Smarthotel Bodø

I got in very late and used the easy self check-in kiosk. To my surprise, I’d been assigned a top floor room with a gorgeous harbour view, and there was a sweet little note and a snack waiting in the room. Everything felt wonderful: the hotel was clean and quiet, the breakfast was great, and the classic Scandinavian style suited the place. I could walk everywhere, including the airport, with the train station and waterfront across the road and sentrum just five minutes away. I never heard a peep from other guests at night, and I even saw the Northern Lights from my room. I loved my couple of nights in Bodø and would highly recommend staying here.

The room was spacious, with plenty of room for luggage, and the hotel was very clean. The location is a real plus too: a five-minute walk gets you to a nice shopping center and the main shopping street. Service was the weak spot. When I went to reception, around 8-10 people were waiting to check in and only one person was serving them.

The room was in rough shape. The floor was damp with beer, and the bedside lamp had no bulb. The TV was completely broken too. I went to tell the front desk as soon as I switched it on, just after checking in, but the woman there asked why I hadn't reported it sooner. She said their system showed we arrived at 6 pm, even though my flight landed at 9 pm. Maybe a previous guest had been less honest, but there was no offer to move us, just a rude, dismissive response. I've never had such a negative experience for no reason, and I don't usually write reviews like this. What a joke of a hotel.

The hotel seemed decent and appeared to make a genuine effort to be environmentally friendly, but our stay was extremely disappointing. We chose it for the location near the train station and the included breakfast, since we had an early departure and wanted to rest, eat, and get the day started properly. Before booking, we called twice and were told breakfast would be available from 6 am. We checked again at reception when we arrived and got the same reassurance. But at 6 the next morning, half the breakfast was missing and there were only a few cold items. We were then told hot breakfast didn't start until 7. Bread and cheese weren't what we thought we were paying for, and we were left hungry for the rest of the morning. There were three chances to explain that hot food started at 7, but nobody did, and it wasn't mentioned in the booking either. When we raised it, the receptionist was unhelpful and dismissive. I wouldn't recommend staying here if you need an early breakfast or dependable service.