Nobis Hotel Copenhagen

Copenhagen is easily one of Europe’s most beautiful cities. With grand old buildings contrasted with modern Scandinavian design, cobbled streets, colourblock houses, and repurposed industrial areas by the water’s edge, a walk around Copenhagen produces as many ‘wow’ moments as Paris or Barcelona. Even so, as we approached the Nobis Hotel, a brief walk away from Central Station, we couldn’t help but be especially stunned by its beautiful neoclassical façade – having only stayed in hostels on previous trips, it was clear we were in for a serious upgrade.
 
Above the huge entrance door we noticed an old sign written in Danish, a clue as to the building’s original function as the Royal Danish Academy of Music; since then, it was used as offices before being opened as a hotel by the stylish Nobis group in September 2017. The original central marble staircase, now illuminated by modern mobile-style lighting that fills the central atrium, provided yet another ‘wow’ moment as we climbed the stairs to our room, stopping for several photoshoots and selfies along the way of course. 
 
Our room was cosy, size-wise, but with high ceilings (good for musical acoustics, you see) and huge windows, so it still felt light and airy. The design was Scandi-cool, with deep-blue walls, parquet wooden floors, a black iron-frame four-poster bed and a long marble window ledge big enough to sit on. Our window actually looked right out onto the famous Tivoli Gardens, filled with fairground rides that flung tourists up into the air at regular intervals. Our rollercoaster days are behind us now, but the view was a good alternative to Netflix.
 
Speaking of Netflix… Each room does boast important mod-cons that the discerning traveller has become accustomed to. There was a big flatscreen TV on the wall with built-in Chromecast, allowing you to stream your latest binge-watch from your phone or laptop. There’s also Bluetooth speakers, local soaps and shower gels in the bathroom and everything else you could need on a city break.
 
We decided to check out the sauna in the basement and were afforded an altogether different ‘wow’ moment – a carefree couple sat in a state of complete undress. We can only imagine this is par for the course in mainland Europe, but – being typically English – we quickly retreated to the room and waited patiently. After much discussion about how long one could possibly spend in a sauna, we settled on 15 minutes and returned in full swimming gear to find an empty room decked out in sleek black marble, with a (freezing) cold plunge pool and a vacated sauna. It’s a basic facility by luxury-hotel-spa standards but unusual to have in Copenhagen and it was a welcome and relaxing respite after a day pounding the pavements. 
 
It’s easy to walk almost everywhere in Copenhagen, but it’s a city best seen by bike. The Nobis Hotel does have its own fleet of bright red bikes for hire, but we have to say they are rather trumped by the city’s own bike-hire scheme, which is cheaper and includes e-bikes, and built-in navigation screens. You can whizz around town easily and go for longer rides up the coast thanks to the battery boosting your pedal power. There’s an even longer trip to the Louisiana Gallery of Modern Art, but save your legs and take this trip by train for a great day out. Watch out for the quiet cars – a fellow passenger screamed ‘This is the quiet car!’ at us, ironically – so play by the rules. Danes love the rules. Except when it comes to sauna etiquette, it seems. 
 
The Nobis Hotel’s dedication to having everything look just right could even be found in the presentation of breakfast items, which are served every morning in a lovely light-filled conservatory space, with a glass roof and adjoining outdoor terrace (for the summer months only). The avocado was adorned with pretty flowers and seeds, the fruit artfully sliced, and even the soft-boiled eggs came in a little basket of hay, as if fresh from the farm.
 
The Nobis Hotel, along with the rest of Copenhagen, has oodles of style. And here it’s backed up with substance: impressive attention to detail and friendly service. But, well, sometimes looks do matter: in a city where beautiful buildings are one of the main attractions, it only seems right to stay in one.