Choice Hotels/Radisson Hotel Reviews

Hotel Review: Hotel Fabian, Helsinki

Hotel Fabian, Helsinki Fabianinkatu 7, 00130 Helsinki, Finland Hotel Fabian is located about 20 minutes walking distance from Helsinki Central station. It is located very close walking to the tourist attractions such as Vanha Kauppahalli (6 minutes) and Senate Square (10 minutes). We stayed 1 night at this hotel using 15,000 Choice Privilege points. The hotel offers complimentary breakfast buffet for all guests. However, I was a little disappointed with the lack of menu options compared to the other Helsinki hotel we had just stayed at in addition to our Norway hotels just before this trip. Thumbs up: Excellent location …

Choice Hotels/Radisson Hotel Reviews

Hotel Review: Clarion Hotel Helsinki Airport

Clarion Hotel Helsinki Airport Taivastie 3, Vantaa, 1531, FI Clarion Hotel Helsinki Airport is located right next to the airport connected by a pathway with a very short walking distance. This makes it a great and convenient option for late arrival and early departure flights. We arrived very late in Helsinki (past midnight) and this was the best option for us to stay instead of in the city. We stayed here 1 night using 15,000 Choice Privileges points. The hotel has complimentary breakfast for all guests and the restaurant has a very large seating area. Breakfast buffet had a variety …

Choice Hotels/Radisson Hotel Reviews

Hotel Review: Hotel Amerikalinjen, Oslo

Hotel Amerikalinjen Jernbanetorget 2, 0154 Oslo, Norway This iconic hotel is located just across the Oslo Central Station and opposite of the famous Tiger sculpture in front of the station. This makes the hotel very centrally located for a lot of Oslo attractions such as only short walking distance to Oslo Opera House (8 minutes) and Karl Johans Gate (10 minutes). We stayed 2 nights here using a total of 40,000 Choice Privilege points. Breakfast is complimentary at the hotel for all guests. However, to manage traffic we were given time slots to appear for breakfast and we still found …

Destination Trip Reports Europe

August 2025: 4 Days in Bergen Trip Report – Day 4 – Hardangerfjord Fjord cruise day trip

We spent our last day in Bergen doing the Hardangerfjord cruise day trip. There are multiple variations of the trip and we booked the one from Norled Cruises. Norled is a transportation company and not a typical cruise operator. What this means is that the boats of Norled are primarily for transporting passengers between various stops along Hardangerfjord but tourists can use it for sightseeing. First segment of the trip was a bus journey from Bergen to Norheimsund kai. After reaching Norheimsund kai we switch to a catamaran to Ulvik village. Spent 4-5 hours in Ulvik and return from there …

Destination Trip Reports Europe

August 2025: 4 Days in Bergen Trip Report – Day 3 – Norway in a Nutshell roundtrip from Bergen

This was our Norway in a Nutshell day. This is probably one of the most popular itinerary for tourists. This included 3 train rides, a cruise and a bus journey. One can book the whole tour at the official website however, I had read in multiple travel blogs that if someone wanted to construct the itinerary from actual train and bus vendors, you can save some money. I don’t remember exact figures but we saved around 150$ for me and Karen total by booking separate segments directly from the vendors instead of the official website. First segment of the journey …

Choice Hotels/Radisson Hotel Reviews

Hotel Review: Hotel Oleana, Bergen

Hotel Oleana, Bergen Øvre Ole Bulls plass 5, 5012 Bergen, Norway Hotel Oleana is an iconic hotel located just 10 minutes walking distance from Bergen Sentrum station. It is located at a very convenient spot to walk to local attractions like Bryggen neighbourhood (12 minutes),  Fish Market (6 minutes) and Floyen Funicular (10 minutes). We stayed at this hotel for 4 nights for the entirety of our stay in Bergen and used a total of 60,000 Choice Privilege points. Check-in was a breeze. We met different front desk staff during our stay and everyone was extremely courteous, friendly and helpful. …

Destination Trip Reports Europe

August 2025: 4 Days in Bergen Trip Report – Day 1 & 2 – Bergen city sightseeing & Mostraumen Fjord Cruise

Day 1: We arrived at Bergen International Airport (BGO) on our flight from Reykjavik. Cheap and convenient way to reach the city center is the tram from airport to Byparken stop (near Bergen Centrum Station).One can pay for the tram in Skyss ticket app itself. I had already installed the Skyss app and it came in handy on our 4 days in Bergen. After reaching Byparken Tram stop, we walked to our hotel for 4 night stay in Bergen, Hotel Oleana. After checking in and freshening up we set out for lunch. We stopped by Pingvinen Restaurant. I ordered the …

Destination Trip Reports Europe

August 2025: 6 Days in Iceland Trip Report – Day 6 – Last day of Waterfalls – Skogafoss, Kvernufoss and Irarfoss waterfalls

This was our last full day of traveling in Iceland and we were traveling from Skogafoss to our hotel near Keflavik airport to fly out next day. We were staying at Hotel Skogafoss by EJ Hotels and one of the main reasons of staying here was so we could see the falls on the night we arrive and the day after. We started the day early visiting the falls right after breakfast at the hotel. We were glad we got waterproof shoes to walk on the rocks to get to the middle to take the pictures. After Skogafoss we drove …

Hotel Reviews Marriott/SPG Reviews

Hotel Review: Courtyard by Marriott Reykjavik Keflavik Airport

Courtyard by Marriott Reykjavik Keflavik Airport Aðalgata 60, 230 Reykjanesbaer, Iceland We stayed at Courtyard Reykjavik Keflavik Airport for our last night in Iceland before flying out next day. The hotel is located just 2.5 km from Keflavik airport. The complimentary hotel shuttle only runs from hotel to airport and exclusively for Marriott Bonvoy members. We had a rental car and coincidently enough the Ace Rental Car agency is located just across the hotel. The cash rates at the hotel were quite expensive (even by Iceland standards) and we used 50,000 Marriott points for the 1 night stay. The hotel …

Destination Trip Reports Europe

August 2025: 6 Days in Iceland Trip Report – Day 5 – Fjallsárlón Glacial Lagoon, Svartifoss/Hundafoss waterfalls in Skaftafell Nature Reserve, Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon

Today we were going to drive 305 km from Hofn to our hotel for the night (Hotel Skógafoss) while seeing various attractions along the way. After driving about 80km we arrived at Jokulsarlon Glacial lagoon. Even though we had already visited this lagoon the day before, we saw signs to a different parking lot and decided to check it out. After spending a short time taking pictures we continued our journey towards the other popular glacial lagoon that we skipped the day before, Fjallsárlón Glacial lagoon. Soon we arrived at Fjallsarlon Glacial lagoon. This lagoon is quite smaller and you …

Hotel Reviews Independent Reviews

Hotel Review: Hótel Skógafoss by EJ Hotels

 Hótel Skógafoss by EJ Hotels Skógar, Skogar 861 Iceland Hotel Skogafoss by EJ Hotels is located just 5 minutes walking distance from the Skogafoss falls. The biggest selling point of the hotel for us was being able to walk to the falls. The hotel included 2 days of parking inside the park. The rooms have a numeric keycode lock outside the wing so it did feel more secure. In the bathroom we saw a note saying hot water is sourced from geothermal source and might have sulphur smell. It wasn’t too bad and I actually enjoyed the uniqueness of it. …

Hotel Reviews Independent Reviews

Hotel Review: Guesthouse Dyngja, Hofn

Guesthouse Dyngja Hafnarbraut, 780 Höfn í Hornafirði, Iceland For our 1 night stay in Hofn, we stayed at Guesthouse Dyngja. The guesthouse is located right on the harbor within minutes walk from a lot of good, renowned restaurants in Hofn. The day of arrival we received an email from the owner stating the passcode for the keybox to the apartment. Thumbs up: Excellent location right on the harbor Lots of good restaurants within very short walking distance Thumbs down: No breakfast at the hotel

Destination Trip Reports Europe

August 2025: 6 Days in Iceland Trip Report – Day 4 – Eldhraun Lava Field, Jökulsárlón Glacial Lagoon and black sand beaches (Diamond Beach, Stokksnes Beach)

After breakfast at Hotel Katla we started driving towards the city of Hofn along the southern coast. We were going to cover about 275km today so it was going to be a long day. We passed by the Eldhraun Lava fields. The moss covered lava fields was a sight to behold. After driving for a while, we started seeing glaciers for the first time at a distance. Soon we arrived at Jokulsarlon Glacial lagoon. I hadn’t pre-booked the Zodiac tour in time and it had been showing sold out for the previous 10 days. Then the amphibian boat tour started …

Hotel Reviews Independent Reviews

Hotel Review: Hotel Katla by Keahotels

Hotel Katla by Keahotels Höfðabrekka, 871 Vík, Iceland Hotel Katla by Keahotels is located just 5 minutes drive from the town of Vik in very picturesque surroundings. We stayed here 1 night, booked direct with the hotel. The property had various buildings of different shapes and sizes but the 2 storey building below is the one we stayed in. We received complimentary breakfast with our stay at the hotel. The breakfast is served at the main restaurant and had quite a few options such as bread, juice, cold cuts, waffles, eggs etc. Thumbs up: Located in very picturesque surroundings near …

Destination Trip Reports Europe

August 2025: 6 Days in Iceland Trip Report – Day 3 – Seljalandsfoss and Gljufrabui Waterfalls, Reynisfjara and Víkurfjara Black sand beaches

We stayed the night before at Hotel Laugarvatn after traveling our Golden circle route. We drove from Laugarvatn area to the town of Vik, located in south coast of Iceland. After spending quite a bit of time at Seljalandsfoss falls, we took the path in front of the falls along the side of the mountain for only 10 minutes to approach the next falls, Gljufrabui falls. Since the crevice is narrow and a stream flows through it, to get inside the cave there was a queue. Soon we were in. After spending a short time in Gljufrabui Falls, we resumed …

Hotel Reviews Independent Reviews

Hotel Review: Hótel Laugarvatn

Hótel Laugarvatn Dalbraut 10, Dalbraut 12, 840 Laugarvatn, Iceland Hotel Laugarvatn is located next to Lake Laugarvatn and also the Laugarvatn Fontana geothermal baths on the Golden circle route. The hotel does have a front desk but I rarely saw anyone sitting there. However, day before arrival, I received an email with the room number and passcode to the room electronic lock. Thumbs up: Very affordable by Iceland standards. I would rate the hotel as great value Beautiful surroundings and great location on the Golden circle route Thumbs down: Did not see anyone at the front desk during the stay. …

Hotel Reviews Independent Reviews

Hotel Review: Center Hotels Klopp, Reykjavík

Center Hotels Klopp Klapparstígur 26, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland Center Hotels Klopp is located in the city of Reykjavik. It is within short walking distance to a few of the tourist attractions in the city – for example, 6 minutes walking distance to the Sun Voyager, 9 minutes to Hallgrimskirkja, 8 minutes to Harpa Concert hall. The hotel has complimentary breakfast buffet for all guests. However, I was disappointed at the lack of options here. Thumbs up: Location!! Conveniently located within short walking distance to a lot of Reykjavik attractions (such as Sun Voyager, Harpa concert hall, Hallgrimskirkja) Thumbs down: Only …

Destination Trip Reports Europe

August 2025: 6 Days in Iceland Trip Report – Day 2 (Golden Circle)

One of the most popular things to do near Reykjavik is the Golden circle route. There are quite a few attractions along this 200 mile loop and we intended to cover most of them in 1 day. We started our morning drive from our Reykjavik hotel (Center Hotels Klopp) to Þingvellir National Park. All attractions in Iceland have parking lots near it and in most of them you can pay for parking at kiosks located on site. For the few, where there are no kiosks, there are signs to pay for the parking through online apps like Parka. Our first …

Destination Trip Reports Europe

August 2025: 6 Days in Iceland Trip Report – Day 1 (Whale Watching & Reykjavik City)

We checked out of our airport hotel in the morning and drove our rental car from Keflavik Airport to Reykjavik (about 50 minutes drive). We parked our  car at suggested free parking area near the harbor, and after checking in at the designated booth, made our way to Amelia Rose, our yacht for todays whale watching trip. After the yacht left the harbor for the cruise, it passed by Harpa Concert Hall. The entire trip was 3 hours but 50 mins each way was just to get to the whale feeding area. During this time of the year its mostly …

Choice Hotels/Radisson Hotel Reviews Reviews

Hotel Review: Park Inn by Radisson Reykjavik Keflavík Airport

Park Inn by Radisson Reykjavik Keflavík Airport Hafnargata 57, 230 Keflavík, Iceland Park Inn by Radisson Reykjavik Keflavik Airport is located about 5.5km (8-10 min cab ride) from the Keflavik Airport. There is no complimentary shuttle through the hotel so if you are not using a rental car, would advise arranging a cab through the hotel (they have fixed published rate instead of metered cabs). A 10 minute ride from the airport cab stand to the hotel ran 48$ USD for me!! On arrival we were upgraded to a suite. I have VIP elite status at Radisson hotels which meant …