Central City Apartments

The apartment was warm enough, and the bathroom was warm too thanks to the underfloor heating. The shower had good pressure and hot water. There was a lamp on the bedroom wall. It was clean and tidy, but still uncomfortable for me. It’s basically somewhere to put your head down. There’s no sofa, and the only place to sit is on the hard chairs around the kitchen table. Each bed has one flat pillow, so sitting up in bed wasn’t comfortable either. The main light is harsh. We preferred leaving it off and sitting almost in the dark, apart from the light over the stove. The room felt like an office or school cafeteria, not a comfortable place. Checking in meant calling a call centre in India, which wasn’t a great experience.

The location is the main positive. The whole place smelled of cigarette smoke, and there was very little way to raise concerns or communicate with the nearly absent staff. The so-called reception was someone at a call center who barely spoke English. I stayed in three different rooms, and the quality varied a lot, so it felt like a roll of the dice. The last one was the worst and was missing basic things, including a lid for a cooking pot. I’ve also heard stories about people not getting their deposits back. Please consider staying somewhere else.

The rooms were simple and clean, but the experience was horrible. There was no staff on site. Instead, there was a phone to reach an Indian call-centre, so don’t expect hospitality from someone present at the property. At check-in we were charged a 1000 NOK security deposit, which the hotel held. We were given strict instructions to clean the rooms and utensils, empty the bins and take out the trash ourselves, or money would be deducted from the deposit as a cleaning charge. I understand charging for damage, but this felt extreme. Guests shouldn’t have to empty garbage bins. Cleaning and maintenance are the hotel’s responsibility, not the guest’s. We followed the instructions and got the deposit back about 8-9 days after checkout. I’d suggest finding somewhere else. You might spend 8-10% more, but I guess you’d get much better service and experience. If you HAVE TO book here, take a DETAILED video of every corner of the room when checking in and checking out, so you have proof of the condition you left it in.

The hot water ran out just 2 minutes into my shower. I waited an hour, but it was still barely warm, so I boiled water in the tea pot and hurried to finish. I caught a cold because of it. This was the worst accommodation experience I’ve had in all of Europe.