Thought I’d kick off the Retired on Points blog with a review of our latest trip. We just had a restful weekend break in Stockholm, flying on Friday evening and returning Monday night.
This was a weekend city break for a total of 3 nights.
Flights LHR – ARN were £74 return, bought in the British Airways winter sale last year. Could have used 14500 Avios + £ 35.00 but that would make no sense if the flight is already £74.
Other Avios + cash combinations:
- 22000 Avios + £ 9.00
- 19500 Avios + £ 20.00
- 14500 Avios + £ 35.00
Because we arrived in Stockholm very late, around midnight, we caught the Arland Express train from the airport to central. The total duration is only 18 minutes and you can get two tickets for 420 SEK (about £32 at time of writing).
We did try to get a Bolt/ Uber but none were available, presumably due to the awkward time. Sweden is generally quite an early city.
1. Overview of the hotel – location, amenities, etc.
I loved the location of the Hilton Stockholm. It is situated in Slussen, so from Stockholm Centralstation we caught the subway by taking line 13/14/17/19 towards Slussen. This took about 10 minutes in total, and then from the tube station there was a 5 minute walk to the hotel.
Again, this combination of public transport isn’t ideal but we decided to go for this due to the arrival time as it seemed convenient and quickest at the time – and it was. No delays and the stations were all accessible.
However, on our return, we caught a Bolt taxi for 490 SEK. Surprisingly, this took almost an hour so significantly longer, but more convenient.
Note that the hotel does not have a swimming pool, but it does have a pretty large gym.
The hotel complex is made up of 3 distinct buildings, that are connected through a lower ground level. The best room to have though is in the main building as this way you are closest to all the amenities.
The location is also ideal if you are looking to do a lot of touristing. It is about 10-15 minute walk to Old Town or about 20-25 minute walk to Skansen which you must visit to get a taste of Swedish country life.
You can also get to most of the shops within 15-20 minutes as they are all on the other side of Old Town. The walk itself is very scenic.
There is currently a lot of construction around the hotel as they are expanding the promenade and the water front, but there was no extra noise or inconvenience for the hotel.
2. My experience checking in and getting situated
The check-in when we arrived just after midnight was great. As a Hilton Diamond, we received an upgrade to the King Executive View room without having to ask.
The benefits were all detailed, as well as advising us of the opening times for the executive lounge (mid-day to 10pm on all days), breakfast times, and recommendations of where to eat in the local area.
3. The room itself – what I liked and didn’t like
Having booked a base Queen room, we were upgraded to the King Executive View room on the 3rd floor of the main building. This included access to the Hilton executive lounge on the 4th floor of the same building.
Note that the best views of this hotel are from the main building where the reception is.
The other buildings have more suites and the majority of rooms, but I have always preferred waking up to a great view in the morning, even if it means turning down a suite upgrade. The view of Stockholm Old Town (Gamla stan) from our room did not disappoint.
4. Food and drink – breakfast, lunch, dinner, and room service
The breakfast was surprisingly varied and healthy.
There was an omelet station, a wide selection of hot options, as well as a cold buffet.
Then there were pastries, including Swedish cinnamon buns and about 5-6 types of bread.
For gluten-free bread and snacks, there was a whole separate section.
There was also a juicer (with pears and apples) that you could either use yourself or ask one of the attendants.
For Hilton executive members Gold and Diamond, there was a separate cordoned-off area with a table that had some pastries, fresh filtered coffee and orange + cranberry juice.
Breakfast was never actually busy, but it did mean that there was a bit of extra privacy.
Here are some pictures.
5. The Executive Lounge
The Hilton Stockholm Executive lounge was open from midday to 10 pm and a bit on the small side. I was told that there were less than 100 guests eligible for the lounge during the weekend when I was there.
However, it quickly became busy as soon as the clock turned 17:30 (happy hour). This finished at 19:30 but the lounge stayed open until 22:00.
The highlights were the views (similar to the views from the room) and the evening hors d’oeuvres.
There was no breakfast in the lounge, but I actually preferred this as the selection downstairs was far vaster than you could fit on the lounge counters.
There was a large selection of teas, bean-to-cup coffee, and a few sweet snacks. There was also a fruit bowl with plums, bananas, apples, pears, and satsumas.
There was a large selection of drinks including alcoholic spirits (gin, cider, vodka and whiskey), red and white wine (Australian Reisling), and alcoholic + non-alcoholic Carlsberg. These were however only available during happy hour 17:30 – 19:30.
During the rest of the opening times, there was only still and sparkling water or the hot drinks mentioned above.
5. Overall thoughts on my stay at the Hilton Stockholm
Overall I was impressed and positively surprised. Paid about 1,400 SEK per night and with the Hilton Diamond status this was exceedingly good value if you take into account the breakfast, room upgrade, and the executive lounge access.
I managed to get the above rate by booking during the Hilton Sale which offered 20% off the next cheapest available rate – and I booked about 2 months in advance of this trip.
Would I stay here again? Yes – overall it was a great hotel made especially attractive by the stunning views from the room.
The staff were all super friendly and happy to help.
We did have a slight problem with the air conditioning on the first day (it was not heating up as much as we would have liked), but this was promptly fixed.