Radisson Blu Strand Hotel

This review will be broken into several sections.
1. The overview, the feel, general impressions:
The hotel is perfectly located in the heart of Stockholm. Right on the water looking across the bay at the ‘Park Avenue’ of the city. If you want be seen, then this the place for you. The immediate area around the hotel is safe and very lively with tourist and locals busking about. The nearby park is a fine place to rest or gather your party together before heading out as s group. It is also very convenient to public transportation or tour boats.
The front desk staff always seem to busy helping someone. Don’t expect a greeting unless you engage them.
The overall feel of the hotel was classy, but a little pretentious.
Comfortably four stars for initial impressions.
2. The room:
The room and furnishings were comfortable and clean. The standard rooms are very small, yet still seem have all of the furniture of a larger room. Our room had a wardrobe, queen sized bed, desk, table and chair. So the limited space is filled by chairs and tables that provide little function. For two people on a two week vacation, this was just a mess. We like rooms with enough space to settle in a little bit and not feel like we are just living out of a suitcase. We were constantly tripping over our bags, the wardrobe barely had enough space for our clothes, and there was no drawer space to put anything away. The room actually felt unpleasant because it was cluttered. A closet probably would have completely solved these issues.
The bathroom is little more than closet. When you walk in the door, the toilet is about 6 inches to your left, the sink is 6 inches to your right, and the bathtub is 6 inches in front of you. After a few days of using it you will likely start to think the bedroom is spacious. I for one almost knocked out my teeth on the sink when using the toilet without the lights on. Thankfully my forehead took the brunt of the collision.
The shower is a large tub with a glass screen that covers only part of it. Be prepared for water to splash onto the floor if your not careful. The shower head height is adjustable so that helps.
If you’re a big and tall person over 250 lbs you may start to have real problems in the general rooms.
The think to understand is that this is an old building, and there is some charm to that. If space is important to you, you will probably not be that happy here. Two people and three pieces of luggage will make the room unpleasant.
Three stars for the general room. Would be three and a half stars if only one person and one piece of luggage.
3. Service:
I am struggling with this part. People seem to be snobbish. From guests to staff. Is it the area? The culture? The worn down front desk? I just don’t know yet. But I do know with certainty that I don’t like it. After having traveled around neighboring countries and other Radisson hotels it is unique to this one.
Three stars on a bad day and four on a good day.
4. Club Carlson plan benefits:
This hotel does not appear to honor the perks of top tier status. No room upgrade was available. I was informed that the length of our stay made it impossible, yet this has never been an issue at other properties. Breakfast was taken care off but nothing else. The Radisson Blue Royal in Helsinki provided free room service and comped movies while going above and beyond. With this hotel the plan seems more of an inconvenience. When I asked the front desk about the benefits she had to check her notes.
We booked three rooms for a wedding event. Let’s see if the others are upgraded.
One of the main reasons for staying here was the room upgrade. Going forward we will be staying at another Radisson in Stockholm. The one above the central train station is 4 years old.
All in all a great location. The vibe is uptown and a bit snobbish. The hotel seems to run on class structure. Is if your not elite don’t expect much. It is an easy 5 – 10 minute walk from the central train station.
Overall club rating, two stars.
P. S. This hotel does have wifi, but there is no public wifi in Stockholm. I highly recommend buying an international service plan for your trip if you have any need to stay connected to family, friends, or work.

Really great hotel in a perfect location. We had a water front room #124 where you can see boat tours happening as well as yachts Parked out front. It’s nice because the windows open and you can even sit on the sill and look outside.
The service is great. Everyone from front desk help to restaurant staff. People in Sweden are so friendly. I will definitely stay here again.
The morning breakfast buffet left me a bit underwhelmed but it’s nice to go out to get breakfast away from the hotel. We had lunch here today and I ordered a burger because I needed some good hangover food. Lol. It did the trick and was absolutely amazing. M
All in all the trip has been amazing. We are sad to leave after already extending our trip two days. But I will be back and will certainly stay at the Strand again. Also read the book in the room about the history of this hotel. So many famous people have stayed here. My favorite being Whitney Houston.

Great location just north of the Grand Hotel (opposite side of the peninsula). I initially looked at the Grand Hotel but this place was almost half the price for a room. Considering most of the time I will not be in my room, I saved my money to spend in the city. Beautiful view if you get a room facing the water, which are the rooms numbered under 7 (ex. 301 – 307). My only negative comment are the thin walls and ceiling. You can hear every chair dragged across the floor and all the heavy breathing from the adjacent room. They must have been exercising…