We booked through the Norway in a Nutschell package. Great excursion if short of time or a first timer in Norway This location is On one of the ends of a tributary of one of the largest fjords. Where the ferry from Flam stops. Nice location to rest, have good food, and recharge before continuing to travel Norway. You could go on by bus, but worth the stop No frills, but very clean, and very friendly service. Super shop with local goods. Would definitely come back.

We stayed here during our norway in a nutshell tour (fantastic) and gudvangen in a nutshell  is definately not fantastic. We arrived from flam on the ferry and were really disappointed that the fjordtell was more like a service area than a destination, a car park with accommodation. The accommodation was either one of 12 Viking rooms which have roof windows so u can see the mountains (above the coaches, campers and delivery lorries in the adjoining carpark). We stayed in the cheaper option (!) of what can only be described as a garden shed. We felt like we were staying  in a bus terminal rather than a motel. Even in low season lots of noise from vehicles as the E16 road runs behind it. 
It is no exaggeration that there is nothing there, a handful of residential buildings, the gift shop and the accommodation.There was no option for eating out other than the restaurant. Thankfully a nearby petrol station has a mini supermarket which sells decent baguettes.

Be warned in low season the norway in a nutshell buses only seem to correspond with ferry sailings. We stayed one night (arrived at 5pm) and then couldn't leave until the following afternoon. There was a nearby bus stop and we could have taken a local bus to voss but that would have been extra expense. Thankfully we did find a way out. 

The accommodation in a nutshell;
No tea making facilities in room
No tv
No hair dryer
A few plastic cups
Thin Walls with bonking neighbours (but a noisy family would have been worse)
Comfy bed and Clean sheets
Furnished by Ikea
Chest of draws and hanging space along with bunk beds
Ants were in the apartment but Clean throughout
Wifi is extra and only available in the main building

The staff however, were very kind and helpful and tried their best to help and answer any questions we had about bus times etc. 
It was a shame that is was a disappointment, we felt we wasted a day of the tour and could have spent it somewhere more interesting. 

In season there might have been more going on but out of season Gudvangen is one to avoid 

I'd say it's worth to stay in Fjordhotell-marvelous view of gorgerous mountains and Fjord-just amazing impressions! VIking camp in the summer is a nice attraction for tourists as well as for real Vikings (:

My family stayed here for one night in July 2008. The main hotel building is a very odd circular shape: the souvenir shop, hotel reception, canteen style restaurant and dining room are all in the same space, very cramped and quite hideous. Our hotel room was nothing like the picture displayed on the hotel website and we had to walk along the rows of the car park (cars parked waiting for a ferry boat) to get to our motel syle room. The motel style rooms are furnished with very basic IKEA stuff. The room was clean and basic, but the bathroom very poor: a small room, linoleum on the floor, plastic wall panels, containing a sink and toilet and shower curtain in one corner (no dedicated shower cubicle) so that when you showered the water went all over the floor of the whole bathroom. We paid 1280 NOK for a double room here, which did include breakfast, but it was one of the poorest breakfasts I have experienced. It was a self service buffet but very basic and you did everything yourself - there was a bowl of waffle mixture provided and a very old waffle machine which guests could use to make their own waffles, but having one waffle machine (which took at least 3 minutes per waffle) for all the guests meant a very long wait for a waffle.
Dinner was not good. We went for the buffet (230 NOK per person) and my husband and daughter chose some breaded stuffed fish, the inside of which was stone cold. The vegetables were tinned, and the desserts were of the "quick whisk" variety! Other than the scenery around Gudvangen, I can't think of a reason to stay there, and since there are other fjord areas with much nicer places to stay, I cannot recommend staying in Gudvangen at this hotel. Flam is much nicer, more upmarket and even prettier. The staff were pleasant, but the hotel is not looking for repeat business and from the number of tables laid out in the "dining room" we imagine they make their money from undiscerning tourist buses/groups on boats that probably lunch there. Don't stay here.