Where to Stay in Copenhagen

In Copenhagen, there are several neighborhoods Vesterport, Nørreport, Christiania and others.  We stayed in central Copenhagen and Nørreport. I preferred Nørreport because it is close to the main street, Fredriksborggade, which is thriving with shops, markets, a major train artery, and it’s a short walk to the center of the city. When deciding where to stay in Copenhagen, here are some things to consider.

Family Friendly Hotels in Copenhagen

All of the neighborhoods are accessible by train from the airport and thanks to special lighting and air circulation on our to Norwegian Airlines new Dreamliner, we were not too jet lagged to unpack and explore the city as soon as we arrived. When choosing the right hotel, our definition of family friendly was a room with 2 beds and a western-style bathroom.

We need the 2 beds because my teen son wasn’t thrilled about sharing a bed with me.  The most common bed choices are 2 twins or one double.  King beds are more expensive and book up fast.  Many hotels include breakfast, which I would suggest if it works out to be around $15 per person. You can find a decent breakfast for that amount outside the hotel.

We needed a western bathroom because I wasn’t thrilled about the idea of sitting on the toilet in a teeny tiny bathroom while showering with a hand-held shower. That’s right, all bathrooms are not alike!  A Danish bathroom–or toilet, as they are called–is more like a water closet. The tiny room has a toilet, small sink and hand-held shower. Sitting on the toilet to shower was a deal-breaker for me. Both of our hotels had great bathrooms.

Hotel Phoenix

We started our trip at Hotel Phoenix, near the Palace on the Odd Fellow busstop (yes, that is the name of the stop!)  We booked a room with 2 twin beds. It came with a settee, desk, free wifi and a wonderful breakfast.

I recommend adding the breakfast. It describes itself as luxurious but I would not go that far (I think of Ritz Carlton as a luxury hotel and this was not that). Our room was clean, comfortable and offered air conditioning.  Getting used to twin beds was a bit of a challenge.

Kong Arthur Hotel

Our next hotel was the Kong Arthur Hotel near the Nørreport station. Our room had adjoining twin beds (which I found more comfortable than 2 separate twins) a pull-out couch, free wifi, a reading chair by the window and a view of the lake.  The manager offered us breakfast, which we tried, but I am glad I did not have to pay $25 for it — it was small and the selection was not great.  However, I wish we could have made it back to the hotel to check out “cozy hour” a cocktail party from 5-6pm in the lobby where there is a bar, cozy fireplace and couches to sit and relax.

The front desk staff was outstanding and worth mentioning.  Josephine booked us at a new Danish fusion restaurant, Höst, which was incredible.  They helped us map our day and they never charged us to refill our water bottles.

Ultimately, it was the location that made it great – a few blocks from a tremendous indoor/outdoor market, the Metro, the trains and a scenic 15 minute walk to downtown Copenhagen.