Clarion Collection Hotel Bastion Oslo is a completely different boutique hotel experience from the large business style Clarion Royal Christiania Oslo where I stayed my first night in Oslo. The hotel was booked for 16,000 points and I was able to reserve a higher category Deluxe room with points. The room rate for a Deluxe Double was 1,780 NOK per night on the weekend, about $297 USD.
The location of the hotel is about four blocks from Oslo Sentralstasjon train station near the waterfront on the Skippergaten. The street was the waterfront in the past and the building was once a ship store for sail making.
The hotel was created in 1996 and 2001. There are 99 rooms with 38 Deluxe Rooms and a few Suites.
My room in the photo above is a second floor Deluxe Room bottom left next to the center room with the open windows.
The place truly has character and charm. I felt like I was in a boutique Norwegian hotel. Granted my room was a higher Deluxe category room in the older building. Some rooms face an interior that do not offer much of a view.
Clarion Collection Hotel Bastion Deluxe Room #216
The high ceiling and long, heavy drapes with a wall of windows is a look I found aesthetically pleasing. The view from room 216 was not too exciting with an empty lot across the street that will likely have construction beginning sometime in the next couple years. Oslo is the fastest growing capital in Europe and construction cranes are everywhere. In fact, the large waterfront building across the way is currently being renovated. I arrived on a Friday shortly about 12:30pm and the work crew stopped work early in the afternoon, so I did not hear much of the construction noise during my weekend stay.
The iconic architecture of the Oslo Opera House is seen from the waterfront when standing on the other side of the large building seen from the room window.
The ability to open the windows wide allowed for a slight ocean breeze on another warm Oslo day around 21C/70F. The sun angle provided direct sunlight on the room and fortunately it moved off the window by about 2pm.
The Opera House photo was taken around this corner from the hotel, about three minutes walk to the harbor front.
There are hotels that try a shabby chic eclectic style with poor effect. Hotel Bastion nails it with great effect.
The TV was small, but I never turned it on during my stay. Working the TV has been a challenge in the other Norway hotels I have stayed although reception has been great once I figured out how to turn on the TV and change the channels.
The bathroom mirror is an example of what I call ‘shabby chic’. Looks chipped and worn, but that is its charm. While it is hard to tell from the photo, the sink is huge. This would have been the perfect place to do my laundry with the large sink and tub. Instead, I did it today in a sink one-third the size. The two soap dispensers on the walls are the same in all three hotels I have stayed in Norway. One soap for all purposes.
Two closets in entry hallway. Hot water heater and empty refrigerator in one closet. Iron and board in other closet.
Hotel Bastion Common Spaces
The hotel is furnished with items from around the world. One of the features I most enjoyed was a large library of books in different languages. There were several separate places with seating in the ground floor lobby area. In the front window there was one computer terminal and printer for guest use.
The stairs in the right photo lead to the fitness room. The hotel has a sauna too, but I missed that room.
Food available nearly all day
Clarion Collection hotels in Norway offer free breakfast, afternoon pancakes and a light evening buffet.
Hotel Bastion Complimentary Dining
- Breakfast hours are 6:30-9:30am weekdays and 8:00-11:00am weekends and holidays.
- Afternoon tea: 3:00-5:00pm. Make your own pancakes.
- Evening buffet: 6:00-9:00pm. The hotel information sheet states you can ask for a sandwich if your hotel arrival is after 9pm.
The evening buffet had salad, chicken pasta, carrot soup, herring, breads, cheeses and dessert cakes as items I recall. There was only water, tea and coffee. The hotel reception counter also doubles as a bar. Menu price for 500 ml beer at 90 NOK is a $15 beer. A bottle of wine priced around 300 NOK and higher ($60+).
Coffee, tea and fruit were available all day.
My only complaint about the hotel is the dining room was a cramped space for the number of people in the hotel.
The dining area had seating for only about 30 to 40 persons. It got crowded and people spilled out into seating in other areas of the lobby. One breakfast I made a salad and took the plate to my room for a later lunch.
While I loved my room at Hotel Bastion, other guests probably had less favorable experiences with these interior facing rooms seen through a skylight in the dining room.
Hotel Bastion Fitness Center
The fitness center is a long, narrow space with clever design and lighting. It actually has a plaque “Compact Gym” by Clarion Collection. There was limited equipment with about six or so pieces. The sauna is apparently somewhere around here too, but I did not see it.
Clarion Collection Hotel Bastion is not the best location as it is a few blocks away from the hub of Oslo retail and entertainment. As a tourist location, its proximity to the Oslo fortress and Opera House are its primary attributes. There are better areas of Oslo for activities and restaurants since this location is still in urban renewal development.
The hotel offers good value with Choice Privileges points and is not too far from the train station if you are pulling luggage. I recommend it over Clarion Royal Christiania for its boutique flavor and all day food included in the room rate. Clarion Collection Folketeateret is closer to the train station in the hub of retail, however, that hotel is more often unavailable for reward nights and its modern character is a completely different style from Hotel Bastion.
Initially I had my reservation at Clarion Collection Folketeateret in a standard room, then changed to Hotel Bastion due to the availability of an upgraded Deluxe room for the same number of points. I recommend both of these hotels over Clarion Royal Christiania, although all three hotels are a great deal at 16,000 Choice Privileges points for hotel rooms that will likely cost $250 to $500 per night in pricey Oslo.
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