Hotel room at The Thief Hotel, Oslo

Hotel Review: The Thief Oslo

I’ve stayed in a lot of hotels on my travels, and sometimes they all start to look the same. Which is why I was excited to stay a night at The Thief– a Design Hotel located in the arts district of Oslo.

The Thief Hotel Bicycle

The Thief cost more per room to build than any hotel in Scandinavia, and boasts an impressive permanent art collection curated by Sune Nordgren, the former director of Norway’s National Museum of Art. From video art in the elevators to original pieces in the rooms, art is a key theme throughout the hotel.

The Location

The Thief is located in Tjuvohlmen (thief islet)- the trendiest and most attractive part of Oslo. Once an island overrun by robbers and whores in the 18th century, this redeveloped area is now home cutting-edge architecture, gourmet restaurants and various art galleries. Next to the hotel you have the Astrup Fearnley Museum, which is filled with all sorts of crazy art works including works by Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin. The owner of the hotel is a private sponsor of the museum and your room key gains free access to the collection!

If you like sushi I would highly recommend visiting Alex Sushi for the omikase menu. Seriously some of the best sushi I’ve eaten and just round the corner from the hotel.

The Thief Hotel Oslo

The Thief Hotel

The Lobby

The hotel lobby is very intimate with sumptuous dark fabrics, rich gold tones and various sculptures and art works. As I stepped into the elevator to go to my room, I was greeted by an animated video of a woman blinking back at me- I later learned that this contemporary ‘elevator art’ was created exclusively for the hotel by British Contemporary artist Julian Opie.

The Thief Hotel Lobby Area

The Thief Oslo Lobby

The Thief Hotel Video Art

The Thief Lobby

The Thief Hotel Lobby

The Room

I stayed in one of the Deluxe Rooms– a 30 sqm room with a view.  What I loved about this room was all the extra little details that made my stay that much more comfortable.

A girl can never have too many pillows, and the bed in this room was literally COVERED with giant pillows and red velvet cushions.  With an exclusive down duvet by HOIE and wool blankets by Roros Tweed, I felt like I was wrapped up in cotton wool. The bed was incredibly comfortable and it only made me wish that I had this same bed at home!

The Thief Deluxe Room

The Thief Hotel Pillows

The Thief Oslo Bed

The Thief Hotel Oslo Deluxe Bedroom

Each of the 119 rooms at The Thief feature original works of art by both celebrate artists and rising stars. In my room there was an etching called “From Three Journeys- Three Landscapes” by Ornulf Opdhal.

The Thief Hotel Art Work

The Deluxe Room boasts a 42-inch plasma TV which you can operate using a Samsung Galaxy tab as the remote control. There is also a Nespresso coffee machine with instructions so you can make your own coffee in the mornings.

The Thief Samsung Tablet

The Thief Nespresso Machine

The Thief In Room Shopping

The minibar is literally packed with goodies for sale so I’m sure if I desperately needed something I would have found it in there. Below this is a safe, which has a power point inside and room for a laptop.

Most importantly for a blogger there is free wireless Internet and a comfortable work station! The closet contains an iron and ironing board, plus fluffy grey bathrobes designed by Maggie Wonka.

The Thief Hotel Closet

The Thief Ironing Board

In the evening there is a turndown service and I was handed a cup of verbana tea- a nice little touch.

The View

One of the first things I do when I enter a hotel room is check out the view from the window. My room at The Thief had floor to ceiling windows and a private balcony that offered incredible views of  a FJORD…need I say more?

The Thief Oslo View

The Bathroom

The toiletries are made by a company called ila and include shampoo, conditioner, body wash, lotion and soap. I was also provided with an iBrush – a disposable toothbrush that releases toothpaste as you start brushing. Clever! I liked the concept of the brush although it was little harsh on my gums.

The Thief Hotel Bathroom

Ila Toiletries at The Thief Hotel Oslo

The bathroom featured a walk-in rain shower with a nice large shower head. There was no bathtub but I do believe some of the Deluxe rooms feature both a bath tub and separate shower.

The Thief Hotel Rain Shower

The Breakfast

The breakfast is a Nordic breakfast buffet with various cheeses, cured meats, smoked salmon, fruits, salad, pickles, homemade jams and yummy baked goods. At The Thief it’s all about quality not quantity, so while the buffet isn’t huge, everything is locally sourced and tastes delicious. The service was exceptional and every time I came back to my table, my orange juice was magically full again.

The Thief Hotel Breakfast

The Rooftop

The hotel has a rooftop terrace with panoramic views over the city of Oslo. It wasn’t open while I was there because the opening hours are weather dependent, but I managed to take a peek up there and I liked what I saw. I can imagine in the summer months it would be a fantastic place to enjoy a sundowner or two.

The Thief Hotel Oslo Rooftop

All in all I loved the The Thief definitely stole my heart and I am still dreaming of that comfortable bed and those epic Fjord views.  If you can splash out and stay here, Tjuvholmen is definitely a fantastic area to stay.

To book your stay at this hotel you can visit Booking.com.

Note: My stay at The Thief was complimentary for the purpose of a review. The opinions expressed here are my genuine opinions. 

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