The Scandic Rubinen Hotel in Gothenburg is a well-placed and pleasant hotel, but one that would benefit from being revisited at a time of year when one can fully enjoy its facilities.
Hey look : a Scandic! When I had to find a hotel in Gothenburg I wanted above all to discover a new one and not to return to one of my usual suspects. And as much as you find Marriotts and hotels of major chains when you look for a hotel in Stockholm or a hotel in Copenhagen, in Gothenburg there is almost nothing except Scandic on almost every street corner. This will be an opportunity to discover this Scandinavian chain, the largest hotel operator in the region.
You will find at the bottom of the page all the articles related to this trip in Malaysia.
Booking
I booked a fortnight before my arrival a superior room at 2200 SEK that is to say about 190 euros. A little expensive but the word cheap does not exist in Scandinavia.
Location of the hotel
The hotel is very well located since it is situated on one of the main avenues of the city center (sorry but I am unable to memorize a single street name in Swedish with one exception…). Anyway in Gothenburg except if you take a hotel at the airport or the Radisson Blu Riverside which is really out of the way you are usually well located considering the size of the city.
Arrival and check-in
I arrive by Uber from the airport and under the snow. And without a suitcase since you followed the story of this delayed luggage on my flight from Frankfurt to Gothenburg.
I immediately head to the reception. It’s quite nice, considering the modern building without much personality that didn’t let me hope for much.
The check-in is fast and very Swedish, that is to say smiling and warm but without doing too much.
I take the opportunity to mention the question of my suitcase and they confirm that if it is delivered, the hotel will take care of it and if I am out, they will give it to me when I return.
So I go to my room.
The room
The room is quite large and quite nice.
I’m not a fan of modern hotels that try to give themselves an old-fashioned charm but this time it looks pretty good. I’m still not a fan of two separate comforters, but in these parts you don’t have much choice.
Another point that I find unfortunate: the wallpaper supposed to give an old cachet to the room with false reliefs gives it a dusty air not deserved.
It may lack a little natural light but at this time of the year in Sweden the night falls in the early afternoon.
The bedding will be nice but since I’ll be back from dinner late to get up at dawn I won’t enjoy it too much.
There is a real office area that I would appreciate.
The bathroom is also in the purest local style, that is to say spartan.
The interest of this superior room is its terrace! A beautiful terrace on the top floor with a nice view on the city (this terrace distinguishes the superior room from the standard one).
Yes but here we are in the middle of December. It must be 10 years since I last saw a snowflake!
And here is the view:
In short, I will have to test this hotel again when the weather is better.
All in all, a rather pleasant room when you know the local standards of comfort. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to take advantage of it very much because most of my preoccupations will go to the follow-up of my luggage and moreover, between a late dinner and an early wake-up, my night will be very short.
Bar and restaurant
The hotel has a bar and a restaurant.
I won’t be testing the restaurant, as I already have a dinner planned in town.
I will however go twice to the bar (quite nice by the way).
The first time before going to dinner
The bartender works at the speed of an anemic snail and puts the payment terminal under my nose along with the drink. Not very cool. I explain to him that I will put the glass on my room tab and probably get a second one so he would be kind enough to leave my tab open.
Second glass that I will have a crazy difficulty to have: he discusses nonchalantly with a colleague, hardly looks at the customers at the bar and in the room, it will be difficult to have his attention but I will eventually get it.
The cocktails will however be rather correct.
I’ll return in the evening with a friend after dinner, an hour before closing time. The bar is still well filled and we settle down in room. Nobody will come to see us and we will finish our conversation without taking any drink.
A nice bar but a service at least dilettante therefore…
There is also a rooftop bar that must be great in the summer but was closed at that time of the year. Shame. One more reason to return.
Facilities
The hotel has a gym and a spa…which I won’t be able to test since my stuff is in my luggage that I will only recover the next day.
The staff
Very friendly and professional at the reception, check-in and check-out, not very professional at the bar.
Check-out
Eager to arrive at the airport to retrieve my suitcase before they have the bad idea to send a courier to deliver it to the hotel I will leave the hotel a little before 6am.
I check in at the reception, chat a bit with the receptionist and order an Uber. I wait quietly in the lobby…
The wait is long and the ride is finally cancelled. New long wait and cancelled ride. The receptionist comes to me and asks if there is a problem. I explain her the situation and she tells me that if I want she can call me a cab and that it will only take a few minutes.
Indeed less than 3 minutes later a cab will arrive and I will take the direction of the airport to try to recover my luggage before leaving for Copenhagen then Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.
Bottom line
A well located hotel that I found quite pleasant despite the somewhat special context of this stay. I really want to go back there to enjoy the balcony and the roof top bar at a time when the weather will allow it.
The service is a bit disappointing but I have rarely dealt with prompt people in Scandinavia.
On the other hand the staff at the reception was great!
The articles about this trip in Malaysia.
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