Introduction: Late Summer in Scandinavia
Flight Review: American Airlines B737-800 First Class, MEM-DFW
Flight Review: Finnair A350-900 Business Class, DFW-HEL
Flight Review: Finnair E190 Business Class, HEL-CPH
Lodging Review: Fairfield by Marriott Copenhagen Nordhavn
Our Time in Copenhagen
Lodging Review: Best Western Hotel Hebron, Copenhagen
Lodging Review: Next House, Copenhagen
Lodging Review: Story Hotel Studio Malmö
Our Time in Malmö and Ystad, Sweden
Lodging Review: IKEA Hotell, Älmhult, Sweden
Our Time in Älmhult, Sweden and High-Speed Train to Stockholm
Lodging Review: Motel L Älvsjö, Stockholm
Our Time in Stockholm
Flight Review: SAS A320neo Economy Class, ARN-OSL
Lodging Review: Comfort Hotel Grand Central, Oslo
Our Time in Oslo
Lounge Review: SAS Lounge, Oslo airport
Flight Review: Lufthansa A320-200 Business Class, OSL-FRA
Flight Review: Lufthansa 787-9 Business Class, FRA-MSP
Flight Review: Delta B737-800 First Class, MSP-MEM
Next House Copenhagen
As we were planning this trip we’d created a shareable spreadsheet where we plotted out our flights, lodging, ground transportation and things to do in each area. For some reason, when we booked our stay in Copenhagen we (that is, I) ended up booking two nights instead of three. And I only realized this during the flight on the way over, despite the fact that at least two of us had been staring at that spreadsheet for months on end! After arriving at the Fairfield I took the train over to the Best Western Hotel Hebron to try to add another night on to our reservation, but they were completely booked, although they did put us on the waiting list in case of a cancellation. But since we needed a room for 3 people I wasn’t counting on that. I then researched several other places in town but did not book anything until my friends arrived on Monday.
How this stay was booked
We then looked at several choices and even considered going to Malmö a day early if we could get a room there, but that hotel was booked for the night as well. Room hunting for three people at a reasonable price was not going well. We used Booking.com to search city-wide and ended up choosing Next House, a hostel. Fortunately we were able to book a 4-bunk room for the three of us and we had our own bathroom. The room was about $278 for the night.
Transportation/Location
The Next House is in an area that appears to be mostly office buildings just a couple of blocks southeast of Copenhagen Central Train Station. If you’re arriving by train or the Metro, it’s not a long walk though you’ll have to deal with cobblestone sidewalks. Fortunately even the sidewalks have sections running down the center that are plain concrete so the wheels on your suitcase won’t be totally abused. Of course we were coming from the Best Western, which was on the other side of the train station. It’s only about a kilometer walk but of course takes longer when you’re dragging your suitcase over cobblestones!
Check-In
We arrived right about 3 PM, the stated check-in time. There was quite a line at the counter but we noticed some check-in kiosks where you could even program your own room keys. However, when I tried to use it there was a message stating that if you did not book directly with Next House you’d need to go to the counter to get a booking number. I got back into the main check-in line but then a wonderful woman with a clipboard came and asked if any of us wanted to use the kiosks – her clipboard had the numbers we needed so I was thrilled to be able to skip the line and get started with the process.
Even though our reservation was pre-paid, I still had to enter my contact info and passport data. We then had to enter the same data for each of my friends, so that took a little while. But then we were able to program our own key cards and find our room. There are several different elevator areas spread around the building so be sure to ask which one you should take based on your room number. We were assigned room 1390 and the hallway to our elevator was right beside the front desk.
Elevators
A word of warning about the elevators: in at least some of the elevator lobbies there are two elevators side-by-side and a third, single elevator across from them. If you have luggage or more than 4 people you want to use the single elevator as it was much larger than the other two. To get the three of us and our medium-sized luggage in the small elevator at the same time meant we were practically leaning on top of each other for the short ride up to the third floor.
Our Four-Bunk Room
We’d reserved a room with two sets of bunk beds and a private bath. While our room at the Best Western Hotel Hebron was by no means large, it was positively palatial compared to this room.
Could the room BE any tighter?
Had the bunks been open I think the room might have felt larger but each bunk had walls for privacy and we really felt like we were on a ship! Each bunk had its own overhead light, two electric outlets and a USB-A outlet in the ceiling of the bunk. There was also a little hanging pocket on one side, great for glasses or even to put your phone while it’s charging.
Interior of a lower bunk
The upper bunks were accessed at the foot of the beds while the lower bunks had an opening on the side.
Access to a lower bunk
On the plus side, there was air conditioning and we could turn it cool enough that I could even sleep with the provided duvet instead of resorting to the sheet I brought with me. The wi-fi also worked quite well, which was a huge step-up from the Best Western.
There were four in-room lockers provided although you have to provide your own lock. My luggage lock did not fit but fortunately one of my friends had one that worked. I cannot even imagine what it would be like to stay in a room like this with 3 strangers. We felt like we were stepping on top of each other at every turn. I guess you’re not expected to bring even medium-sized pieces of luggage because they certainly won’t fit in the lockers and it’s hard to find a place to put them where they’re not in the way. (I’m sure they’d be happy for you to rent one of the lockers in the basement as storage!) My friends ended up putting theirs in the rather deep windows and once we were in for the night I opened mine in the floor by the door. But I had to zip it up and move it out of the way before we could leave the room.
The bathroom was also compact with a sliding door. It reminded me of something you might see on a cruise ship although our bathrooms on two types of Viking ships have been much larger than this! The toilet paper was actually located behind your left hip while seated.
The towel racks were numbered so you could use the one associated with your bunk number, which was prominently displayed on your bed. The towels were soft, but rather small.
Once again only a combination body wash/shampoo was provided, no conditioner. The hair dryer had a switch that had to be held down while it was in use, which is annoying, but it had more power than the one at the Best Western.
Common Areas
Lobby seating
One thing I will say about this place – they do a great job of offering a variety of areas for people to meet up. While there were quite a few tables in the area of the front desk that were always in use, there were also these quieter areas off to the side where you could take a drink to sit and chat among yourselves without disturbing anyone. With the rooms being so small and having nowhere to just sit and chat, these types of areas were greatly needed.
Locker Room
In the basement was a locker room with lots of rental lockers that could hold full-sized suitcases. There were different locker sizes available as well as different charges based on how long you wanted the locker (3 hrs – about $1.50 USD, up to 24 hrs for about $3.75)
Old School Arcade Games
By each of the staircases down to the basement there was an old school arcade game. Fun to see these!
Laundry Room
The laundry was also located in the basement and had three sets of washers and dryers as well as a couple of laundry sinks. Detergent was included with the price of the wash and controlled through a centralized unit.
Gym
The gym was quite extensive though you did need to purchase access for about $3 for your entire stay. I took the photos through the window so there’s a bit of glare.
Indoor Sports Area
Next door to the gym is the Indoor Sports Arena, basically a large open area that could be used for both indoor football and, I suppose, pickleball if they have the equipment. No shoes are allowed on the court. While we were there it was mostly young kids playing football.
Dining
The dining hall is down on the ground floor and is buffet-style. Each night there’s a pizza and salad buffet for about $25 including a soft drink. We ate here just because we were lazy and didn’t want to walk all the way back past the train station to try to find a restaurant. The pizza was certainly edible but was not great by any means and not worth $25. The following morning we opted to pick up breakfast at the train station on the way to Malmö.
The bar for the dining hall is just to your right immediately upon entry. It’s here that you’ll pay for your buffet as well.
There was loads of available seating when we were there for dinner but we ate rather early and, frankly, you can get better food elsewhere so it didn’t surprise me there weren’t a lot of people there.
Dinner is available from 5-10:30 PM. Breakfast is served 6:30-10:30 AM and is a bit over $10.
Bars
The website says there are actually five bars here. There’s one behind the check-in desk.
And if you follow the bar counter around to the right (and allow for the break across a hallway) the bar continues around. It’s got different types of seating, including a table targeted to solo travelers (per the sign on it).
It’s also got this cool old car.
Lounge
The lounge is located one flight down from the lobby but is still one floor above the basement. It’s a cool and relaxing area during the day though I would imagine it gets busier in the evenings. It has its own bar as well as several different seating areas, ping pong, a pool table, a foosball game, etc. It had a large screen where perhaps they show films?
Rooftop
The rooftop bar and garden was very nice. We came up here after dinner and even saw some folks that appeared to be locals who had just popped over to have a drink after work and enjoy the shady seating areas and views of the city.
Things to do
I’ll give Next House credit: if you’re bored while staying here, it’s on you. They have multiple events scheduled each day including city tours, bike rentals, movies, etc. Lots of ways to meet other travelers here.
In the end
We had actually considered this place earlier in our planning before selecting the Best Western. While the air conditioning and wi-fi were great, we think we would have gone crazy if we’d been staying here for more than one night. The location is convenient to Central Station and Tivoli Gardens and it can be an economical way to spend the night. Some of the rooms have six bunks and you can get one of those bunks for about $30/night in the off-season. You can even get a private hotel-type room for under $125/night. But we agreed that this is not our preference, putting it mildly. Still, we were glad it was available or we might have been sleeping on a park bench!
2B Traveling 
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