I was a bit disappointed with the City Hotel.

When I read the reviews, I was very encouraged - I was only staying one night, and I typically try to book an inexpensive hotel (* or **) near the central train station. These neighborhoods are often not the best, but that does not bother me. From a location perspective, the City Hotel was fine - just a five minute walk from the station. I pre-booked a single room with shared facilities on a website.

The positive points of the hotel: I found the location to be just what I wanted. The fact that the reception is on the fourth floor of the building means that you have to ring a bell and be buzzed into the building - I thought this improved the security of the place, so I was happy about that. The price that I paid was a very nice price for downtown Oslo. Free wifi (although only in the lobby - not in the guest rooms) is a wonderful plus in this part of the world. The shared facilities were OK - nothing spectacular but clean enough, the shower pressure was strong, and the water was hot. I was given a room with a view onto an interior courtyard, so I heard no noise from the street.

The negative points: Service. I do not expect much from the staff, but I felt that the staff at the City were below average. For example, when I checked in, the desk clerk quoted me a price much higher than my reservation. She had already pulled up my reservation, so I just thought she was trying to "upgrade" me at an extra charge. Later, I arrived back at the hotel and needed to pick up my key from the front desk - the desk clerk was speaking with someone on the phone (although my Norwegian language skills are limited, I am pretty sure this was a social call and not a customer call). She made me stand there several minutes before handing me my key. Another time, I came to the front desk with a request for directions - another social phone call caused me to wait. Finally, my room had an extreme smell of smoke. Extreme! I am pretty tolerant of smoke smells, but this one had me concerned that it was going to cause the entire contents of my luggage to smell. All I could do was throw the windows wide open for the afternoon - the smell never did go away. Later, when I was using the free wifi in the lobby, I heard another guest ask if any non-smoking rooms were available, so I guess the smoke smell is common.

For the rate in Oslo, I did not expect much. And I didn't receive much. I just feel that even if a hotel is a bit worn, the service can still make up for it. In this case, the service really lowered my overall feeling for the hotel.

I stayed at this hotel off-season, so that might be why there were not any problems with noise. The rooms are undeniably a bit shabby, but there are not too many other central hotels in Oslo for this price. I found the staff unfailingly helpful, the security good, and the breakfast nice enough.

Unfortunately this hotel is in a red-light district. This becomes obvious in the evenings. Personally I don't find this to be much of a problem, except in terms of a rather unpleasant atmosphere as you walk back at night. It does not seem threatening to me.

If you are elderly, or made nervous by the sight of the disadvantaged, then don't stay here. It's not romantic, either. But as a person travelling alone, who didn't need or expect luxury, I thought it was ok.

We were staying in Oslo for one night only, catching an early train. The hotel was reasonable enough for our requirements - it was very close to the train station, and also to the main city centre. It was also cheap - about £80 for an en suite room.

Bad points were:
- twin rooms only, no doubles
- room not made up when we arrived
- lift a bit dodgy, it only works to the reception floor and then you need to get the hotel staff to work it for you
- location is a bit see dy- red light district
- no early breakfast
- not especially clean
- basic, worn furniture
- smoky atmosphere
- inadequate heating and noise insulation

The staff were helpful though, and this hotel is a decent option if you aren't staying long and don't want to part with over a £100.

This was very close to the worst hotel my wife and I have ever stayed at. There were prostitutes on the corner outside the hotel all night, lots of bikers in bars and lots of very loud and very drunk people all night. The desk clerk told us not to go right when we left their camera and security system onto the street.

The hotel was dirty, the doors would not close, and later a different room the door would not lock. There is one shower per floor (20+ rooms) and one male and one female toilet. The toilets were clean but plenty of odor. People were slamming the toilet doors throughout the night. We stayed 2 nights and both were horrible. We skipped the breakfast. Beds were all singles, all with a faint memory of a mattress (less than 2 inches thick) with a sheet blanket that would not cover your feet and shoulders at the same time.

We've stayed in hotels where there were prostitutes in the next room but at least they stopped the part by 2AM and they didn't slam the toilet doors all night long.

There is no way I would every recommend this hotel to anyone. And at $107 per night in advance you can do better in Oslo.