Great Location, Update Required: Review of Clarion Collection Hotel Aurora in Tromsø, Norway
The front of Hotel Aurora, featuring a snowman! Photo by: Evan Berman
I stayed in Tromsø, Norway for 2 nights and had 1 night at 2 different hotels. The first night that I stayed in Tromsø was at Clarion Collection Hotel Aurora. This review of my stay is a part of the larger Nordic Expedition. For more on this trip, follow these links:
Flight: Delta Comfort+, CHS-JFK
Flight: Norse Airways Economy, JFK-OSL
Flight: Norwegian Economy, OSL-BGO
Hotel: Clarion Collection Hotel Havnekontoret, Bergen, Norway
Hotel: Comfort Karl Johan, Oslo, Norway
A Whale of a Meal, Tromsø, Norway Restaurants
Hotel: Clarion Collection Hotel Aurora, Tromsø, Norway (This Article)
Hotel: Clarion Collection Hotel With, Tromsø, Norway
Flight: Norse Atlantic Airways Economy: OSL-JFK
Flight: Delta Economy, LGA-CHS
Intro:
Hello, Upgrade Superior Room! Photo by: Evan Berman
Tromsø is a well-known town in Northern Norway because it has an airport and is a great jumping off point for seeing the Northern Lights or to see any number of animals that call the North home (reindeer, moose, whales, etc.)
Being north of the Arctic Circle, it has a tendency to be very cold. Due to the presence of Northern Lights tourism, there are many nice hotels from which to choose. Once again, I went with a Choice Hotels property due to the attractive value by purchasing and using points.
Clarion Hotel Aurora is a 20-year-old hotel that is in good shape, though could certainly use remodeling. As you will see in the electronics portion, some areas have fared better than others.
Booking:
Though I ended up purchasing a different amount of points, you can see that I took advantage of the 30% bonus on purchased points. Photo by: Evan Berman
I purchased 44,200 Choice Points for $350.20 and transferred 15,800 points from Capital One for a total of 60,000 points.
Clarion Hotel Aurora is a Nordic Choice Hotel and I used 16,000 points for a 1-night stay.
By using points, I could choose between a standard room or superior upgraded room. The choice was obvious… no upgrades for this guy! 😉 Of course, I chose the upgraded room and was rewarded by a room on the 4th floor (5 floors total, with the 5th hosting only a sauna and gym).
Unfortunately, the rooms with harbor views were not available booking with points. That being said, there’s no bad view when you are in Tromsø!
Value:
My reservation for this one-night stay. Photo by: Evan Berman
As mentioned above, I booked this hotel for 16,000 Choice Points.
One night costs $212 via the Choice website. As such, I had 1.33 cents per point in value or paid $126.77 to book this night ($350.20/44,200*16,000=126.77)
10/10, Excellent. I’ve had better redemptions (over 2 cents per point is common with Hyatt and I’ve gotten 2 cents per point from Hilton as well). That being said, this is a luxury hotel that I booked for 16k points or $126.77. This is incredible value!
View:
The view of the parking lot and building from my room. Photo by: Evan Berman
While I did not get a view of the water (as I did in Bergen), the room looked out on a secluded part of the street nearing the harbor. It was very amusing waking up in the morning and having the sky be pitch-black outside still!
Once again, the view was great because of the place I was, not necessarily by itself.
9/10, Great. There are definitely better views out there but I enjoyed looking down on the street below and seeing it relatively calm compared to the constant tourist activity elsewhere.
Furniture:
A view of the two beds and chairs (to the left). Photo by: Evan Berman
This room had two double beds, per my request. See my recent experience with Canal Loft Hotel as to why I pay more attention to this than some.
Once again, I found the beds to be quite comfortable and I appreciated the pillows. There was only a duvet covering, no sheets. I’m still assuming Europe simply doesn’t use top sheets?
The chairs and table in the room. Photo by: Evan Berman
Additionally, there were two chairs in the room with a table and an Ottoman. I was only in my room for a short period of time and did not sit in any of them. (Not sure why I thought seeing the Northern Lights took precedence over testing out hotel chairs???)
9/10, Great. The bedding was comfortable. That being said, I did not try to sit in the chairs, so the other furniture was not reviewed.
Bathroom:
The shower in the room, featuring the heated floors! Photo by: Evan Berman
The bathroom was similar to that of the Hotel Havnekontoret that I stayed at in Bergen. Both are Clarion Collection Hotels, so that is unsurprising!
The heated floors really are a nice touch in a cold place like Norway. However, I still am not a fan of the movable glass half-wall in the shower. I find it impossible to avoid getting the bathroom floor soaked whenever I take a shower.
For those of you who suggest I angle the faucet in another direction or turn down the water pressure, I tried that. Also, the contact of the water on the skin and walls causes droplets to bounce over the insufficient barrier.
The sink in my hotel room at Hotel Aurora. Photo by: Evan Berman
9/10, Great. The inability to prevent the bathroom floor from being soaked by the shower takes away from the otherwise fantastic shower (and luxurious feel of the heated floors!).
Location:
The harbor is located just behind the hotel. While I did not get a harbor view in my room, certain rooms did have that incredible opportunity. Photo by: Evan Berman
The location is subject to your own ideas about what is desirable. Personally, I liked the ability to walk to the harbor right outside and how it was not far from the main tourist strip in the center or town.
Tromsø is a compact little city and I had no issues walking anywhere except to the Arctic Cathedral (1 mile each way) and to the Tromsø University Museum (1.5 miles each way).
10/10, Excellent.
Electronics:
The TV in the hotel room. Definitely not state of the art, but why bother when you have nature outside? Photo by: Evan Berman
As with most of the other hotels, this one has a medium-sized tv, though I did not check it out. The wifi was fast, though I did not test with any Zoom meetings. Once again, there was no password on the wifi but I did not mind.
One other item to note: when I checked in, the front desk attendant warned me that the room key was quite sensitive and could be de-activated by coming into contact with any electronics. I had initially disregarded that but the warning proved accurate.
When I first got up to the room, the key would not do anything to open the door. A quick re-entering of the information and the key worked. Additionally, when I returned to the hotel after a long trip the key did not work and I had to go downstairs to have the attendant complete the same process as before.
Once again, this was a minor inconvenience that was immediately fixed, but I have never had this kind of trouble in many hotel stays up to this point.
8/10, Good. My standard disclaimer about the lack of a password with the wifi applies (I recommend you use a VPN). However, the issue with the room key was irritating and worthy of a “good” overall rating.
Food and Drink:
The hotel provided 3 meals, a breakfast, fika (a small cake), and dinner. I did not have the opportunity to taste any of these but I appreciate the availability.
N/A. Again, providing dinner in a place as expensive as Norway is a huge benefit for the guest. That being said, I did not sample anything so I cannot comment on the quality.
Overall:
9/10, Great.
I enjoyed my stay at Hotel Aurora, though the hotel could certainly use an update. The room key situation was annoying and, while minor, proved to be an inconvenience twice.
Additionally, Clarion Hotel With, the hotel where I stayed the next night, would prove to have a better view and more updated amenities.
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