Jasmine A.
Yelp
Ellingsens Pensjonat was highly recommended by Lonely Planet, and even though Norway is reputed to be OMG SUPER EXPENSIVE!!! (whatever, I'm from Vancouver), I didn't find the prices too bad. (That's one advantage of living in a ridiculously expensive city--you're used to paying a lot for everything, and the "high" prices in other cities don't seem that high.) I actually didn't bother searching for other accommodations in Oslo because I liked the look and feel of the place from the website, and at 800-900 NOK a night for a room for two, I didn't feel that it was worth looking for a better price.
On their website you can't book a room directly; you have to email them to enquire about availability. However, I received a reply in a timely manner, and it was hassle-free to book a room. Also, they answered all my questions and allowed me to pay in full in advance, even though they don't require payment until arrival.
They had rooms with a private bathroom for 900 NOK a night, or rooms with a shared bathroom for 800 NOK a night. Even though my sister and I are not into sharing bathrooms with strangers (ugh!), we opted for the shared bathroom, not so much because it was cheaper, but because the room with the private bathroom only had one large bed, while the cheaper room had two single beds. Plus we were only in Oslo for two nights, so we figured that we could rough it. However, on our floor, we were the only ones who had booked a room with a shared bathroom, so we had the bathroom to ourselves, although we still had to leave our room to use it. (Note: rooms without bathrooms do have a sink and mirror in the room, so you can still brush your teeth, wash your hands, etc without leaving your room.)
Not having a bathroom in our room wasn't a huge inconvenience, although if I were staying for a longer period of time, I would definitely pay the extra 100 NOK for an ensuite bathroom. The one bathroom malfunction we experienced was when my sister was taking a shower on our first morning in Oslo. In the middle of her shower, the light went out. It was pitch black in the bathroom, and while fumbling for the knob to turn the water off, she mildly scalded herself. She was pretty pissed off.
I went to the front desk to let them know that the light went off, and to the credit of the employee working the front desk, she assisted us immediately and seemed genuinely concerned about my sister. Apparently it was the fuse and the employee tried to fix it, but it was beyond her ability, as the switch would not flip back. This was inconvenient as I still hadn't taken my morning shower so had to use a shower on another floor, but not the end of the world. And the employee had tried to correct the situation right away, but there was nothing she could do at that moment, so no point in getting upset. But they did rectify the situation as quickly as they could--it was fixed by the time we came back for the day, and there were no problems with the light for the rest of our stay. The woman working the front desk while we were there (the one who tried to fix the fuse) was very pleasant during our stay, and she warmly greeted us when we checked in. She was definitely the friendliest front desk staff during our travels in Europe.
Ellingsens Pensjonat is also located a good area, on a quiet street near transit (it's on the #19 tram route), and within walking distance of shops, restaurants, and coffee shops (including a Starbucks). Despite a less than perfect stay, I would definitely consider staying there again.
