Ringstad Resort

We’re traveling in a motorhome and only meant to stop for a beer and dinner, but we ended up renting the jacuzzi for an hour. It was amazing! The property is beautiful, the food was delicious, and the staff were super friendly. You can rent kayaks and SUPs too.

The location is easily the resort’s strongest point, and it outshines the facilities and service. The rooms are sparsely furnished, and the TV is only a screen for your smartphone. Sunday’s food and service fell short of expectations, though the next day the food was delicious and the service very attentive.

The setting and ocean view from our room were beautiful. It’s a bit secluded, which is ideal if you want peace and quiet. The room was alright, but had a strong smell, especially in the bathroom. There were no amenities, shampoo, or lotion, which I’d expect at this price. Breakfast was good, but dinner was pretty average. The food was bland, the fish dry, and we found out by asking that the prawns were Vietnamese, which seemed odd while looking out at the Norwegian ocean. Staff weren’t especially attentive, friendly, or engaged. A false fire alarm went off in all the rooms and both apartment buildings at 7 in the morning and kept going for about 30 minutes. We understand that can happen, but the response was unacceptable. No staff were at the resort, and the emergency numbers we called several times weren’t available. There was no apology, information, or explanation. At checkout, the resort manager sat at reception having breakfast and ignored our complaints while we spoke with an employee. Very unprofessional.

We had 48 hours that felt like a dream in Ringstad. From bed, we could see the fjord and the northern lights, and the rooms were unbelievable. The welcome was all warm smiles, a big change from the strict, formal greetings we’d had at Norwegian hotels so far. The dining room is well placed, the food is excellent, the cod was perfectly cooked, and breakfast included smoked fish. The local beer was refreshing too.