Stayed at this hotel as the hotels in the centre of Hamar were all fully booked. Rica is located in the middle of nowhere, and with taxi (NOK 150+ one way) as the only way to get into the centre.
Some of the rooms shows clearly that the last renovation was in the 1970. Like the brown/yellow tiles of the bathroom in my room in the second floor.The soft chair could have survied from the same period of time, it was very worn out The bed, however, was very comfortable, and sleep quality very good. And that`s probably the most important! Cleanliness was also fine. Free wifi
The staff was very friendly and accomodating. Breakfast great with a good selection of fruit in addtion to the normal breakfast fare. Could have been some more fat reduced procucts - "light" cheese, butter - but they might have provided it if I had asked.
The hotel has a pool, so if you find nothing else to do in the middle of nowhere, you can always swim.....

Me, my wife and our 2 year old kid lived here for two nights in May 2010.

The price was not low, but lower than you expect for the best hotels in Norway - which is no surprise, because this hotel is really not amongst the best hotels in Norway.

There is a free parking lot outside, but if the hotel is full - I can't believe there are enough place for all customer's cars there. From outside the hotel looks very old and worn. We checked in late (22:30), and we got very good service from the man in the reception. In the reception, the hotel looks a little bit better than from the outside.

The room was also very old and worn, and the bathroom was very small (there were no place to put a dressing case in there, and no place to leave the clothes when we showered.

The hotel is located far away from Hamar, so this hotel is best for people who are passing by and need a place to sleep for one night.

The best part of the hotel was the breakfast, which I would give the best possible rating.

I stopped here for a few days in July 2010 in the beautiful town of Hamar - ideal for cycling and walking around Lake Mjoso. The Rica hotel is about 4km from the town centre and is based alongside the road from Lillehammer to Oslo - its appearance and rooms are just like a motel in the USA. Due to the location you need a taxi to get anywhere (approx £15 one way to the town centre) which soon adds up. The rooms are functional but with 1970s decor (brown bathroom suite) and with very dated shower. The beds were comfortable but in our room which faced the rising sun, there were no blackout curtains, so at the height of summer the sun was blazing through the window by 4am! The staff were friendly and helpful and like many places we found in Norway the breakfast was plentiful with a good variety of hot or cold food. Hamar is somehwere I would return to, but I would go for a more centrally located place next time

We had a group of 52 Americans staying at the Rica Hotel Hamar for 5 nights in September. The hotel is big and modern - utilitarian rather than charming.

They have a large restaurant with a really nice buffet dinner and breakfast. They had a PC with internet access in the lobby (paid per minute). There is free parking in the lot in front of the hotel (though it did fill up - and it was very annoying that all rows parked diagonally the same direction so you couldn't go up one row and down the next looking for a place to park).

I had a corner room, bigger than most with a nice bathroom and all the amenities.

The staff was great. Check in and check out went amazingly smoothly for such a big group.

It is not far off the main freeway and easy to get to, but it is not particularly close to town. You would need your own car if staying here.