Review: Radisson Blu Airport Hotel Oslo Gardermoen

Where is it?

Radisson Blu Airport Hotel Oslo Gardermoen is located on the grounds of the main international airport of Oslo with a short walk from the terminal building. If arriving by plane, after leaving the baggage reclaim, pass through the arrivals hall towards the bus terminal and then turn right and follow the signs. The hotel entrance is no more than a 3-4 minutes walk away.

It is also easy to reach the hotel from the train station, with easy access to and from downtown Oslo and other cities with rail connection to the airport.

The arrival experience

I arrived just after midnight after an evening flight from southern Europe. The lobby was virtually empty and I was quickly checked in by a young man at the reception. The process was quick, which was appreciated as I was eager to get to my room to get some sleep.

The room

The hotel offers standard rooms, family rooms, business class rooms, junior suites and suites. I had booked a business class room for the night as the price difference from a standard room was quite small. The hotel has no less than 500 rooms located in two main buildings on different floors. I was assigned a room on the top floor.

The business class room was one of the newly refurbished rooms with a contemporary and somewhat artistic design with most of the interior in wood and with interesting details such as a mirror designed as a picture hanging above the desk.

The room featured a comfortable king sized bed, a work desk, a TV, an armchair, coffee and tea making facilities and a minibar.

Staying in a business class room means that a few extra amenities are included, which is standard at most Radisson Blu hotels. These include bathrobe and slippers, a Nespresso machine free pay-TV.

The room also featured a funny-looking lounge chair with a footstool. Quite comfortable, but unfortunately it easily tipped.

The bathroom featured a bathtub, toilet, a sink with a large mirror and the standard Radisson Blu toiletries. Although the room was recently refurbished the bathroom felt somewhat basic in its design.

The room had a very nice view of the domestic apron including some of the terminal stands and the remote stands.

There was also a decent view of the western runway with several aircrafts taking off in the morning. Fortunately the room was sound-proof with no disturbing noise whatsoever from the outside.

Food and drinks

There are two restaurants and two bars in the hotel but as I arrived after midnight everything was already closed. The two restaurants include the ‘Toot’s International’ serving breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as the as the more upscale ‘AfterGate’ restaurant

A wide selection of drinks is available in the Toot’s bar while the Lobby Lounge offers hot drinks by the fireplace.

Other facilities

Due to the location at the airport with air connections from most major cities in Norway and northern Europe the hotel is popular for meetings and conferences with 31 different meeting rooms.

There is also a health club called Fit4Flight with a gym, sauna and massage showers. Another fun feature is the golf simulator with 32 virtual golf courses from across the world.

Breakfast

The breakfast was served in the large Toot’s International restaurant with an extensive breakfast buffet including both hot and cold, Scandinavian and international items. The breakfast followed the standard Radisson Blu ‘Super Breakfast Buffet’ concept, but in this hotel it did live up to its name.

Service

The service was friendly throughout the hotel with nothing to complain about, with one exception, the breakfast staff. Two rather young women were working in the restaurant, their main job being to clear the tables. However as there was not always something to do they ended up standing by the buffet, chatting rather loudly with each other about private matters, which was impossible not to overhear when sitting just a few meters away. This went on for quite some time. It was in fact quite disturbing and felt very unprofessional and completely inappropriate at a business hotel. The topics covered things that should be kept to the staff areas during breaks, not in front of the guests who are trying to enjoy their meals and who have paid a fair amount of money for it.

Final impression

The main benefit of the hotel is the location, just a short walk from the airport terminal. It is a good choice for early departures and late evening arrivals and it is also easy to get to and from downtown Oslo using the Flytoget airport train.

The hotel as such is a traditional business hotel in an airport setting. It is large with no less than 500 rooms and offers most facilities expected at a business hotel. But as for the interior and the design it does feel a bit boring and impersonal. But for a one night airport stay it did its job perfectly and I would not mind staying there again, as long as I can eat my breakfast in peace.