responsible technology is used throughout the hotel, including:

- The first groundwater-based cooling and heating system in Denmark, expected to reduce the energy used in the hotel for heating and cooling by almost 90%

- Low energy lighting and hand dryers

- The largest solar panel park in Northern Europe to be integrated into a building, covering all the hotel’s sunny facade.
All bedrooms are equipped with designer furniture, a flat screen TV, adjustable air conditioning, a mini bar and a safety deposit box.
The hotel is operated by Copenhagen Hotel Management under a 20 year franchise agreement with IHG.

Allan L. Agerholm, CEO and co-owner of Copenhagen Hotel Management said: “Our location is known as the crossroads of Scandinavia because it’s the access point for Denmark, Sweden and other Nordic countries making it a great destination for domestic and international business travellers. Crowne Plaza hotels are designed for guests who enjoy business travel and want to make the most of their stay and we felt that Copenhagen needed a hotel like this.”