I stayed at the Nobis with my family (wife, daughters ages 17 and 14) after searching for something high-end and "Swedish" but more practical than the Grand. We booked several months in advance of our stay and took advantage of a special rate - three nights for the price of two - and upgraded the rooms.

Anyhow, after booking the Nobis online I was very excited. This excitement may have led to a letdown - the hotel is very nice, to be sure but truthfully not any more impressive in terms of amenities, facilities and staff than a remodeled American chain hotel like Hyatt or Westin.

Leading up to our stay I contacted the concierge via e-mail to help with a couple of activities and our hotel transfer. He initially very quickly replied that he had received the e-mail but it was several days later before I heard anything else...so I sent another e-mail...and another. In the end, the reservations were handled but my experience and expectation with "high end" hotels is their concierges return my messages within a day.

Upon arrival, there wasn't a bellman to help carry our bags up the stairs and into the reception. And once at reception I realized why the concierge was so slow in responding - there is no dedicated concierge. It seems the desk staff pulls double-duty as both registration and concierge staff.

Such as it is at Hotel Nobis, the three gentlemen were all very friendly and helpful with questions about Stockholm. In fact, since we arrived during Midsummer Festival and most restaurants and attractions were closed they were helpful in booking us into a good restaurant that was open. The hotel apparently has no walking maps for tourists of Stockholm.

The common areas of the hotel are all very clean and there are a couple of historic areas that are really architecturally beautiful...but the rooms are sparsely furnished and rather impractical. In the effort to use Scandinavian designed furniture the Nobis misses the boat on what is practical for travelers. To wit - the table and chairs were too small to be usable for anything more than my phone, reading glasses and camera. Also, there lacked any meaningful lighting...the bedside reading lights needed to be swiveled in order to illuminate the room.

The bathroom was also very small and lacked shelves or counter space for basic toiletries and sundries.

The location of the hotel is excellent, very near great shopping, attractions, restaurants and public transportation. It's also a very nice neighborhood to just walk around.

It's not likely that I'd return with my family to the Nobis, for the money it just seems that there exists something more charming, personal and practical for being in such a great city like Stockholm. I would likely however, use it for business when my expectations are quite different than when traveling with my family on a vacation.

Nobis Hotel wasn't our first choice when selecting hotel but we had an amazing time there and would go back for sure. The breakfast was excellent and tasty with lots of nice breads, homemade jams and rooms, courtyard and all lounge areas great, bar really nice with great staff and cocktails - and the location is really excellent Its hard to find a flaw, if I had to mention one it would be that the rooms are very small.