The French Salon (Oslo, Norway)

The French Salon 
Norway National Gallery
Universitetsgata 13, Oslo
Phone:    (+47) 21 98 22 70
Email   
Website
Timetable:
    Mon - Closed
    Tue-Fri:    11am-5pm.
    Thu:   11am-6pm.
    Sat-Sun: 11.30am-4pm.

Located beside the National Gallery's gift shop and inside the building of the National Gallery of Norway, the French Salon is a lovely café that surprises for its intimate elegant ambience and its simple but tasty menu.

The premises are very French neoclassic decorated in green marble and white marble busts inserted in walled niches. The tables are simply but elegantly set and the place is very cozy and comfortable. 

Sometimes you are hungry and want to eat wherever the closest place is. This was the case for me when visiting The French Salon. We wanted to continue our visit of the gallery and needed a break, so going outside was a bit pointless and a waste of time. Art Galleries cafés are rarely cheap, so I checked the menu and pricing in advance, and to my surprise it was average price in the city, nothing really overpriced or expensive.  

Their menu was small, but the dishes on offer were yummy, Norwegian inspired, generous in size and nicely plated.  They also have a small selection of cakes and slices displayed in the cabinet, which looked fabulous but we didn't try. 

Their coffee was also good, and they have cortado on offer, something I always appreciate when I am overseas. 

Although I loved this café, there was some issues with the service that would need to be fixed. The main one was that the café was understaffed. The staff were extremely friendly, welcoming and apologetic with some customers who complained about a mishap. Despite the speed and diligence of the waitresses, they couldn't cope with the constant flow of customers, even though they wasn't any group visiting or too many visitors. Two waitresses had to clean the tables, get the orders, usher the people in, serve food, and get the payments. The result was chaos in the service and stressed waitresses.  You cannot enter and sit at will but have to wait to be ushered in and seated, and I had to wait over 5 minutes at the door waiting for that to happen. The cafe needed at least another waiter at the time I visited and perhaps two or three more at rush hour.


Having said this, I really love this place. It has something special that is difficult to explain. The patina of history, perhaps. Pity the chaos in the service. The rest was lovely and I would love to go back. 

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Comfort Hotel Boersparken (Oslo, Norway)

Comfort Hotel Boersparken
Tollbugata 4, Oslo 0152, Norway
Phone: +47 22 47 17 17
Fax: +47 22 47 17 18
E-mail co.borsparken@choice.no
Photo courtesy of the Hotel

This hotel is basic simple hotel, an upgraded backpacker hotel for adults if you want, but it has everything you need in the heart of Oslo.

GOOD
> Location. It faces the National Opera House and the docks, and its a short walk from the train station and the some of the main sights, cafes and restaurants in the city centre.
> I found here one the most welcoming warmest staff in Norway. Always ready to help with a smile, and go the extra-mile to assist you.
> The reception has a small mini-shop with snacks and heatable pre-prepared boxed food if you just want a sandwich or something simple.
> The lounge, is also the dining room and offers free coffee and chocolate to customers, for free, all day long. You just use the self-serving machines.
> The lounge is large and with many different seating areas.
> Lifts are secure, and function with your key card.
> Wi-fi was good, fast and reliable.

SO SO
Breakfast was varied, buffet like, and had a bit of everything, but nothing exciting. I have had better breakfast buffet in similar hotels in Norway.

NO NOS
> The place is hectic, crowded and quite noisy. Lifts are always crowded.
> Our room was at the bottom end of a corridor and had two single beds, single as in my size, if you are tall, it is not good. One of them was underneath a staircase space, tiny space, no bedside table; the other bed was upstairs, very steep stairs, also very basic. Just a stool in each space. Two steep stairs to the bathroom, which was OK. A metallic bar with three hangers.
> The key card MUST be used to lock the door when you leave the room. Otherwise, the door stays open. I haven't found that sort of system anywhere in the world! The instructions were at the back of the card, but most hotels have self-locking doors on exit.
> No curtains, just roller blinds. No problem with that except, if they are up, you have to go upstairs to bring them down, or do team work with the person upstairs to bring them to your level thought it was ridiculous!

MY RECOMMENDATION
There are other hotels 5 minutes walking distance from this, as central as this is, at a fraction of the price. Personally, I would stay in one of those. Like the Citybox Hotel for example. 

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Flytoget Airport Express (Oslo, Norway)

Photo courtesy of the Visit Oslo Website

Flytoget is one of the cheapest, fastest comfortable means to get to the airport. Cheap for Norway, of course. There are other ways to get to the airport, cheaper, but not as convenient.

The train is located on the station's ground area, and you can buy the tickets through their website, through their app, or just at the station by using their ticket vending machines (using cash or credit card). At working hours there are different staff members helping customers with the machines.

Trains run very frequently, so if you miss one, another will be there in about 10-15 minutes. And the train being a specific service to the airport, it is very punctual.

The train is fast, has short stops in different places between the airport and the central station, and is very comfortable. There is a screen with scheduled flights arrivals and departures and some tourist info.

Taking into account the prices of everything in Norway, the ticket is OK. Children under 16 travel for free if accompanied by an adult; half price for kids from 16 and 20, students from 21-31yoa and retires over 67, and full price for adults without a concession.

The only thing I disliked is that the carriages have no ramps to the platforms, so you have to move your suitcase inside by using your muscles, which is not great if your suitcase if very heavy. Also the space devoted to the luggage has not barrier or stopping bar, so the suitcases with wheels tend to move in and out the compartments.

Overall, very good. I will take it again if I return to Oslo.

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Citybox Hotel (Oslo, Norway)

Citybox Oslo
Prinsens Gate 6, 
0152 Oslo, Norway
Phone: + 47 21 42 04 80
Email: oslo@citybox.no
Website
The head photo is a cortesy of Citibox website

THE GOOD
+ Centrally located, a a short 5 minute walk from the Train Central Station, Bus Station, the main shopping area in Oslo, and the new Opera House, and about 10 minutes walking distance from the main sights in the city. 
+ Very clean rooms and common areas. 
+ Spacious simple rooms, bigger than expected, minimalist and practical, still cosy. Very Scandinavian style indeed. 
+ Bed, desk and chair were really comfortable. 
+ Heated bathroom floor.
+ Many power points in the bedroom to recharge your gadgets. 
+ Common areas are great, with two large seating areas and large flat screens, one showing programs in Norwegian and another in English. They have plenty of small seating areas, really stylish and comfortable, some vending machines, tea and coffee facilities, a fridge, a microwave, sink and rubbish bins. 
 + The staff were lovely and very helpful. There isn't reception as such, but sometimes they get out a sort of stand that works as such. Otherwise, you have electronic concierge in the lobby, and you can always ask one of the guys at the hotel office in the lobby to give you a hand with anything. I found them very friendly, helpful and welcoming, one of the best staff I found in Norway.
+ After checking out, you can leave the luggage in their deposit room and come back to pick it up afterwards. Just ring the button in the checking in area to ask a staff member to open the main door for you. 
+ Environmentally friendly. 
+ Good value for money taking into account the utterly ridiculous pricing of most hotels in Oslo. We stayed in another hotel, two minutes walking distance from this, paid double and it wasn't as good or comfy as this one.
 + A bakery-cafe is next door to the hotel and opens long hours.  

SO-SO
= Checking in/ out is automatized, but very easy to do.
= Free WiFi all over the hotel but it was temperamental and the line dropped several times during the day.
= There are ramps for people with mobility problems, that is great, but I found, that the joints between rooms and between the common spaces and the lifts had a metallic sort of elevated lining that were a bit of a hassle to roll the suitcase, but I guess a wheelchair might have no problem. 

THE NOT SO GOOD
# No reception as such.
# No safety box in the room.
# No TV in the room.
# No phone in the room. 
# No minibar in the room. 
# No room service. 
# No toiletries, just soap dispensers. I have no problem with that, but a body milk dispenser and a hair conditioner dispenser would be a great addition.  
# No wardrobe or any storage area, just a hangers rack, which seems to be traditional in Scandinavian hotels. OK if you stay a night, it might be a problem if you stay for several days.  
 # You need to to ask for a hair drier or extra towels, waiter boiler or an extra heater at reception. There was a lonely towel in my bathroom and not especially big.
# Curtains not thick enough for all day daylight. I personally have no problem sleeping with these curtains, but other people do as the material doesn't completely block clarity at night.
# Ugly views depending on the room,  and plenty of construction going on in the surrounding area.  
# The supposed 10% discount in the attached cafe applies just after 11am. 

MIND
>  The key card also activates the power in the room. When checking-in, you will be asked whether you want one or two keys. Take the two to have the power always operational. 
> If you stay for more than a day they won't clean the room as this is why the hotel is way cheaper than similar hotels in Oslo; it just saves money. There is a visible notice in the lift about this and it is also mentioned in the check-in sheet you get. This policy is very much of my liking, but it might not be of yours. If you stay for several days and want your linen changed regularly or daily you need to arrange this with reception beforehand before arrival by email and discuss pricing. 
> This a non-smoking hotel. If they catch you smoking, you'll be fined 1000 Nok, which is about AU$160. 
> The attached café serves breakfast from 7-10 on weekdays and 8-11 on weekends. They serve lunch and dinner as well.  

 ***

Overall a simple modern comfy hotel in the heart of Oslo at half the price you find for similar hotels in the same area. Lovely hotel and staff. I will definitely go back.   

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