Montra Hotel Hanstholm

The room got far too hot, and there was no way to adjust the heating. Opening the ground-floor French windows was the only way to get air in, which felt like an obvious security risk. On top of a sleepless night, the smoke alarm light flashed every 45 seconds and was brighter than some camera flashes. The service was poor too. The pillows were only about 2cm thick, one per person. Reception initially refused when I asked for more, but the person working at 01:30 was more reasonable and found extras in the many empty rooms. Avoid.

The staff were kind enough to let me choose a bottle of wine from the "cellar" (fridge) after the awful evening at Montra Hanstholm. We didn't stay for the second night. My blanket was stained. The hotel sits on a hill outside hanstholm, a two-minute walk from lovely views over the industrial fishing harbour and ocean. The bunker museum is very close and worth a visit. My wife booked it so we could enjoy the west coast in a spa hotel. We'd taken similar trips elsewhere, but not in this area. We found a decent deal for two nights, though this was a 4 star hotel and we had high expectations. The spa wasn't relaxing: loud families, a tiny sauna, and a strange pool and "spa" area. There was basically no privacy or intimacy, so I wouldn't recommend it for a couples retreat. Our booking included three dinners. Thankfully the menu had vegetarian options for my wife, but her celery carpaccio starter was a bad joke and she didn't finish it. Her main was the chef's creative vegetarian platter, which turned out to be frozen falafels, for 300dkk or 35 euros. Another bad joke. I had pig cheeks cooked sous vide, sold as braised pork chop, and dessert was a terrible apple compote billed as "old school apple pie". Everything tasted industrial and seemed prepared long in advance. The bread was already starting to go dry and stale. At least the wine was made in France, so the kitchen couldn't mess that up. They opened the bottle in front of us. I don't know how management chose this cafeteria cook. Either they never taste the food, or they don't care about quality. I feel bad for the young, aspiring staff following these lazy, awful practices.

There was plenty of wildlife around, and lots of good opportunities to explore in the quiet surroundings. The hotel has a lovely view towards the Hanstholm lighthouse. My single room was a good size, and the 3/4-size bed was great. There was a mini total to go out on. Staff were helpful and the service was good. The hotel also offered a local fitness center and a small pool. I'll definitely come again.

The pool and sauna were the only saving grace, though both were very small. The pool was cold even though it was advertised as heated, and I was trembling going in and coming out. There was no way to rent a bathrobe or other bathing necessities at a wellness hotel. My mother also pointed out that coffee came in thermal flasks, which we'd expect at a 1-2 star motel, not a 4* hotel. We spent four days here, and the hotel was less than half full, so I don't think the problems were caused by being busy. It felt like they were trying to save money at our expense. This place deserves two stars, not four. It felt like a scam. When we arrived, we waited about fifteen minutes for someone to show up. There was no greeting, just a cold rundown of breakfast times, and then we were left on our own. The room heating didn't work. We went to reception twice, tried different knob settings and left the heaters for hours, but they still didn't work. We had to go down to the sauna and wrap ourselves in the covers to get warm. The smell of dirty, unwashed carpet was awful and seemed to be everywhere. The room had two paper cups, not glass or ceramic ones. There was no option to book separate beds, so I had to share with my mother. The "terrace" was just a balcony without even a table. There wasn't a mini-fridge, even though we'd paid for a better room, so we left our food and drinks outside to keep them cold. The toilet paper was in a plastic holder like one we'd seen at a 1-2* hostel in Nykøbing Mors. Room cleaning was supposedly daily, but they only made the beds and took out the rubbish. A few strands of hair were still there when we returned, and closer inspection showed a little mold between the bathroom tiles. When we asked about massage service, reception wrote down a number for us to call instead of handling the booking, even though massage was advertised as their own option. When we left, nobody was there again. Fed up with the service, we left the keys and went on our way. Very disappointing for a 4-star wellness hotel. It has a long way to go before it deserves even three stars. The staff should visit hotels that actually earn four stars.