Axel Hotel Guldsmeden - Copenhagen, Denmark     

The Axel Hotel is definitely going to be a standout hotel option in Copenhagen once they complete construction on their Spa, finish their swimming pool, enlarge their restaurant and iron out their WiFi story and buy some hand towels. If any of the above are show-stoppers for you hold off for about 6 months staying there. Otherwise I can highly recommend the hotel. The rooms are delightful but small. The junior suite has a strange wall divider that separates the living space from the bed area. This results in some traffic awkwardness where there is not room enough for two people to pass each other, much less pull a large bag through from one room to the other. There is a great aesthetic about the hotel than comes across in the tastefully decorated, arguably sparse rooms. The website has accurate descriptions for the rooms. The breakfast is outstanding. Better than many restaurants. You have a broad choice of eggs, cheeses, breads, lox, fresh fruit and yoghurt as well a large decanter of coffee for each table. Other than the mad rush to get a table and the bustling line at the buffet its nearly perfect. There are some great restaurants nearby that we enjoyed including the Carlton. The hotel is in a centrally located and noisy area of Copenhagen. You are definitely right where the action is happening. Its close to the "red-light" district of Copenhagen but this seems over-stated and innocuous. Ther Vesterbrogade is the main street near the hotel and you can get a bus from there to just about anywhere or walk 2 blocks to the Central Station and be at the airport in 20 mins. Very convenient.

We stayed at Hotel Guldsmeden Axel as my partner had a conference to attend in Copenhagen. Now I understand the great reviews of this place, but also some of the negative reviews. Location: This hotel is located only 3 mins walk from central station (Kobenhaven H), very direct. It is on the border of the red light district but I agree with the others, extremely safe. Copenhagen is a safe place. Hotel: I believe this is a newly renovated hotel, still undergoing renovation. The decor of the entire hotel is very neutral, very natural, bali-oriental furniture, with lots of white and brown. Extremely clean, as you expect for something extremely newly renovated. Rooms: With some colleagues staying at the hotel, we were able to get an idea of the different rooms. We ask for the standard double room. We asked for a quieter room and were given one on the 5th (top floor) facing the courtyard. Its not a great view, opposing buildings, but they are not very close and lots of light gets through. The curtains block out light well, but we were lucky to have two levels of curtains: to block out light effectively (I note other reviewer had one level of curtains). Our room was quite large ( but I can understand from previous reviewers about small rooms for the same price). We saw a friends room which was 2/3 our size, with bunk beds instead and no bed tables - our room had double bed tables. We had a proper double bed frame, however with two single comfortable mattress. Fluffly pillow, good quality duvets. Bed comfortable. We also had a couch, fixed to the wall which wasn't comfortable to sit and we used it to put luggage. A nice large red rug gives the place a warm feel. Minibar and small closet for clothing. There were 3 problems with the room: no safe when there should have been one, the room heater was working and no do not disturbe sign - a reflection that I think our room was quite new. I explained this to the reception and they apologised as the hotel is still new.No air con, but I don't think you need them in Scandanavia ( we went in October autumn - 14C average during day). Lots of power plugs. The best thing about the room was FREE wired internet access if you bring your own laptop. fantastic - not sure how long this will last. Room very quiet, being on the top floor. Another great thing, sattelite TV with a large flatscreen TV -40 channels - lots of english channels. A table and 2 chairs provided. Bathroom: Ours was very large. All brand new and very clean. Quite classy fittings. Hairdryer provided. The shower was an open shower, no shower door, and water would splash on the bathroom floor outside the shower. Not a big deal because our bathroom was big and the most special thing: the tiled bathroom floor was heated and would dry it up relatively quick. The shower was average - good pressure but in the morning, there was only warm water (peaktime). The basin had no individual soap dispenser - not a big deal for me. Other reviews seem to say there is no handtowel to dry hand - ours had a small brown towel (located with in the hairdryer basket) and also we were given 3 towels. One gripe, there is no curtain/shade for the window in the shower - so we had to use the spare towel over it. Because the heater wasn't working in our bedroom, they offered us a Junior Suite. I had a look at the JS at turned down their offer. The JS had a small foyer entry and would split off at 90 degrees into the bathroom and bedroom. The bedroom was the same size as ours (although I think we had a larger than average room) and the JS bathroom was a lot smaller but with a classy looking inspired egg-shaped bath-tub and a shower head attached to taps. I dont think there was a place to affix the shower head to take a shower in the bath. If you prefer baths then this shouldnt worry you. The lack of heating in our room wasn't a big deal - we were able to use the heating of the tiled bathroom floor which dissipated into our bedroom. The other potential gripe was the JS offered to us was on the lower floor, and I could hear people walking around upstairs so I agree with the other reviewing about sound-proofing. Also the TV in the JS was awkardly placed - perpedicular to bed, so could not watch TV in bed. Breakfast: I agree with previous reviewers about the fantastic organic breakfast. We could always get a seat during the weekday mornings 8-9am, I saw on the Saturday that ppl were lining up for bfast at 10am. Anything not finished during the day is left out in the afternoon free. Also to note: we were offered a free welcome drink (?will this last). Reception: Wouldn't say the best service, maybe as another reviewer said there are no fake smiles - but helpful and the staff are young/relax and laidback. Maybe might explains some negative experiences by another review, but we had no problem with them. Umbrellas available to take out. Price: We paid 90 pounds per night for 5 nights for 2 adults, via a special deal with expedia. Overall: This is a newly renovated hotel, doings it best to impress during its opening months. For the price we got and lucky enough to have a bigger room - great value. Apart from the heater not working yet and the lack of safe specifically in our room, I would definitely stay here again. I would give it 4.5 stars. hopefully teething issues will be sorted out in the next few months. Sorry for the long review