Modern centrally located hotel. Great buffet breakfast. Lifts. Friendly helpful staff - multilingual. Close to Information Office and shops. 15 min walk to station. Road works (Oct 2011) outside. Taxis 50 metre walk. Luggage room.

Location and view was great. Except from that the room did not look very nice. Old and outdated...but clean.
I didn't try the restaurant or breakfast so cannot comment on that.

The location of this hotel is excellent. Your are placed in the middle of central Bergen. We had an excellent view to fisketorget, Bryggen and Fløien. The reception area is nice. Room standard is average. When we came, our room was not ready until 3 pm, but the staff was very helpful and service minded. Accessing the hotel by car and parking was difficult due to construction work in front of the hotel. However, we came in during rush-hours, and this did not help the situation. Parking house a few blocks away cost 180 NOK/day. The family room was quite large and clean. We would like to have seen possibilities to make tea/coffe in the room. The mini-bar was out of order. Beds were of good quality. However, trying to get a good nights sleep on a Saturday night was not so easy. The noise from nearby restaurants and night woke us up regularly until approx. 3am. Bring ear-plugs if staying in weekends! The breakfast buffet was very nice with both "Continental" and "English" alternatives.

but I've seen worse. Of course, for the kind of money you'll spend to stay here, I would expect more. Except that in Norway, EVERYTHING is ridiculously priced!

We had a room on the seventh floor, which I understand was recently renovated, but if you rely on the "professional photos" floating around out there, you are going to be sorely disappointed and probably downright angry.

Our room is best described as an old dorm. Being on the top floor, our ceilings are slanted which cuts our living space dramatically. We have one desk, two twin beds pushed together to make it a double, and our own bath. There is a refrigerator here and a safe. There is also one chair and a wardrobe.

My husband took the desk as his and I use the bed as an "office". By the time you set up a couple of laptops, cell phones, suitcases, you won't have much walking around room, but it is sufficient.

Our bathroom was clean but the shower is so tiny that you will never fit in there if you are overweight or beyond without risking having the faucets jammed up against your body. The water pressure was MAGNIFICENT so whatever they skimp on amenities, I'd rather have it in water pressure. You will get no soap or shampoo or toothpaste or any of that other stuff you get in most high-priced, high-end hotels. There is a liquid dispenser that is shampoo/conditioner/shower gel all rolled up into one. I brought my own shampoo and conditioner so I don't know if that stuff is effective on hair.

From a design standpoint, everything in here screams IKEA. Laminate, particleboard, and more laminate. The bathroom doorknob is cool and the sink isn't bad.

The staff is clueless about activities in the area. We wanted to take a cruise into the fjord and the front desk didn't know where I could buy a ticket or find the ship. That was weird considering that the ship and ticket are literally across the "plaza". I saw that ship from my bedroom window, for crying out loud, and the front desk was oblivious.

The lounge has a horrible wine list and the bartender insisted that chablis was chardonnay. Okay. It isn't but I wasn't going to argue. Breakfast? I'd rather not go there but if you're used to eating eggs that come from cartons, you might be okay with breakfast.

A couple of tips:

If you have a flat-screen TV, it may not turn on. Unplug it for awhile and then replug. Turn the TV on at the set, NOT at the monitor, and THEN use the monitor to change channels.

If you want your towels washed, leave them on the floor. I think this is becoming the standard these days, but some people may not know. If you hang your towel up, you won't get a clean one.

There are two flushers on the toilet behind the seat. Press the bigger one.

The 7-11 a few yards away carries everything you may need. Do not buy toiletries at the front desk. (Yes... you read that right. There is no gift shop.... just the front desk.)

The hotel has zero literature/maps/anything about the town so whatever you can pick up in the streets, you should grab.

If you're traveling to Bergen to see the city, then this is an excellent hotel to stay in as it is right smack in the center of everything. But if you're looking to be pampered in your private quarters, search elsewhere. You will get none of that at Scandic Strand.