Clarion Collection Hotel Havnekontoret

We stayed for 3 nights and the glorious weather certainly helped the experience. The hotel is in a great position in Bryggen and we were impressed with the friendly welcome at reception. The room was fine; clean and spacious enough for a family of four with two double beds. No view, but some of the rooms do. You can ask at reception for the key to the tower, with great views across the city and the water. The breakfast was very good, as were the afternoon snack and the light supper provided. Waffles at 3pm followed by the supper saved us a lot of money as we didn't need to eat out and pay Bergen prices for food! We would thoroughly recommend this hotel to anyone wanting to visit Bergen. We caught the light rail from the airport and walked about 10-15 minutes across town to the hotel - a very nice walk.

Foyer looks 4* but bedroom does not. Too small for 2 adults and a child. With sofa bed out there is no space for 3 suitcases or to move around. The room is dark requiring lights on at all times but 4 bulbs weren't working on our arrival. We weren't told but spotted a small notice in the lift saying rooms are not cleaned during multi night stays unless requested before 10pm. It states that the cost would instead go to a climate charity but no details. We enjoyed breakfast and afternoon waffles but only 2 machines and a long line. We were happy with the light dinner but people were complaining about the fact there is no choice. The salad bar is good. The car park opposite the hotel is very expensive but we found one on Nye Sandviksveien next to a Kiwi supermarket which is cheaper. The hotel is near the waterfront but our room looked into a courtyard so we didn’t benefit from the location.

The hotel is promising on arrival with an attractive foyer and bar area. Annoyingly the listing says self parking is available but it needed to be reserved well in advance. This was most frustrating and expensive for us. The hotel offers a complimentary light evening meal (we arrived on burger Friday to my husband's delight) also complimentary waffles are available from 3-5pm. Breakfast was OK, limited hot choice but plentiful plus a cold continental selection of cheese, meats, etc and fresh fruit, yoghurt and cereals. A range of teas, coffees and even fruit smoothies too. We enjoyed the waffles, although these are the Norwegian style and the wait time was long as they have two domestic waffle machines for all these guests to make their own waffles. The complimentary dinner was good on our first night but the Thai pork dish on the second night didn't appeal to my daughter. The room had no coffee sachets for a morning coffee and only one mug (we're a family of three) there was no toilet roll on the dispenser, the hand soap dispenser moved on the wall whenever you touched it. One of the lights didn't work with set of cables hanging out of the wall. There is also no main light in the room. We had two single beds instead of a double. My daughter said her fold out bed was rock hard. The room was incredibly small despite being a family room and without any kind of night light or low light to leave on somewhere, getting to the toilet during the night requires a phone torch.

A unique hotel that has a charm all of it’s own. The lounge area is a great place to relax and watch the comings and goings of the guests. The breakfast and evening meal option makes for cost-effective family holiday.