A comfortable hotel with the best location in the city - right in the center of Oslo, most sights and public transport within walking distance

Address: Karl Johan Hotel, Karl Johans gate 33, 0162 Oslo, Norway

Website: www. karljohanhotel.com

The website is in English and Norwegian.

If you want to book some nice accommodation in Norway for the best price, I will give you advice where to book. You can have up to 50% discount of the regular prices, click HERE. This link is valid for 1 month after your email registration. Do you want discounts on accommodation of up to 90%? Contact me.

Experience Oslo with Get Your Guide:

Location

How to get to the hotel from the airport

A train goes directly from the airport to the center. Get off at the National Theater stop. It is then a 4-minute walk to the hotel.

There are two train companies at the airport. Choose the one with the VY logo - it's half the price and the trains take almost the same time. You can buy a train ticket either in the machines at the airport (you can pay by card), but there was a queue. I recommend downloading the VY app at home and when you land, feel free to buy a train ticket online without queuing, a ticket to the National Theater station cost NOK 118 per person (April 2023). You buy a ticket for a specific train and a specific time. The other company has a red logo and is called Fly to get - The Airport Express. These are luxury trains, but they are only about 3 minutes faster. Those who don't know it rush to their cash registers because they don't want to stand in line and don't know that they will pay so much once, so be careful. On the light boards on the platform, the company is also listed for each train. Most people will go downtown, so go with the crowd.

Karl Johan Hotel is a historic hotel located in the heart of Karl Johans Gate (no it's not a gate as I mistakenly thought, it's the name of the most popular street in Oslo). It is among the best hotels in Oslo. It offers a high level of standard and comfort combined with an informal atmosphere. Fantastic views, modern interior design that combines old and new elements, and close proximity to shops, restaurants and cultural attractions make this hotel a truly excellent base for tourists. And I can confirm that. There is perhaps no better located hotel here. Karl Johans Gate is a wide pedestrian street, stretching from the main station (Oslo Central Station) to the Royal Palace (Det kongelige slott), the length of the street is approximately 800 m. The hotel is located on a huge square, a bit reminiscent of our Wenceslas Square in Prague, where around the perimeter are historic houses with restaurants, shops, hotels and a park in the middle.

Metro, train (also underground in the center), bus and tram stations are at the same place, approx. 4 min. on foot. At the entrance to the subway, there is a well-stocked grocery store with fresh pastries, baguettes, sweet, hot snacks, drinks, etc. You can also buy public transport tickets here. The whole day cost 120 NOK, the hourly 40 NOK. The tickets are then activated when entering the subway or directly on the tram or bus. Public transport tickets are not valid for the train. You are buying a specific connection, the tickets are no longer marked anywhere. You can pay by card everywhere in the city, you don't really need Norwegian kroner at all.

The National Theater is located on the square in front of the hotel, on the side of the hotel is the entrance to the Museum of Paradoxes, from the window you can see the Royal Castle and the Parliament building, straight down from the hotel you can walk in approx. 10 minutes to the sea, where right at the port is the Town hall building and a short from it the Akershus fortress. There are other restaurants on the waterfront, you can take a boat trip, I recommend ordering it through Get Your Guide, there is also the Nobel Peace Center building and the National Museum. From the hotel, you can then walk up to Trinity Church Oslo (it was being renovated in April 2023, it is not possible to visit it or take proper photos) and to Damstredet Street, which is a historic street in Oslo with nice colorful wooden houses from the beginning of the 19th century. On the way back to the hotel, you can also visit the Oslo Cathedral and a little further on the popular Opera house, which really cannot be missed. We used public transport for perhaps only one day to visit more distant sights outside the center, such as Holmenkollen (a winter sports area for all biathlon and ski jumping enthusiasts), the Folkemuseet open-air museum or the well-known park Vigeland with the sculpture collection.

Karl Johan Hotel 4*

Karl Johan Hotel is located right in the city center in several historic connected buildings. The hotel offers 157 comfortable renovated rooms on four floors. You can choose from single rooms to suites and family rooms of various categories. Disabled rooms are also available. All rooms are equipped with air conditioning, blackout curtains, wi-fi, TV, bathroom with toilet. Even rooms on the busy side during the day are quiet at night. Rich breakfast is included in the price of the stay. You will be captivated by the stylish staircase, as well as the glass elevator.

The hotel reception is open 24 hours a day, check-in after 3 p.m., check-out before 12 p.m. Late check-out can be charged extra. There is also a bar in the lobby where you can have hot and cold drinks. There are two lounges. The hotel is completely non-smoking and you can only pay by card, they do not accept cash. Pets are not allowed.

Parking

If you arrive by car, the hotel offers underground parking at the neighboring Grand Hotel. 1 day parking costs NOK 495.

Food

The price of your stay includes a breakfast, which is served in the hotel restaurant on the 2nd floor. You can take a seat in the main room with a glass roof, or in a quieter room a few steps down with a fireplace and street view. Breakfast is served on weekdays from 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., weekends and holidays from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. The selection is really large - smoothies, undiluted juice, fruit, vegetables, eggs in many ways, sausages, beans, meatballs, baked potatoes, pancakes, waffles, nutella, omelettes, cheeses, salamis, hams, smoked salmon, spreads, various types of savory and sweet pastries, fantastic crispy croissants, teas, coffee, muesli, yogurts, jams, granola, various types of milk, including plant-based, some muesli and the cookies were gluten-free, you can ask the staff for gluten-free pastries...well, maybe the only thing missing was the champagne. The hotel does not have a restaurant for lunch and dinner. But you have a lot of restaurants and fast food around the hotel. If you want to save money, McDonald's was by far the cheapest, the nearest one is on Klingenberggata Street, which is open from 8:00 a.m. to 11:30 p.m., about 10 minutes' walk from the hotel.

Fitness

If you feel that you still have enough energy after the whole day on your feet, you can go to the smaller gym, where there are both cardio machines and strength machines. I wish you a lot of success in your search, we almost got lost :) It is open from 6 a.m. to midnight, and you need a room card.

Rooms

If you like comfort, I recommend the Superior room with a view, which we had and which I will describe now. You can read about the equipment of the other rooms on the hotel website. The room is big enough for a stay in the city. In addition to the extremely comfortable bed, which you can sink into after a hard day's work, snuggle into a soft duvet and a soft pillow and sleep soundly, there are also two armchairs, a coffee table and a work table with a chair, and a chaise longue. I love hotels that have soft plush carpet and don't make your feet feel cold. We had a view directly onto the square. It's a pity that it is not possible to open the window fully to enjoy the view of the palace, but I understand that this is for safety reasons, the window is quite low.

There are coat hangers right outside the door, which is often missing in hotels. There was a hair dryer in the closet and a small fridge if you need to cool your food or drinks. Although the hotel doesn't have a spa, there were bathrobes, probably so you don't walk around the room naked if you don't have any home wear. Because of carpet you don't need slippers. What I really appreciated is that there was also an ironing board and an iron behind the wardrobe, finally someone thinks a little bit that things in the suitcase can get messy, and that it is not always possible to stuff an iron in hand luggage (if there is no iron in your room, you can borrow at reception). There is also a safe in the closet. Next to it on the shelves were cups, glasses, a capsule coffee machine and a kettle with a selection of teas, sugars and creams, all replenished daily, including capsules.

In the bathroom we had a shower corner with a hand shower and happy rain, here you will find large packages of beautifully smelling Ritual cosmetics, namely shower gel, shampoo and conditioner. There is liquid hand soap on the sink. There are tissues. There are enough storage areas for your own cosmetics. And there was a good trick I hadn't seen before. So that you don't have to search for the switch at night and wake up a lot, a small diode lights up near the ground, which illuminates the bathroom just enough so that you don't kill yourself after dark. Very clever.

If I were to go to Oslo again, I wouldn't really look for another hotel. For tips on what to visit in and around Oslo, read the Oslo article (coming soon).

The article was created in cooperation with the Karl Johan Hotel PR department, thank you very much!

You can see videos from Karl Johan Hotel Oslo on my Youtube channel, link below.

If you like to travel, follow my travel accounts on social media:

Instagram @hamiczech

Facebook @hamiczech

Twitter @hamiczech

Youtube @hamiczech