Review: Clarion Hotel Arlanda Airport

Where is it?

Clarion Hotel Arlanda Airport, as the name suggests, is located at Arlanda airport, the main international airport of Stockholm. The hotel is located with direct access to the terminals and the exact location is close to Sky City, the plaza and shopping arcade located between terminal 4 and terminal 5. The hotel is connected to Sky City through the ‘Sky Bridge’.

It is also easy to reach the hotel from the main railway station for long-distance trains and the station for suburban trains (Pendeltåg) as the main exit is right inside Skycity, a minute walk from the hotel. It is also easy to reach the hotel using the Arlanda Express train (Arlanda North station is the nearest station) as well as by using the various airport buses.

Skycity itself offers a good selection of cafes, restaurants and shops which are all just a minute walk from the hotel entrance and which can easily be visited during the stay.

The arrival experience

I checked in at the hotel around 6 pm in the evening in preparation for an early departure the following morning. I arrived at the airport by bus and got off at terminal 5. It took 3-4 minutes to get from the bus stop to the hotel entrance. The location with direct terminal access is definitely one of the main advantages of the hotel.

I was immediately checked in by a friendly young woman and was assigned a room on the second floor. She also informed me about the facilities at the hotel and about the breakfast hours the following morning and when I told her I was leaving very early she offered to order a breakfast box for me, which I happily accepted.

The room

The hotel is large with no less than 430 rooms divided onto 13 different floors. There are Standard rooms, Superior rooms and Deluxe rooms as well as seven suites.

I had booked a standard room located on the second floor. The standard rooms measure between 20 and 24 sqm, not overly spacious but about standard for a regular standard room in the Nordic countries.

The interior was elegant with a 160 cm side double bed from Hilding, which was very comfortable, a work desk, an armchair and a side table.

The room also had a minibar, a kettle to make coffee or tea and a wide-screen TV.

The bathroom had shower (some of the rooms have bathtub instead) but Clarion has now scrapped individual toiletries. Instead large bottles of soap, shampoo and shower gel were mounted on the wall.

There was not much of a view from the room though, just a limited view of parts of Skycity and the drop-off area at terminal 5. The rooms located on the higher floors generally have a good airport view, some of them overlooking the terminals, the apron and the runways.

Food and drinks

There is a bar and restaurant at the hotel called ‘Kitchen & Table’ by Swedish chef Marcus Samuelsson, which is the standard bar and restaurant concept at most Clarion hotels.

‘Kitchen & Table’ both has a restaurant section with an a la carte menu and a bar area where it is possible to order various drinks, including several aviation-inspired cocktails.

Located on the 12th floor the bar and restaurant offers a fantastic view of the airport, one of the main runways and the aprons at terminal 4 and terminal 5.

There is also a bar located next to the lobby on the third floor called the ‘Living Room’ where it is possible to order drinks and cocktails as well as snacks from a bar menu.

On Wednesday and Friday evening there is also live music in the ‘Living Room’, which was also the case this evening. A very talented young man was playing the guitar and singing, which was very pleasant while enjoying a beer.

Other facilities

The hotel has an excellent fitness centre with a very spacious gym which is open from 5 am until 11 pm. There are also saunas in each locker room.

Right outside the gym there is an outdoor pool, 4 x 9 metres, which is open also in the winter and which has a temperature of 29 degrees Celsius all year around. There is also an outdoor sun deck with lounge chairs.

For those who prefer to start or end the day with a run there are several jogging routes in the area and those who are interested can get a map from the reception.

The hotel has a very large conference area located on the second floor offering no less than 44 meetings rooms including 5 larger conference rooms and with a total capacity for 900-1200 guests depending on arrangements.

Service

The service was friendly and attentive both at the front desk and at the lobby bar ‘The Living Room’.

Breakfast

The breakfast is served in a separate breakfast restaurant on the second floor where there is also an impressive art collection. The breakfast buffet is very extensive with both hot and cold breakfast item and even a chef making omelettes. I had tested the breakfast on a previous visit.

Since I had a flight leaving already at 6 am I decided to skip the breakfast this time, even though it does start already at 4.30 am. Although there should have been time for it I rather preferred to sleep a bit longer as I had a long day coming up.

However at check-in I ordered a breakfast box which was ready for collection at the front desk in the morning. The ‘box’ (or rather the paper bag) had a sandwich, a bottle of orange juice, a yoghurt and a fruit. Just perfect to get going until breakfast was served on the flight an hour later.

Final impression

This is an excellent airport hotel with well-appointed rooms, plenty of good facilities, friendly staff and a very nice atmosphere. And last but not least, it does have a very good location with direct terminal access.