Accommodation options in Longyearbyen are very limited since there are not many tourists even though the pace is picking up. In winter, it is even worse as most hotels close due to the lack of customers and they would only reopen in the summer. Therefore, I was restricted to a handful of options. Radisson Blu Spitsbergen had a special rate during December but the last day was on the day that I arrived in Svalbard, so I had to contend with just staying for 1 day. Since the room rate almost doubles afterwards, it made sense to change hotel.
The airport bus conveniently drops you off at the hotel entrance and you can proceed to check in immediately. I had a small problem when I check in because I was allocated a standard double room instead of an apartment which I had booked online. This resulted in an unnecessary trip to the room and then back to the reception and I was surprised that a large hotel chain such as Radisson Blu would make such a mistake. To add to the problem, this hotel does not have lifts so we had to carry our luggage up and down flights of stairs.
Breakfast for the next day was buffet style and in my opinion, there is a good spread available. You have the typical Norwegian cold spread which some may not favour but there is some hot food available. For tourists, you can find a list of outdoor activities available for the week at the reception.
Accommodation rating: 3
Apartments are located in a separate building right next to the main. The apartment has a small kitchen which can help you save money since meals are very expensive. Even though on the website it is stated a maximum of 5 adults can stay in this apartment, I would think it very cramp. Maybe a small family with 1 or 2 children would be nice. The room is centrally heated so you can’t really adjust the temperature but we didn’t feel cold. There is a problem with static though. After a few painful zaps, we started taking precautions such as grounding ourselves slowly before touching metallic objects such as the door handle. Thankfully we didn’t encounter such a problem elsewhere. Wifi is provided free of charge but you have to request from the reception a username and a password. It cannot be shared so remember to request for an additional account if you have more than 1 laptop.
Value rating: 3.5
The apartment offers pretty good value if you are able to enjoy the better rates. This hotel has one of the best locations in Longyearbyen since once you cross the road you are in the main shopping strip. With breakfast and wifi included, it is difficult to find a place that offers a better value.
Information:
Night stayed: 2 Jan 2011
Total cost: 895 NOK per night
Room stayed: Apartment (please refer to ratings explanation)
Review of Radisson Blu Polar Hotel Spitsbergen
Accommodation options in Longyearbyen are very limited since there are not many tourists even though the pace is picking up. In winter, it is even worse as most hotels close due to the lack of customers and they would only reopen in the summer. Therefore, I was restricted to a handful of options. Radisson Blu Spitsbergen had a special rate during December but the last day was on the day that I arrived in Svalbard, so I had to contend with just staying for 1 day. Since the room rate almost doubles afterwards, it made sense to change hotel.
The airport bus conveniently drops you off at the hotel entrance and you can proceed to check in immediately. I had a small problem when I check in because I was allocated a standard double room instead of an apartment which I had booked online. This resulted in an unnecessary trip to the room and then back to the reception and I was surprised that a large hotel chain such as Radisson Blu would make such a mistake. To add to the problem, this hotel does not have lifts so we had to carry our luggage up and down flights of stairs.
Breakfast for the next day was buffet style and in my opinion, there is a good spread available. You have the typical Norwegian cold spread which some may not favour but there is some hot food available. For tourists, you can find a list of outdoor activities available for the week at the reception.
Accommodation rating: 3
Apartments are located in a separate building right next to the main. The apartment has a small kitchen which can help you save money since meals are very expensive. Even though on the website it is stated a maximum of 5 adults can stay in this apartment, I would think it very cramp. Maybe a small family with 1 or 2 children would be nice. The room is centrally heated so you can’t really adjust the temperature but we didn’t feel cold. There is a problem with static though. After a few painful zaps, we started taking precautions such as grounding ourselves slowly before touching metallic objects such as the door handle. Thankfully we didn’t encounter such a problem elsewhere. Wifi is provided free of charge but you have to request from the reception a username and a password. It cannot be shared so remember to request for an additional account if you have more than 1 laptop.
Value rating: 3.5
The apartment offers pretty good value if you are able to enjoy the better rates. This hotel has one of the best locations in Longyearbyen since once you cross the road you are in the main shopping strip. With breakfast and wifi included, it is difficult to find a place that offers a better value.
Information:
Night stayed: 2 Jan 2011
Total cost: 895 NOK per night
Room stayed: Apartment
(please refer to ratings explanation)
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An ice polar bear greats us in front of the main building.
We had our breakfast here.
The apartments are located in this building.
You have the sofa bed on the left and the kitchen on the right.
This small room sleeps two and has a door for privacy.
The toilet is clean and the water pressure from the shower is fine.
See more photos we took in Svalbard at Globe Nomads Facebook photo album.