Stayed here after coastal voyage. The hotel was welcoming and the receptionist exceptionally helpful. Had a lovely room on the 5th. floor overlooking the Harbour. It was a Friday night and rather noisy, but the view compensated. Breakfast was so-so for Scandinavia. Would stay there again, but probably not at a weekend or public holiday. Overall, a good experience.

We stayed at the Strand hotel either side of a Hurtigruten cruise in December 2006, we were impressed by how friendly the staff were, especially when we checked in at about 3am due to ferry delays! The staff also helped us to plan our free days and even loaned us an umbrella when the heavens opened!

The rooms we stayed in both over looked the waterfront and very very large with high ceilings. The beds were a little soft but when you're tired you don't really care!

Everything was very clean, the breakfast was a self-service buffet which had everything you could want. There is free internet access in the reception and secure rom for your luggage on your check out day.

I would certainly stay here again.

After hearing rave reviews from others who stay in Bergen frequently, I decided to book a double room at the Strand. The location is excellent, and in the very hear of the city right across from the fish market. Our room had also just been refurbished, so it was very clean, and very comfortable...in short, very new. However, it was not the first nor second room I had initially been offered. No, at first they booked us in what looked to be a small part of a dusty attic with old bedspreads, the smallest window I have ever seen up in the ceiling, and what looked to be a small TV someone had thrown out in the late 70's. After going down and talking with a very nice and helpful front desk staff member, she showed me to yet another room which was at least what I would consider a slightly below average room which was still a bit dated. However, after asking if there was nothing available with a view she promptly brought us to what would be one of their newly refurbished rooms overlooking the fish market. We were really fortunate, as we paid the same price for a great new room that we almost paid for an old, dated and dusty corner attic room upstairs. I'm not sure if I would want to take that chance again. The question you have to ask yourself is: "You feeling lucky?"

Absolutely the best thing about this hotel is its location, both for sightseeing and for arrival and departure. (We arrived by ferry from Balestrand and left on the airport bus - both involved a walk of only a minute or so.) This also means a stunning view - so long as you are at the front - across to Bryggen, or watching the comings and goings at the Torget market.

The other big plus is the free tea and coffee available all day in the dining room. As the hotel is so central it is just as easy to pop in for a cuppa during the day as to go to a cafe, thus saving quite a bit (bearing in mind how expensive Norway can be!)

Our room was smallish and fairly basic - storage very limited -, though the bathroom was clearly more recently refurbished and looked smart, with efficient underfloor heating. The room was adequately cleaned before we arrived, but mid-stay cleaning was perfunctory. No hairdryer.

While the breakfast was of reasonable quality, staff often had difficulty keeping up with supplies both of food and crockery, and tables were sometimes slow to be cleared.

Reception staff were friendly and efficient, and allowed us a later check-out without extra charge as our room was not due to be re-occupied until the evening.

There is only one small lift, which sometimes means a long wait, especially if a group has just checked in.