The welcome from smiling personal in the door and in the reseption was warm and real as always. Fast check-in. Good! Very nice room and comfortable bed. Nice and warm bathroom with all You need. Fast roomservice The two times I used it. I had a lunch at historical Grand cafe. Fast and friendly service with good food! Before dinner I went to Limelight bar aand had the great pleasure to meet with the bartender Ottar. Love the Snowball you made for us! Vistied restaurant Julius Fritzer in the heart of the hotel at night. Fantastic service and delicious food. Breakfast at hotel - a good start of The day! I will come back soon:-)

We booked a special deal and got a comparatively good rate (under $170AUD) for the Grand. A 10min easy walk from the train station, even for someone as unfit as me, and right in the centre of Oslo.

After checking in, one of the staff insisted on taking our bags and had a good chat to us as we went to our room. Once we got there he explained how to use everything, how to access the wifi etc. Being Australian I didn't know if I should tip, but before I could even consider it he wished us a great stay and was gone.

The breakfast in the Grand Cafe was great and the staff friendly and efficient (hey, Perth, you could learn a few lessons). We would often not need lunch after sampling the breakfast buffet. A great budget saver in expensive Norway.

The hotel is undergoing some work and I caught a glimpse of some of the newer rooms and they were very modern and nice. Our room was good, though the bathroom was looking a bit dated if I was to be picky. The bed was huge. At 6'5'', it was something I appreciated.

The only downside, other than Norwegian prices, was the occasional smell of cigarette smoke. I understand there are still smoking rooms and in the evening we could smell smoke coming through the aircon. It didnt last all night, but was a bit of shock coming from a country were smoking is banned in all indoor areas.

Stayed here on a businnes trip in January and it was a nice experience. My room was on the 5th floor, facing Rosenkrantz gate, and there was no noise from that side. Relatively spacious room with all amenities I could ask for, and it was kept very clean. Good, free wifi.
The location is excellent, just a short walk away from the main train station.

The Grand is the "Old Lady" of Oslo hotels. It has a great reputation and bags of history. It is set in what is just about the best spot in town, a nice park on Karl Johan Gt (Oslos Main street) right opposite the parliment buildings and in sight of the Royal Palace. The main train station is a short walk up the street and with the fast train, you can leave your room and be in the airport in well under an hour.

The service was good, even at a busy time. I stayed December 31st - January 1st. (New Years eve 2011). The hotel itself appears to be very well presented, with huge paintings, mirrors, ect in the hallways, all very "Grand". The rooms are a little less grand. I was in a room on the Ladies floor (for some reason) and I would certainly have prefered not to be. The room was clean but the decor was odd. The only way I can really adequately decribe it is to say it seemed to have been decorated by a color-blind 4 year old with an Ikea obsession. I had booked a Superior double room and was less than impressed. On the other hand, positives for the room were an excellent bathroom and a very well stocked minibar.
I would also add to other reviewers comments here that I agree with. The Ladies floor is a fair old hike to the lifts. But it gives you plenty of time to appreciate the fancy corridors.

Can't really comment on any of the other hotel facilities as (surprisingly for me) EVERYTHING was closed in the hotel. Upstairs bar, closed. Downstairs bar, closed. Gym, closed. Pool, closed. Bar downstairs by the lobby? Open, but when I went in, they said no drinks!. There is no excuse for this from a top-class hotel. It was a big disappointment.

We had the New Years dinner in the Grand Cafe in the building, but apparently this is not part of the hotel so it would be unfair to comment on it here.

My overall rating for this hotel I think would probably have been a 3 had it not been for the fact that I consider what I paid for the room rate to be very good value (considering the prices of nearby alternatives). And I booked through the front desk too, no special deal, no cut-price website.

I wasn't entirely happy with my stay here, but I would probably give it another go next time I need an Oslo overnight stop.