Arriving at the hotel by car was not at all easy. My GPS got me to the hotel, but the adress found in the yellow pages was not to the street where the reception entrance was, but to another street were stopping was not at all adviceable.. Getting to the right street was not easy because of many one way streets. Finally arriving by the receptiion there was nowhere to place the car without blocking the street. No 10 min parking for the hotel by the entrance or anything. And all parking spots were taken. I then had to drive on, and after driving around the city centre a bit I ended up with a parking spot a few streets away.

Walking into the hotel one receptionst was on the phone, and the other was an elderly man that turned out to be the night shift and had just arrived. I tried to talk to him to check in. He actually seemed timid to talk with me. He said he could not help me and I had to wait for the other receptionist to help me check in. He found my name on a manual list, but that was all. I asked him about parking, expecting them to have either their own garage or discounted parking spaces in some garage. They did not have either. It was either parking in the street or he recommended the parking house at the train station 10 min walk away. As soon as the other receptionist was ready to talk to me he ran out looking for a parking space for me. But I ended up with parking at the train station which was also cheaper and safer. Getting all my luggage from my car was a bit hard since I had to block the street a bit and then drive to the parking..

I asked for free WLAN access as a Thon Club Member. This I got at another hotel and told her this. She said it was only for gold members. But since I had got this earlier, and they could not do any worse, it was no problem. And in any case, I was going to be upgraded to a gold membership during my stay in any case. So, all in all the front desk staff was friendly and service-minded, although some could have receivied better training.

I was lucky enough to get a room in a new wing connected by an bridge from the 1st floor. The room was new and modern and alltoghether very acceptable. Maid service, on the other hand, could be a lot better. The first morning after arrivaI was in my room (at 11.30 am) my door is almost broken down by the maid (locked on the inside). Bursting in she quickly excuses and leaves. When I leave 5-10 mins later I find a plastic bag on my door with towels, toilet paper and so on. Upon returning I find my room untouched by the maid. The next day I leave earlier, and the bed is made and litter emptied, but during the 3 days of my stay the floor or bathroom is not touched. Even though it obviously needed they both needed cleaning.

A great problem on the other hand is the noise from the streets during the night. My window was overlooking a back street, but I listened to ranting drunkards more than once during the night. When building this new wing they should have put some extra money in windows with better sound isolating capability..

Breakfast was quite good. A clean and inviting buffet with trays and drinks always filled. A good selection of Norwegian business newspapers was also available. What the local newspaper was doing there on the other hand, is beyond me. It is probably not every day people stay in hotels in their own town.

So, total experience was good. But although staff is friendly, some obviously needs better training. And if you are looking for something quiet, look somewhere else.