Clarion Hotel The Hub

Rooms and decor

Picture a dark-grey 26-storey tower rising right next to Oslo Central Station — that is Clarion Hotel The Hub. It opened in 2016 under Nordic Choice Hotels (since rebranded as Strawberry) and is one of the largest hotels in the Nordic region, with 810 rooms. The design genuinely lives up to the name: it is hotel, co-working space, restaurant cluster, and city meeting point all stacked into one tower. The lobby is high-ceilinged and open, mixing warm wood with black steel for a Nordic-industrial feel, and the floor is laid in geometric tiles that nod to mid-20th-century Scandinavian furniture. Cafe corners, work zones, and large graphic-art walls are scattered through the ground floor — the overall vibe is somewhere between a modern airport terminal and a design hotel. Guest rooms keep the Scandinavian template: soft grey walls, firm beds, a proper desk, and floor-to-ceiling windows opening onto the Oslo skyline. Hub Deluxe rooms on the higher floors are the popular pick for the open view, while top-tier Summit rooms are set aside for travellers who want more space and small extras.

Food and amenities

The headline experience is Summit Bar on the 26th floor — almost every review mentions it. The room is glassed on all sides, giving you a wide-angle Oslo panorama: the Oslofjord to the south, the Royal Palace, the sloped roof of the Operahuset opera house running down to the water, and the line of low green hills around the city. Winter sunset is the magic window, with the sun dropping below the skyline by around 15:30. The bar pours Aquavit cocktails — the regional Scandinavian spirit — alongside Norwegian craft beer and a curated wine list. Downstairs in the lobby is Norda, a modern Nordic restaurant working with regional ingredients like smoked salmon, reindeer, cod, and seasonal root vegetables. The buffet breakfast gets steady praise for being a step above a typical 4-star spread, with fresh salmon, several wholegrain breads, Norwegian cheese including brunost, fresh fruit, and pressed juices. The hotel also runs an indoor pool, a proper Nordic sauna, and a 24-hour gym — a full city-hotel package without leaving the building.

Location and getting there

Location is the trump card. The hotel is wired directly into Oslo Central Station (Oslo S) — wheel your case from the platform into the lobby with no outdoor steps. If you fly into Oslo Lufthavn (OSL), the Flytoget express drops you beneath the hotel in 20 minutes. Even better, this is the natural launchpad for travellers continuing to the Bergen Line or heading north to Trondheim — no hotel transfer on departure day, just walk down to the platform. Turn left out of the lobby and 100 metres later you are on Karl Johans gate, the main pedestrian street, which runs past the Royal Palace (Det kongelige slott), the National Theatre, and the Steen & Strøm department store. The Jernbanetorget T-bane station is one minute away, opening up the hipster district of Grünerløkka and the new Munch Museum on the waterfront in a few stops. The Operahuset opera house and the new Munch are both about a 5 to 7-minute walk. If your Oslo plan leans on public transport, this address is the answer.

Things to know before booking

Talking straight: the most common complaint is the sheer scale. With 810 rooms, the lobby and lifts get packed at breakfast and during check-in or check-out windows, and lift waits can run a few minutes. The atmosphere is closer to a busy airport terminal than to a quiet boutique stay, so anyone hunting privacy or a romantic small-hotel feel will find this one too loud. Second, room size — Standard rooms can feel tight and bathrooms are compact for a 4-star at this price. If you want real elbow room or are travelling with multiple large suitcases, upgrade to Hub Deluxe or Summit; the jump is worth it. Third, the Sentrum strip in front of the station is busy late into the evening and a little rough in spots — rooms facing the station can pick up street noise. Ask for a fjord-facing room or a higher floor and the noise drops sharply. Finally, free Wi-Fi covers the building, but it can slow down at peak times — if you have a critical video call, do a speed test before the meeting.

Our take

After working through dozens of real guest reviews, Clarion Hotel The Hub is a hotel that sells the transit-hub promise without apology — attached to Oslo S, 100 metres from Karl Johans gate, and 20 minutes from OSL via Flytoget. Pair that with Summit Bar on the 26th floor, the indoor pool, the Nordic sauna, the 24-hour gym, and a breakfast that punches above a 4-star average, and the package is genuinely strong. If your mental picture of the trip is rolling off a train into your room, walking Karl Johans gate in the morning, hitting the sauna after, and finishing the day with a cocktail at sunset on the 26th floor, this hotel nails it. If you came hoping for a quiet boutique vibe or generous suite-sized rooms across the board, the 810-room footprint and the tight Standard bathrooms will feel off the mark. Overall 8.5/10. Best fit: rail travellers continuing to the fjords, mid-budget couples on a city break, business stays, and anyone overnighting before a bigger Norway loop. Book for the location and the convenience; treat Summit Bar as the bonus that makes the trip memorable.