I stayed here for 2 nights on business. I was expecting a certain level of accomodation given the price and nature of the hotel, but was disappointed. Overall, I thought that the hotel was run-down and in need of a re-vamp. My room was quite old fashioned - both in terms of the decor and the fittings. The facilities in the room were not great. There was no iron, safe deposit box, tea/coffee and the tv channels were not great. The room was way too hot and I couldn't turn down the heat - I had to resort to opening the window. It was clean, however and the staff were friendly enough. The gym was beign renovated, and they had transferred it to a converted bedroom. It was very poor - only one treadmill, a bike and a weights machine. There was no air conditioning and no tv/radio to keep you amused. The breakfast was tasty, served buffet style in the adjoining cafe bar - again not what I would expect from such a "grand" hotel, but it was fine overall. The location was very central, although I did notice some ladies sellign their trade very close by! I will not return to his hotel if I visit Olso again.

Perfect location, within easy walking distance to all tourist sites. Reception & concierge staff are knowledgeable, but understaffed and could certainly be more friendly and enthuisiastic. Rooms range from tiny, drab, rooms with very old furnishings to plush gorgeous newly renovated rooms, so you need to pretty insistent or be a VIP to get a 'good room'. While we were staying at the hotel, the Rolling Stones were also guests, as was an Arabian Shiek, but unlike the Hotel Kamp, which still managed to service the 'regular/non-VIP' guests, at the Grand Hotel the entire focus was on the VIPs and other guests' service was impaired... The breakfast (usually included in room rate) is fabulous. Booking far in advance through the hotel website can yield some bargain rates, so if you get a great rate that includes breakfast, and lower your expectations (or are willing to fight for a 'good' room), then you'll probably be satisfied, as the value proposition at most hotels in Oslo is not good compared to the rest of the World.

We've just spent 3 nights in this hotel and found it very disappointing. Our first night was at the beginning of our trip to Norway and on departing said that we'd expect better on our return in a week's time. We checked in again for our last 2 nights in Norway to discover yet another very tired room and shabby bathroom, we discovered that their fine dining restaurant was closed for the summer !!! and the swimming pool and spa was closed for renovation !!! We complained and were upgraded to the Ibsen suite, certainly an improvement but still not 5 star. Beware.

I've spent three days in Oslo Grand, organizing a business event which took place there. Overall, it a good hotel, but it is questionable whether it deserves the hype for being (allegedly) the best hotel in Oslo. It’s value for money is also questionable, since it is a very expensive establishment (although Norway is an expensive country, probably one of the most expensive I’ve ever been to). It’s an old hotel, with a good reputation, so probably they are forgetting that hotel business requires constant improvement…living on the “old glory” can not last forever. For approx 200,00 EUR a night I was placed in a relatively small room, overlooking the courtyard…not much of a view. On the bright side, my colleagues, having rooms facing the main street complained about the noise…I had no such problems, which is great because I’m a person that appreciates good night sleep. Speaking about other rooms, there are much larger and nicer rooms (my colleague had one of these), so you will either have to settle with what they give you, or convince them to transfer you to something better. In my case, since I have specifically requested a non smoking room, the story was that there are no other non smoking rooms available. One of my business partners, staying in the hotel for two days, reserved a non smoking room, but they gave him a smoking one. Upon request for another room, he has experienced a resigned response from the receptionist, rolling his eyes over and claiming that they gave him a non smoking room and that they have no other non smoking room available. He had to stay in the same room! Unacceptable for a 5* hotel. Anyway, my room could be better, but it wasn’t that bad. Our event+banquet: we have experienced elements of disorganization between event management staff. You speak to one member of the staff, he writes down everything, understands everything and you think that you’ll be fine. The problems occur when that particular member of the staff finishes his shift and goes home. Another guy doesn’t have a clue about your requirements and you have to go through the whole thing again. Then the first guy gets sick, the second one goes home and the third one comes into picture, without a clue what has to be done. That shouldn’t happen either in a hotel of such caliber, and that is the reason why we had some glitches with our event, the mayor one being our gala dinner was 30 minutes late (which is a bit of a problem). The food they serve is very good, although pricey (the whole town is pricey, so it doesn’t come as surprise and can not be considered a minus), especially breakfast. The position in Oslo, well, there is no better, so no objections on that part. Overall, a good hotel, but you might be a bit disappointed with what you get for the amount you will have to pay. Don’t expect grand luxury.

I stayed one night in what was really a rather small room. So Oslo is knozn to be expensive but this hardly felt like value for money. Checking the website first suggested both a pool and fitness equipment. The pool did look nice, but the three(!) fitness machines was pathetic and they are situated in the humid pool area. Can't fault the location though.