Although it doesn't feel quite right describing Citybox in Bergen as a hotel, it's definitely not a hostel, nor a motel (you'd need parking for that...), nor a bed & breakfast (you'd need breakfast for that...). Imagine if the style sensibilities of IKEA (design + room materials) were applied to the room footprint of an older, major city hotel from the US (at least for the Double Room-Small, think of the 150-200sf 'historic' rooms in downtown Chicago or New York) with limited service (staff-wise and amenity-wise). This is the hybrid accommodation that's Citybox.
The best feature of the property is its location. This, honestly, is more a compliment of how good the location is, and not a criticism of other elements of the hotel! From the Visitor's Center on the waterfront, it's only about a 15 minute walk to the hotel (or whatever you want to call the style of accommodation that I outlined) and the property should be easy to find whether day or night. Check-ins are automated, though if there are any problems or questions that the kiosk's prompts don't answer, you can also speak with a person in the Host Office (the office is on the left, after you proceed straight through both sets of sliding glass doors. It's near the elevators and luggage room).
Besides being within a 30 minute walk of most of Bergen, the property also feels new, was clean and, despite some limitations, it really had everything that I actually use most of the time. Expect working WiFi, access to complimentary luggage storage, access to paid laundry facilities/ironing rooms, sufficient hot water with good pressure, towels and linens, and dispensable hand soap and body wash. With a price that's significantly lower than most of the full-service hotels in the city, Citybox is a quality option!
Notes:
* There aren't very many reviews of the property here on Yelp (yet...), but TripAdvisor and Booking.com have collected some other opinions.
* Citybox has at least five classes of room (in appropriate price order): Single, Double-Small, Double, Twin, Family and Junior Suite.
* Check-out time is noon. While certainly not an unusual policy, the fact that staff may come into your room at noon sharp to check on compliance was something that I'd never experienced. On the upside, they were quite reasonable and polite about it.
* The property is made up of two buildings, A and B. As far as I could tell, the two are connected and their elevators are adjacent to one another.
* The rooftop terrace may not be as interesting as you're imagining it to be, unless you're thinking that it's just a small open space on the fifth floor with a couple of chairs (no bar, no music and little improvement of the view if your room's on the fifth floor). There wasn't anything wrong with the space at all, but I also wouldn't make it a special trip to visit either.
* Do you have the option of a fifth floor room? I'd take it! read more