Juvasshytta

Great starting point to climb Galdhøpiggen. More like hostel/cabin vibe with hotel prices, but nice modern minimalist rooms with en-suite if desired. Meal times were like being in a hostel as communal tables, but food was excellent restaurant quality. |We did the organised trek across the glacier to the summit. Not a particularly enjoyable hike, but amazing views at the summit and well worth the climb. We were tied on to each other while crossing the glacier which made sense, however I didn’t agree with us being tied to each other when climbing over rocks. Being pulled in different directions is hard enough on the glacier, but felt dangerous on the rocks. The hike was also very busy, but still so glad we did it.

Location is beautiful but buildings are in a sad state. Our room was in a pre-fab building, almost like a big trailer, overlooking a huge gravel parking lot. The hotel does not respect the nature and magnificent location, but instead just offers a big ugly parking lot surrounded by run-down buildings. The food was okay. This place needs major upgrades, and a general change of mind-set to create a hotel which fits in with the awe-inspiring mountains around it.

A very nice restaurant and a great team. We spent a very nice afternoon there. I had forgotten my jacket there and only realised this when I had already driven a few hundred kilometres further. The staff were very friendly and sent it to me. Extremely nice!

I stayed here with my team for two weeks and when I sat down on the bench (already loose on the stall) in the bathroom, it fully colapsed. The owner tried to charge me 4000nok and i never payed simply because it wasn’t my fault. I get why it could be difficult to replace a bench in the mountains but nowhere on earth, a few screws and labor costs this much.||Not only when I stayed here I had to pay for toilets, showers and food. But the hotel rooms are basically closets and the food is unreliable. Some people say they have had a great stay here and you might get lucky, but from my experience just save yourself from this scam.

Stunning views! One of the most unique places in Europe. Absolutely recommended - book your trip ahead for a guided tour to the ice cave - you should do it soon - before it melts

Went spontaniously when I saw that the weather was about to be perfect for skiing. The beds were booked due to easter weekend, so I brought a tent with me, usually when one does this at mountain cabins one have to stay at a large distance from the buildings, or pay a high fee to use the amenities. Asking often causes some dismay and losthing from hosts, but at Juvass I asked at the reception and they were friendly, suggested the location with the very best view(!) and were geniuinly interested in hearing my plans. When a pitched the tent a cute Norwegian Elk hound came over, wanted to play and sniffed at my food bag and licked on some of the breads I had managed to spoil with toddy earlier. Such a good girl. the next day I signed up for the guided ski tour to the summit. Excellent guides who gave me good tips and were quite forgiving when I was the slower of the pack. Noticed how the staff were mostly local, very balanced in age and gender. This is quite rare at norwegian mountain cabins, usually it is either all hired temps, only old hosts or teenagers galore. Here the staff that I met where for example teachers, who had been working there as side-gig for years, quite talkative( rare in Norway) and the staff seemed to care how I(least monetary valuable guest) fared. prices are what one can expect for such a location, there are more cheaper barebone accommodation available down in the valley. Bathrooms were modern and clean and no que during morning rush(lots of stalls). I jokingly told one of the guides about the dog getting into my food, and some time after returning one of the staff approached me, apologized and offered freshly baked bread to compensate. I straight up refused to take such in exchange for, lets be honest, cheap spoiled storebrand garbage. I countered with asking if I could have a jug of cold water, to drink in the lounge. Got it immediately. This place is up there with Alesjaure(on the Kings trail in Sweden) with best mountain experience I have had.

If there are any trip complications you’re screwed. We pre paid for, stay, guided tour, and dinner. We tried our best to get to the lodge but the, once in a century storm “Hans,” led to massive flooding, mudslides, and roads being closed and unsafe climbing conditions. We tried to get there around multiple detours/routes and drove multiple extra hours to get there. Ultimately there was no way to pass. We called and asked to get a refund and they denied it. Show’s how little they care about their guests and how greedy they are.

It is easy to see the only focus of the owners are to earn as much money as possible from people that will probably not return any time soon. And which attracts new customers anyway because of being closest to Galdhøpiggen. ||||The room we stayed in looked like a closet. Beds were terrible, mattress very poor quality which will hurt most peoples back. They hadn't even fixed the gutter outside entrance door to rooms. Since it was snow on roof everybody passing it got wet. Not a nice start of a trip in the mountains. ||||Neither dinner or breaksfast was very good. Definately not worth the price. They even charge you 70 NOK extra to heat up water in the morning if you want to bring this on the hike...||||They supposedly had added extra precausions because of Corona, but these were not followed and seemed more like they were there because of too few staff compared to guests.||||For instance they had broken breakfast down into three groups. But when we arrived the table we had to use had not been cleaned after previous guests had used it... Also these groups was not mentioned up front and we were just put in the group they saw fit. For instance first group had to eat between 07.00 and 07.40, while the guided hike starts at 10.00 (not 09.00 which it says in their emails and web sites), so you have to wake up early just to sit there and wait for two hours afterwards. ||||Also they have public showers for almost all rooms, and supposedly because of Corona they have allocated 30 minutes of shower time for each room. Well our room's time was 16:45 - 17:15. This was not mentioned up front... So when we arrived 17:30 we were not allowed to shower before dinner after a long car trip. And the following day after the guided trip to Galdhøpiggen we were not allowed to shower either because even though the web site says 6-7 hours it took more, so we were back after the allocated time again. Two days zero shower time...||||The hotel also offer a guided trip to Galdhøpiggen. Which should really be a separate review, but since this is the only reason anyone stays at this hotel I will mention it here. Because there is a lot of bad things to say about this hike.||||First minute said it all. Corona time, but we were 195 people and 4 guides. At the information in the beginning the guides shouted that everybody had to go closer. And yelled until even the people that tried to keep 1 meter distance because of Corona ended up shoulder to shoulder with unknown people. In 8 hours no Corona safety guidelines was mentioned once. However we kept being told to stay close together. ||||They have even built a souvenir shop at the top of the mountain. And this was totally overcrowded during a Corona outbreak...||||||Guides were terrible, 100 people per rope over the glacier meant not comfortable walking no matter if you were fit or not. Especially when they don't even put the most out of shape people in front to have a steady tempo. Going fast then stopping over and over because people kept slipping on the icy snow (when walking on a glacier in Norway one usually get spikes to walk on but not here...) or because they had to get their breath back because the tempo was not suited to them was not fun for anyone.||||That this hike is for almost everyone as they say on their web site is a lie. Quite a few people both grown ups and children were not allowed the time to get to the top. After the glacier walk the guides said everybody had to get to the top and start to go down again after 80 minutes from then. Problem was that when 200 people start climbing the first part of the last hike this goes very slow. It is very slippery and so narrow that there is only room for one. So everybody went in one line. Last person didn't start the climb before 40 minutes later... so unless they were in shape this was not enough time to get to the top...||||This was by far the biggest let down in our three week road trip in West part of Norway. Hotel, food, hike, staff there wasn't anything positive to say about this stay. And Galdhøpiggen is not a particular nice mountain to hike. It is also covered in fog/clouds almost all day any day. We couldn't see the top once the two days we stayed, and from the top you could only see like 20 meters. So not great views either. And you start at 1850 meters so 600 meter height is not really something you can brag much about anyway...||||There are thousands of better mountains to visit in Norway. Building a souvenir shop on the top of this mountain is good enough reason to boycott Juvasshytta.||||For instance if you want an easy family hike you can go to Litlefjellet in Åndalsnes which has spectacular views. And which has harder trips in the neighbour mountains...