Smarthotel Tromsø

After 75+ Learning Experiences, one could say I am an experienced traveler. I have seen and slept in many hotels. OK, nothing beats the Wellington in New York, which was closed during COVID, but the Citybox Hotels in several Norwegian Cities, are on my fab-list too. Big Rooms? No, but just big enough to create a sense of home. There is always a small desk, to store my laptop and write reviews. A single bed is very convenient. Who needs more if you don't want to share beds with your fellow travelers. Breakfast is just magnificent. Apart from the fake-scrambled-eggs, everything is just what you wish for. Take a boiled egg, peel it, scramble it and enjoy. They also have a place near the reception where you can sit down and have drinks and talks. I will keep coming back to the Citybox Hotels with my groups. Nobody, never, complained. And, why sleep? The fun is outside anyway.

Clean and comfortable, rooms are very small but cosy and warm. Close to all the main shops, restaurants and cafe, with a short stroll to the bus stops, meeting points for tours and the port. Quiet and basic facilities that work and functional, minimalistic. But rooms are cleaned every 4 days and asked for towels and cleaning, but they didn’t and left as it was. Who can survive with same towels and bedsheets for this long, not the best and perhaps better options elsewhere.

I have stayed in literally hundreds of budget hotels and this was the smallest yet. If you are a couple make sure you have a great relationship, and if you have a bag each logistics are fun. It was clean and tidy. The communal areas were reasonable and it seemed bringing your own good and drinks was OK. It was also central.

Walls are paper thin, you can hear phone conversations from the other rooms almost as clear as they were in your room. The breakfast was the highlight, food was amazing, and the staff was great. But you can't sleep here because of the noise through the paper walls.

I took a slight detour on my way to Finland. The staff were welcoming, sociable, and able to accommodate special requests. The hotel was spotless, easy to navigate and centrally located within the village/island.

We stayed 2 nights. Rooms and bed are basic and small, but good value for money, compared to other hotels. It was clean with a good toilet and shower. TV and WiFi was very slow and hardly worked. Coffee at reception was for free but tea was not. They have no parking space, so we made us use parking garage, which is expensive, just like everything in Tromso. Location is perfect. City center and sightseeings were all on walking distance.

The tall guy with the beard at the reception was not friendly at all, as we'd like to store our luggages but unfortunately the locker room was full. Instead of apologizing and finding a solution, he was just ignore us and looking at us with unfriendly face. The stay was good. Room was okay. Location is the best.

Honestly, I think if I visited Tromso again I wouldn't stay here. It's not bad, but the rooms are extremely small, and the bathroom is as well. I had to switch rooms in the middle of my trip due to possible bed bugs, but they were very understanding and didn't ask any questions. The receptionist was extremely nice and helpful.

I'm going to go ahead and give this hotel five stars. It's not considered a five star property, however the room was nice and clean, the staff was friendly and while the shower was small, it had great water pressure and that in itself deserves five stars! They serve breakfast and dinner downstairs. I did not partake in any of the dinner, but I did have breakfast each morning I was there and they had a nice selection of food at a very reasonable price.