Kragerø Resort

love the building design overlooking the sea what else do you want?

We returned to this hotel after many years and were disappointed, it has definitely gone down hill under the new ownership. The bar staff aren’t trained ‘or managed’, watching and listening to tennis behind the bar, smoking and listening to loud music on their phones when on a break in the outside bar, right next to where customers are relaxing outside! Although I only booked a standard room (with a deal for spa access, pizza dinner, and a few other minor things) on a Sunday evening, the room was very basic for the money, no balcony, just an open outside shared area with two of the most pathetic chairs I have seen outside a kindergarten. Inside the room was sp****, nowhere to sit other than a desk chair, and limited storage (2 coat hangers), and this was a room sold for two people. Even though the hotel was very quiet, no room upgrade was offered to promote the hotel and entice me to come back again, which I guess I won’t be doing. We even had to collect our own bathrobe and slippers as they hadn’t got around to putting them in the room as part of the deal, although I did’t arrive until c6 hours after making the booking. At least the pizzas were good🤣 As an addendum, I shared a version of this review with the hotel manger via e-mail the night before we left. He responded after we had left the following lunchtime saying his team would look into the bar staff behaviour but no real apology or offer of any compensation for the poor experience we had.

The spa area is really nice with a nice warm pool where you can swim from inside to the infinity part outside. The pool has a long ramp for handicapped persons. I had one hour massage done by a very competent person. That felt good! The room was adequate with a queen size bed (150 cm wide), a bathroom and a small desk. One no- too-comfortable chair and only one 220V outlet located under the desk. I had dinner at the restaurant and was the only customer. I was immediately asked what to drink, and then nothing happened for 45 minutes when I gave up and walked over to the 2-3 waiters who had been chatting all the time and not given me the slightest attention. He waiter was very apologetic. The fish soup was good and the table was cleared vey quickly after I was done. I had expected them to ask if I wanted dessert or coffee. So much for the apology from a few minutes ago! Another 15 minutes wait and no attention and I just paid up and left. No tips for the waiter this time, probably my first time ever. Service is obviously non-existing in this restaurant. Plenty room for improvement, and that should be done very soon!

Well, let's see. This would have been a very different review if we hadn't splurged on a room upgrade. The double room we originally booked was small, worn and facing a ditch. Arriving late after a two hour drive, my husband took one look at the room, then at me and said "I'd rather go home." So we called reception and were able to see the three available suites, and chose the one without stairs (because we had a baby with us). The rooms are already SO expensive, so it did pain us to spend even more (300 kr per person per night), but it made ALL the difference. Room 427 was close to perfect. A roomy suite with a kitchen, large living room, balcony, bedroom, and bathroom with a tub. And on top of that, a great view of the spa, restaurant and ocean. I have never advised anyone to do this before, but stay away from the double rooms and BOOK THE SUITE! I did not sleep well, unfortunately, because the bed was too soft. (Not normally a problem, but we're talking really soft.) Waking up early, we went down to the beautiful restaurant and had a fantastic breakfast. Then we had a lovely time at the spa with the baby, which is open from 7 am to 3 pm for children, and from 7 am to 10 pm for adults. We tried mini-golfing, for a ridiculous price of 280 kr, but again, decided to enjoy our break. We also went for a walk in the forest. We had dinner at the a la carte restaurant, which was fine. We didn't feel like splurging again on the buffet at 700 kr per person, and paid half this at the a la carte. The views from this hotel are absolutely stunning and the spring air was crisp and clean. In the end we had a very nice time. Pros: Amazing views; roomy suites; spa with warm indoor/outdoor pool, nice facilities and generous opening hours; two restaurants to choose from; good service everywhere we went on the resort Cons: Terribly expensive room rates, double rooms are lousy value for money, a bit far from Kragerø, not much to do in the area

Extremely large campus. Excellent views over a vast area. Room was pedestrian but acceptable. Property needs a freshening but still very nice. Some loud partiers near by went at it until 3 AM. Still a great stay despite the foregoing. The car ride in is harrowing as it is a narrow country road which occasionally shrinks to one lane. Dining was very nice except the lunch menu which was spartan.