Prior to a Baltic Cruise on the Regal Princess we stayed in the Radisson SAS Scandinavia Hotel. It was chosen by the cruise operators probably because it can handle shiploads of people and also because we had been flown out by SAS. It is the largest Redisson hotel in Denmark and is outstanding in that is towers upwards of 26 floors while the rest of Copenhagan only reaches around four – totally out of character with the rest of the city.
The hotel boasts the international Casino Copenhagen - off the lobby. A fitness gym and a swimming pool are also on offer. About ten minutes walk from the hotel reaches the city centre and Tivoli Gardens. A short walk in the other direction leads to a canal path leading directly to Christiania Freetown.
Check in was swift and painless. An express elevator shot us up to the 19th floor and wonder of wonders our electronic key worked first time and every time. Our cases arrived soon after us. The spacious room was painted in a light blue colour and was clean and well presented. A glance at the literature in the room decided us immediately that we would eat elsewhere. The example menu displayed prices that were daylight robbery. The mini bar we also left alone.
For some reason the room had a trouser press but no ironing board or iron. A hair drier was present but no facilities to make tea or coffee. Presumably we were being forced to pay for refreshments down in the spacious lobby – contains comfortable seating. The bed was large and comfortable. Unfortunately the noise from the three-lane highway below our window down which the Danes drove like maniacs didn’t enable a lie in. The room had a recliner chair and a telephone with voice mail. Also present was a dressing table cum desk. The bathroom had a shower over a bath, a wash hand basin and a toilet.
The view from our bedroom took in Our Saviour’s Kirke with its Spiral steeple and the harbour. Unfortunately the window was so dirty that I had to poke my camera out through the chink represented by the window opening and take a photo. The TV appeared to offer no programs unless we paid for them. A data port was available for those that had a lap top computer.
Breakfast was of the Continental variety. A wide choice of juices, cereals, pastries, bread, cold meats as well as cooked items were on offer. No problems here.
Over all we found the hotel soulless. A fellow cruise member summed up the hotel as not being up to the standard that you would expect as part of a P.O Princess Cruise.