Hotell 1016 Olav Digre

The location made our stay easy, close to both the train station and the city center. Rana, the hotel manager, made sure we had what we needed and helped make our time in Sarpsborg feel like coming home. Breakfast was excellent, with fresh fruit, yoghurt, warm bread, waffles, bakery cakes, and hot options like eggs, bacon, and sausages. I’ve never had service this good in Norway. We can only recommend the hotel.

The breakfast was quite OK, even though it was served very early and only for an hour. But when we went to check out, nobody was at reception, and nobody answered the phone number we’d been given. For a hotel with such a good location in central Sarpsborg, the rest of our stay was a real disappointment. The building is old and everything felt outdated or broken. The room smelled strongly of damp, and the bathroom smelled of smoke, possibly from the old ventilation. The shower head should have been replaced long ago. There was no bathroom mirror, just one working bulb in the light, no bulbs in the wall lamps by the beds, and the clock was stuck at 1:36. The TV didn’t work. When we called reception, they blamed the cable TV company, which clearly wasn’t the problem. There wasn’t a table or chair, and outside the window was a messy waste management site. The overall impression was filthy. Such a disgrace in the middle of beautiful old Sarpsborg. The hotel is run by an immigrant family.

Breakfast was better than we expected, with lots to choose from, and even though we arrived a few minutes late, they let us in and made fresh waffles. We’d been told the breakfast hours in the booking and in a text the night before, so we were late despite having that information. We were a family of three and only stayed briefly. Reception was closed when we arrived, but the hotel had tried to contact us and sent instructions for getting into our room. It was spacious, quiet, and clean apart from dust under the beds, though a bit dated. The bathroom was small but clean. The staff were really nice and professional, smiling and accommodating despite our late arrival, after-hours call, and late breakfast.

The old building is worn, but there’s lots of light, air, and atmosphere. I stayed for a long time with my children, and it felt like a safe place for all of us. The staff were incredibly friendly and helpful, making a real effort to make us feel at home. Breakfast was great, and they found food that worked with my allergies.