Stavanger St Svithun Vandrerhjem

The rooms are pretty basic, though having a cafeteria downstairs helps make up for that. The location was alright, with some shops nearby, but it's a 45-minute walk from the city center. When my wife felt a bit ill because of the weather, the staff were helpful and got a room ready for us very quickly.

The room was fine, though very basic, and the hotel has the feel of a hospital since both are in the same building. There’s a bus stop nearby with service to the city center and airport. It’s a good hotel.

The staff were polite and nice, and the room was clean, spacious enough for my partner and me, and had what we needed apart from a kettle and hairdryer. You can borrow either from reception on the first floor, though neither is provided in the room. The hotel is made up of two connected buildings, one a hospital, with a shared reception on level 1. The arrival email told us to come from the hospital entrance, and at first we thought Google Translate had messed up. We’d never seen a hotel joined to a hospital before. Getting there was exhausting. We dragged our 23 kg suitcases for 2 km from the train station, up three very steep slopes. Even though it was about 15°C, we were sweating by the time we arrived, completely worn out from hauling our bags uphill. The location felt like it was in the middle of nowhere. I also dropped one of my gloves out the window onto what looked like a second-floor deck. Reception told me it was inaccessible and she couldn’t retrieve it. I wasn’t convinced, since surely maintenance or cleaning staff sometimes go out there to sweep or mop. Losing half a pair was frustrating. Other than that and the location, I had no complaints.

The rooms feel like hospital wards, with only a cheap desk and chair for furniture. For a three-star hotel, they’re missing basic things: there’s no hairdryer or kettle, the Wi-Fi signal is poor, and they hadn’t prepared power adaptors for guests. Breakfast had very little choice. I wouldn’t recommend it and will never stay there again.