Sas scandinavia hotel

[jthorsen]

We're planning on spending the first and last night of our trip in Gothenburg and wanted to find out what people thought of this hotel.  We're trying to decide if we should stay there for both nights or not.  It sounds like if we go through FDC directly we can get the Volvo rate (1050 SEK) for the additional night. So...
How did you like it?  Would you stay there again?
Is breakfast included?  What about parking (and if not, what did you pay?)

Thanks!
Jon

[barrysharp]

Jon:

I stayed at the SAS Radisson for my first night and picked up my XC70 the next day. This was the FREE night. The FREE night does not include breakfast and if you want breakfast there you should mention this when you arrive or at least before you want to eat breakfast. It costs around $12-$15 per person. I paid for breakfast and it was very good and the choices were way beyond just ham, cheese, bread and coffee. If you eat a big breakfast the cost is reasonable. If you eat little then the cost is excessive. Some OSDers I know didn't opt for the breakfast but rather they walked down the street a short distance to a bakery and bought rolls etc.

The SAS Radisson is a very comfortable hotel and the 1050 SEK is a reasonable rate although you can find cheaper hotels in the area for around 800-900 SEK for double room and two beds.

I would stay at the Radisson again without hesitation if the 1050 SEK rate was available to me.

Radisson will charge for car parking. I don't know what their cost is as I stayed at The Opera hotel for my last night's stay in Sweden before dropping off my car back at FDC. The Opera charged me I believe 100 SEK for overnight parking in a central parking building adjacent to the large shopping Mall in Goteborg. If you do this make sure you drop off your bags at the hotel before going off to the parking building otherwise you will have to haul them further than you might like to back to the hotel.

My stay in Goteborg was in late March and first week of April and I was able to find a hotel nearby the Radisson without having to make reservations. If you are traveling in peak season my advice is to make a reservation to be safe.

If you make hotel reservations using the VolvoCorp Travel people in Chicago they will charge you $30 per hotel booking (at least this was the case when I inquired during Mar 2003). If you decide to stay last night at Radisson then make your own reservation with them using the Discount coupon you receive with your OSD order paper work rather than thru VolvoCorp Travel and save yourself $30

During my trek thru Norway/Sweden I found hotels charged from 600 to 1000 SEK for a double room with two beds and in all cases it included breakfast. Generally, car parking is free once out of the cites.

Have fun and good luck -- the OSD program is a great opportunity.

[Low Tide]

We stayed at the SAS for 3 nights total..  The corporate rate is a really good rate-  I would recommend emailing the FDC and booking through them.  Not any charge associated- Alexandra or Annika will call them and extend the stay.  

The staff is very good and will help with just about anything you need to know.  There is a secure garage.  I would recommend it- but it is not cheap.  240SEK a night.  Its secure and heated though.  The parking in Goteborg is cheaper than in Stockholm (the SAS Viking here is very nice and inexpensive on the weekend if you book the internet rate.  Parking in Stockholm is was a whopping 365SEK a night.  Believe it or not, that's pretty fair.  Don't choke!

Anyway- that's my two cents.

[MGC]

My wife and I stayed at the SAS Radisson for a total of 4 nights and we found it to be a pleasant and comfortable hotel. We took advantage of the side trip to London so we had 2 nights included at in the deal and had to pay for 2 nights.

Upon check in at the hotel I asked the desk clerk if they had room for the days we wanted and asked if they could give us the Volvo pricing which they did. I found the staff to be very nice helpful and nice.

If you want a cheap breakfast at the Radisson go down early, before 7:30 AM and just in front of the check in counter is a cabinet that will be open where you can get coffee and espresso. During our stay at the hotel they had open sandwiches and croissants with jam available. The best part about this was that it was free.

If you are looking for other hotels in Gothenburg, check out Scandic Hotels. We stayed at several Scandics during our trip and found most of them to be nice. There is a Scandic in Gothenburg that we found as we were leaving that looked very nice. It is just behind the Post Office which is across the street for the Radisson. I think there are 6 Scandics in Gothernburg so you might want to check them out on the web if you are interested. They are part of the Hilton Chain in the US. So go to either www.hilton.com or to www.hamptoninn.com and at the bottom of the page you will find a link for Scandic Hotels which will show the hotel locations and photos. I used Hilton Hotel points that I had accumulated over the years and would redeem them upon check in. This required just a call to the Hilton rewards program who would then fax the certificates to the hotel.

Have fun and enjoy your trip. My wife and I enjoyed our trip immensely; we took a lot of photos and kept a diary of our daily adventures. Our trip ranks as one of the best trips/vacations that we have taken.

Take care and enjoy your trip. I hope you have as good as experience as we did.

[imxc90]

>>If you decide to stay last night at Radisson then make your own reservation with them using the Discount coupon you receive with your OSD order paper work rather than thru VolvoCorp Travel and save yourself $30

--> Where/how can you get this "discount coupon" - I didn't have any coupons (just paperwork to call the Volvo travel)... Where can I get this or can you post the discount code # (if any)?