111op

Hi, I need to book some hotels for these cities. Any particularly useful websites I should look at? I'm very flexible. I'll be with my mom, so I want her to be comfortable, but we're not picky.

Priceline seems to offer Copenhagen.

I'll also take hotel recommendations obviously.

Thanks!

(I'm studying Priceline for London as we speak.)

111op

I'll be there the last week of May.

viking

These places, esp Norway and Sweden rarely offer the attractive deals on international booking sites - mainly the boring expense account places. I just noticed that the excellant venere.com is starting to cover Norway and Sweden with maybe a few good alternatives.

Failing that, for Norway I usually do best by some Norwegian hotel lists that are either govt web sites, or regional govt or sort of chamber of commerce type things that give email contacts for cute guesthouses or boutique mini hotels. You can find with google or whatever.

For Stockholm I flail around with web searches and do lots of followup. Definately go to the hotel's own web site for special deals and cross check with other offerings of same place to save a lot of money or be able to upgrade.

WillTravel

Be cautious about Priceline in Copenhagen. I bid for a 3* and got the Mermaid. You can read the reviews on TripAdvisor. Bottom line - I was very happy with it, especially the location and breakfast, but the bathroom falls far short of American standards.

People are very unhappy if they get the 4* Palace Hotel and a standard room. If they upgrade to a better room at checkin (for about $50 USD per day), then they seem happy. The location of the Palace is also perfect.

Most people who get the Marriott on Priceline are happy, but I wouldn't like the location quite as well as the other two. Of course if you bid for a 4*, you won't know which hotel you're going to get anyway. If you bid for a 3*, you might get "upgraded".

The Oslo hotel thread here recently had some good suggestions.

111op

Thanks for the suggestions so far. I know that people here would know.

Admittedly this is the part of the trip planning process I hate the most -- booking hotels, getting plane tickets, making restaurant reservations, etc.

I wish someone could just do the work for me.

WillTravel

Check Scandic deals:
http://www.scandic-hotels.com/dispat...ferDetailsForm

Check Accor:
http://www.accorhotels.com

BillynBettyJones

www.fjordpass.no with good possibilities in the Norway. But we have stayed at city hootel for less then this pass is advertizing but its right in the middle of Ooshloo (as they say there) a good 2 star with good breakfast.

In Copyhagen, we stayed at Zleep hotel in Tarnby and use d the clip kard (they spell with k s) on the S trains. A good 2 star without breakfast but there's bakery and supermarket nearby. Nice quiet area with park and hiking trail behind it. Billy liked the bowlin ally next door to the hotell. We thought about usin the Crab Inns (www;/cabinn.dk) but it twernt finisht jyet in Copyhagen but we stayed at the Crabb In in Airhuss (they say "hore huss" like the best litle in Texxas you know that one). Them rooms is small with small bathrooms but Billy says you can doo too or 3 things at the same time since the loos is so tinny!

In Bregan, we stayt at Crowded House. Basic rooms descent standard 2 star with nice private bathrooms and showers on each hallway. No breakfast or tv in the room so Billy couldnt keep up with the o'rylle faktor on the foxx news!

Hotels up there can be real expensive so if you don't do the fjork pass thing, then these hotels we stayed at are good locations and good value. Likky till as they say!

111op

Hi WillTravel, if you're still reading this....

Out of curiosity, do you remember how much your winning bid for mermaid? And the other winning bids for Marriott/Palace? I guess I can check BFT.

Do you have a link to the recent thread on Oslo hotels?

Thanks again.

WillTravel

I don't remember my exact bid that got the Mermaid in July 2003. However, I think it was in the range of $55-60. I did not succeed with my bid until a day or two before leaving, although I had tried for months. I think I've seen people try higher bids lately - $75 or so. We were assigned a twin-bed room by default.

I think the winning bids for the Marriott/Palace lately have been in the $90-95 range.

Here's the thread on Oslo hotels:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34600540
I couldn't find it with Fodors search - I had to use Google restricted to the Fodors.com domain.

I notice that Accor.com sometimes has last-minute specials for Copenhagen.

111op

Great. Thanks WillTravel.

This is out of topic, but you might be interested to hear that I used PL to get Thistle Charring Cross at $110 for 5/29-30 (with taxes at 137.50).

http://makeashorterlink.com/?M23F256FA

It's a link to my blog.

I know you're our local expert on PL.

Thanks again.

111op

How bad is the bathroom at Mermaid?

It looks like the Copenhagen Marriott is in Nyhavn? Can't quite tell, and I don't know CPH at all. Just guessing by looking at the map. I think I'd prefer something closer to Central Station. Granted, CPH is small.

I'll check out the other links.

Thanks again, WillTravel.

Cassandra

You want Nyhavn, trust me.

111op

Wouldn't the Tivoli area be more convenient?

And what would be most convenient for me after my mom is soundly sleeping? Somehow I imagine that there's more nightlife near Central Station.

Another question for WillTravel -- are the last-minute offers on Accor on this link?

http://www.accorhotels.com/gb/promo/index2.shtml

I don't see any more for CPH. But might not be looking at the wrong link.

Accor hotels are about 750 DKK/5.7 = 132 US.

So maybe PL is a good way to go as I'll be there for three nights.

I do want to know how bad the bathroom at Mermaid is though.

Thanks again.

111op

Ok -- turn on shower and sit on john (re Mermaid).

It sounds bizarre. Is this really the case?

I'll check with my mom to see if she minds.... In the meantime, check a few other hotels.

WillTravel

It's not a necessity to take a shower that way at the Mermaid, although I suppose you could if you wanted. It's just that you have to remove all items that shouldn't get wet, like toilet paper, from the bathroom before you shower, because the shower is basically not enclosed except partially by a flimsy curtain. However, some people seem to have gotten more modern rooms than we did.

The fact that everything gets wet means that you can't take your clothes in with you. So for a parent-child combo, one will probably want to leave the room while the other showers.

I know this is a common shower configuration in Europe - very common in Italy, for example. I had something similar in Venice.

The last-minute offers for CPH don't happen all the time - just sometimes. Sign up for their list, and you'll get reminders.

I don't think the Marriott is in Nyhavn. It's described this way:
"The hotel also has its own quay were one can catch regular boats to Nyhavn and other popular sites along the waterfront. "

What you might not want is a hotel on the "wrong" side of the train station - that's the less appealing area by far. Istegade is the rather dismal red-light district street, such as it is.

111op

Great, thanks again WT.

Re Mermaid, that could be a problem, but I'll have to think about it.

So far it seems like all the usual suspects are over $100, so I should look at Marriott more.

Sounds like PL can be useful for Copenhagen.

Cassandra

First, as you've surmised, the part of Copenhagen you'll be in just isn't that large. It's true that things "jump" a little more at the end of the Stroget ("city center walk&quot toward Tivoli rather than at the other end, near Nyhavn; but as others have noted, it's not that far from Tivoli and the main station where things are a lot less appetizing.

The reason I recommended Nyhavn is that it is so picturesque, has some charming cafes, small shops, etc., and there are some interesting and less commercial things right around that neighborhood. But if memory serves, it's not that long a walk down the Stroget (sorry the vowel is wrong, but I'm ASCII challenged today) to the other end and the cafes, bigger stores, and Tivoli. It's true you might find things around D'Angleterre and Kongens Nytorv (?Kings Plaza? sort of) a bit stodgier than the area around Tivoli, but it's -- to stretch the point wildly -- the difference between Broadway and 5th Ave. Or maybe Greenwich Village. Again: sort of.

111op

Thanks Cassandra.

I did look up the location of the Marriott, and I see where it is now. It's SE of the train station at the end of a major thoroughfare.

Not necessarily an ideal location, but it looks ok.

I'm guessing that I'd want the corner of Tivoli near Radhuspladsen (sp?) (the Town Square).

Anyway, I've not booked anything for CPH, but I've to investigate hotels in Sweden and Norway (I've asked about the Fjordpass in the Oslo hotels thread WillTravel led me to).

In the meantime, please let me know which other links I can look at -- I tried Scandic yesterday but it was down so I'll look it today.

I've booked a 5 pm flight from Stockholm to Oslo, so I'll not have time to see Oslo during the day.

Thanks again.

Nikki

I stayed at the Marriott in Copenhagen last summer. The location was fine. Easy to walk to Tivoli. Right on the waterfront, and the hop on and off canal boats stop right outside the hotel. Copenhagen is very compact. The room was extremely comfortable and had a great view.

111op

Thanks, Nikki. I should probably use PL for Copenhagen.

But I need to do more research.