Hotel Rival - Stockholm, Sweden 

The Rival is not for everyone. If you want grand, go elsewhere If you want to be noticed, go elsewhere If you want privacy and efficency go there. It is in what is a central but predominately residential part of town full of young professionals and what looks like the literary, design and media crowd. The locals use the Hotel's cafe, bakery, bar and restaurant as their local eateries, which makes the experience of staying at the Rival a lot less touristy. I had a room with a balcony which overlooked the Square and it was worth the extra charge. ( Perfect for those long summer nights) The room was comfortable and functional and very solid. On first sight it looked a little plain but the longer you stayed the more it revealed itself. The metro was two minutes walk away making all of Stockholm easy to reach. It was a ten minute walk to the Old Town and easy 20 minute walk to the centre of the city. Expensive? Yes, but as everything is expensive in Scandinavia, the Rival represented reasonable value for money.

We stayed at the Rival for three nights in late June 2008. I have to agree wholeheartedly with all of the positive points made in other postings, particularly regarding the exceptionally helpful and pleasant staff. I'd also like to add that the cafe attached to the hotel was top notch, and having it right on the premises made ducking out for an afternoon coffee and croissant so easy.... I would say though that even though the staff are superlative the price of the rooms is, I think, too high. Had I made a booking earlier we could have had a 1 bedroom suite at the Sheraton for 15% less than I paid for a room at the Rival (our room at the Rival DID have a balcony though). When I made our booking the Sheraton didn't have the nights we required available so I booked the Rival, but at the rate we paid there I was expecting the room to be far more than it was. Room service, bar and internet access prices were also very high in my opinion (something like US$18 for a Vodka & tonic in the bar). Perhaps I'm just too lousy because they certainly seemed to have a high rate of occupancy so plenty of people were happy to pay the premium, but for my money I'll book earlier next time and take the 1 bedroom suite at the Sheraton. However if the room tariff is OK for you, you'll definitely enjoy your stay at the Rival.