Clarion Hotel® Tyholmen

This was our fourth stay in this hotel. The last one was in 2014 and we are happy to see that the owner of the building and Clarion chain realized there was an urgent need for renovation. We booked because of the location although it was tired the last time we were here. we were now pleasantly surprised. We booked on the hotel website and saved money as comparing to online booking websites. We were pleasantly surprised to see the rooms and public areas upgraded, more fresh and up-to-date! Breakfast is quite good. In the room, the beds were not the best because the cover mattress slides off and if you twist and turn at night, you might end up waking up without the bed sheet under you. The bathroom amenities have been upgraded to the brand Ritual which is nice BUT the dispenser top was not clean on the shower gel. There is no in-room safe and hardly any storage for clothing which is typical for all Stordalen hotels. The bed side table is a tiny little shelf, no drawer but there is USB plug to charge your phone. The bathroom door is a frosted sliding glass door which some people might feel doesn’t give much privacy but as a couple we didn’t care. Finally, There was much noise and loud music coming from the restaurant which lasted til 2:15 am on Friday. I was told it was a party but I hope this doesn’t happen often.

Booked the superior room type with double bed overlooking the water. Upon arrival we were assigned to room 202 which was a terrible idea. Avoid this room at all costs, we had hardly any sleep and got woken up early in the morning. All you can hear is a constant noise of people moving chairs in the below restaurant. To top it off the ferry leaves from outside your window and runs until 2am, think the hotel should invest in double glazed windows. The next morning we requested to be moved and we were allocated a room with 2 single beds. You'd think they check with the guest before letting him move all his belongings. We then had to ask to be moved to a room with a double bed. We ended up in somewhere like 318 and boy was that a disaster too. there was a big group of elderly people staying in the hotel at the same time. Well these people took over the whole hotel. What I found most annoying and inconsiderate is that they used the area with a sofa and a table (which is located in the corner of each floor) next to our room to have their evening drinks starting at 11pm. That meant that we were kept awake every evening untill early hours. What I found even more shocking is that they appeared to be drinking 'cocktails' purchased in the hotel restaurant which I can only assume closes around that time so they decided to take their party somewhere else. Unfortunately there's no phone in the room to contact reception. When i tried to get in touch via the chat on the Nordic hotels app, it took ages for someone to respond. Please don't advertise service you can't even provide. The tv channel choice is very poor and many videos wouldn't even play on the YouTube channel. I understand Norway is a very safe country but a safe in the room would be very handy. Although I have no major complaints, I think reception staff needed to be less relaxed and more corporate. I would appreciate that reception stands up upon a guest's check out. I find it quite rude that someone continues to sit down whilst they have a guest in front of them. Also we were told that breakfast was served from 7.30am on Sunday and as we had to check out at that time we decided to make other arrangements. Upon checking out we discovered that the breakfast room was already open and people were already in there enjoying their breakfast. Breakfast selection was very good overall, but if you are advertising that breakfast runs until 11am at the weekends, I expect the same verity of food as at 8am. Well that wasn't the case and my husband got a very dirty look from 'the chef' when he asked for an omelette. He was simply told no. I also witnessed the same chef leaning over the counter where the pastries were and getting one for himself, not even using the tongs provided. I can only assume hygiene is not his strongest point. I still scored the hotel 4 out of 5 for the facilities, most importantly the view and good breakfast.

A good hotel on the waterfront. Our room was clean and comfortable with a great view of the water. A few things knocked the review down, first don't make guests walk through what looks like a storage area to get to the elevator, make sure halls don't have have chairs and tables stored against the walls. The front desk staff needs to better articulate where parking is available not "just out there, you'll need to look for it". Front desk could not tell us or another group whether the restaurant was open or not at 6 pm on a Saturday so we went off property and got a meal.

I stayed with the bride the night before the big day and the service was amazing. The morning the bride squad got ready, we got a lot of help from both the reception and the cleaning ladies. Great experience. Also; amazing breakfast!

Good rooms with decent size. Bathroom works ok. Decent breakfast and very good conference facilities. The hotel has a perfect location in the centre of Arendal, 2 minutes walk from “Pollen”, but still quiet. Great view from the room, right on the quay side! The hotel probably works well for families as well.