Scandic Ishavshotel

“Exceptional!”

Worth staying just for the view from the hotel room towards the sea. The breakfast spread is vast and good too. The location is pretty good as it is in the harbour. Special shoutout to Alf from the reception who was very helpful throughout our stay.

“Amazing”

The hotel is in a great location. We got a room with an amazing view. Check in process was fast and easy. Staff was very friendly and helpful. Breakfast was delicious and had a great variety.

“Standard hotel with great views. Very good breakfast.”

The hotel is situated right on the waters edge in the port. This offers some great views of the harbour but also means it can be noisy. While it is out of the control of the hotel, having a large boat docked for several days with its pumps/engine running continuously spoilt things a little. Lar… more

The hotel is situated right on the waters edge in the port. This offers some great views of the harbour but also means it can be noisy. While it is out of the control of the hotel, having a large boat docked for several days with its pumps/engine running continuously spoilt things a little. Large cruise ships also dock close by. This would be the case for all of the hotels along the port. It is quite a basic hotel, felt a little more like a conference hotel - more practical than luxury. Our room, a junior suite, was a reasonable size with a good size bathroom. We had a small balcony area but as it had access to an exterior walkway, we couldn't leave the door open. There were no opening windows in our room so got a little stuffy & warm. We had a great view across the water. Cleaning of the room was a little hit and miss, Breakfast was very good. Large variety of food with a chef making fresh egg dishes & pancakes. Probably the best selection of teas had throughout our stay plus freshly made coffee. We had some trouble extending our stay due to conflicting information from the front desk staff. The hotel became very busy as a conference was being held there. We were able to keep our room but it was not confirmed until the last minute on the last two days. Bit stressful & if it wasn't for a tour we wanted to do, we probably would have left. The bus to & from the airport stops right outside the hotel. Self service washer & dryer are available at the other Scandic hotel, about 5 -10 mins walk away, free of charge. Tromso - Wasnt sure what to expect from Tromso. The town is basically a couple of streets and a port. The main street has a lovely aesthetic with a large church in the centre. There are endless souvenir shops but also some great vintage shops, small bars and restaurants. There are several good supermarkets and a small shopping mall with chain stores. We caught a Wideroe flight up to Tromso from Bergen - about 2 hrs. Tromso was warm & sunny for most of the time (first week of Sep) but a couple of nights were very windy with a bit of rain. The warm weather meant quite a few of things we wanted to do were not available - dog & reindeer sledges etc. The Artic Cathedral is a working church so not open all the time. There is a small entrance fee and it is lovely to have a quiet few moments inside looking at the incredible stained glass window. There are sometimes concerts there but none at the time of our visit. Thoroughly enjoyed the Viator Arctic Roadtrip: fjords with scenic picnic | Sightseeing. Small group, excellent guide & beautiful scenery. We didn't do a Northern Lights tour. They are around $400 per person & if the lights are guaranteed, they will drive into Finland to a spot they know has the right conditions. This means its an all-night experience. We saw the lights from the town several times, not as clearly due to the ambient light but still lovely. The local bus service takes you all round the island of Tromso and to some of the neighbouring islands. You need the Svipper App to purchase tickets. The botanic gardens were not that great, not sure if it was just the time of year. We caught the fast ferry from Tromso to Harstad then picked up a hire car to drive to Lofoton Islands. The ferry was scenic and mostly quite smooth. Recommend catching the early morning ferry. We caught the early afternoon one. Its about 3+1/2 hrs from Tromso to Harstad meaning arrival is about 6pm.

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