25 Copenhagen Hotels, Golden Age to Design Age
The 1755 d’Angleterre on Kongens Nytorv, a 1787 harbour granary, the old Central Post Office, and the Arne Jacobsen tower often called the world’s first design hotel.
Copenhagen kept its Golden Age grand dames, turned harbour warehouses, a brewery, a post office and even a coal crane into hotels, and gave the world one of its first design hotels. This list has the 1755 d’Angleterre on Kongens Nytorv, the 1787 granary that is now the Admiral, the old Central Post Office behind Villa Copenhagen, and the Arne Jacobsen tower where the Egg and Swan chairs were born.
The list is grouped by character, not ranked. Most of the hotels link to their own site, where the rate is current and you book direct; a few are listed without a link.
Grand Dames of the Golden Age
Hotel d’Angleterre · Kongens Nytorv
The d’Angleterre dates its founding to 1755, on Kongens Nytorv square. It counts Hans Christian Andersen, Winston Churchill and visiting royalty among its past guests, and its lit facade anchors the city’s Christmas tree lighting each year.
Nimb Hotel · Tivoli / Radhuspladsen
The Nimb is set in the Moorish-style Nimb building of 1909, inside Tivoli Gardens, named for Louise Nimb of the family behind the original Tivoli bazaar. It holds only around 38 rooms, each individually designed, behind the fairy-tale facade.
Scandic Palace Hotel · Tivoli / Radhuspladsen
The Palace was designed by Anton Rosen and opened in 1910 on City Hall Square. Its clock tower is a National Romantic and Art Nouveau landmark over the square.
Copenhagen Plaza · Tivoli / Central Station
The Plaza opened in 1913 by Tivoli and the Central Station, set up on the initiative of King Frederik VIII. Its oak-panelled Library Bar is often ranked among the best bars in the world.
Hotel Phoenix Copenhagen · Frederiksstaden
The Phoenix stands on Bredgade, near Amalienborg Palace and the Marble Church. It grew from a historic mansion, expanded into a grand hotel in the 19th century.
Reborn from Warehouses, Breweries and a Crane
Admiral Hotel · Frederiksstaden
The Admiral fills a granary warehouse built in 1787 on the harbourfront, one of the few 18th-century warehouses left on the Copenhagen waterfront. Its huge original Pomeranian pine beams still run through the rooms.
71 Nyhavn Hotel · Nyhavn
The 71 Nyhavn occupies early-19th-century harbour warehouses at the far end of the Nyhavn canal. Exposed timber beams and brick survive from its warehouse days.
Villa Copenhagen · Tivoli / Central Station
Villa Copenhagen fills Copenhagen’s former Central Post and Telegraph Office, finished in 1912, by the Central Station. It opened as a hotel in 2020 after a long restoration.
Nobis Hotel Copenhagen · Tivoli / Radhuspladsen
The Nobis is set in the early-1900s former Royal Danish Conservatory of Music, converted by the Swedish Nobis group in 2017.
Hotel Ottilia · Vesterbro
Hotel Ottilia was made from former Carlsberg brewery buildings, in the Carlsberg City District, and opened in 2018. It is named for Ottilia Jacobsen, of the Carlsberg brewing family.
The Krane · Nordhavn
The Krane is a one-room retreat built inside a restored industrial coal crane on the harbour at Nordhavn. The studio Arcgency converted it, dressing it almost entirely in black.
Danish Design Pilgrimages
Radisson Collection Royal Hotel, Copenhagen · Indre By / City Centre
The Radisson Collection Royal opened in 1960 as the SAS Royal Hotel, designed by Arne Jacobsen. Jacobsen created the Egg and Swan chairs for it, and Room 606 keeps his original interior. It is often called the world’s first design hotel.
Hotel Alexandra · Indre By / City Centre
The Alexandra is furnished with original 20th-century Danish design, pieces by Wegner, Juhl and other masters, with rooms themed around individual designers.
Hotel Astoria · Vesterbro / Central Station
The Astoria was built in 1935 by the architect Ole Falkentorp, a Functionalist landmark beside the Central Station. Its streamlined shape was meant to echo a train.
The Audo · Nordhavn / Osterbro
The Audo is a hybrid of hotel, showroom, cafe and library, created by the design brand Audo with Norm Architects. It is set in a 1918 red-brick building in Nordhavn, with only a handful of rooms.
SP34 · Indre By / Latin Quarter
SP34 is a design hotel in the Latin Quarter, named for its address at Sankt Peders Straede 34, spread across several old buildings.
Backstories and Big Characters
Hotel Sanders · Kongens Nytorv
The Sanders was created by Alexander Kolpin, a former principal dancer with the Royal Danish Ballet, and opened in 2017, steps from the Royal Danish Theatre.
1 Hotel Copenhagen · Indre By / Latin Quarter
The 1 Hotel fills the former Daells Varehus, once Scandinavia’s largest department store. It reopened in 2025 as 1 Hotel Copenhagen, after years as the Skt Petri.
Hotel Kong Arthur · The Lakes / Nansensgade
Kong Arthur is set in an 1882 building beside the Copenhagen lakes, the family-owned flagship of the Arthur Hotels group.
Ibsens Hotel · The Lakes / Nansensgade
Ibsens is a design-led hotel in the bohemian Nansensgade quarter, run by the family-owned Arthur Hotels, its rooms mixing vintage and contemporary Danish decor.
Hotel Kong Frederik · Indre By / City Centre
Kong Frederik stands on Vester Voldgade, a short walk from Stroeget and City Hall Square, one of central Copenhagen’s older hotels, known for its wood-panelled English-style rooms.
Green Boutiques and a Sailors’ Refuge
Babette Guldsmeden · Frederiksstaden
Babette is an organic, eco-certified hotel in Frederiksstaden, with Balinese-inspired rooms and a rooftop. It takes its name from the film Babette’s Feast.
Manon Les Suites Guldsmeden · The Lakes / City Centre
Manon Les Suites is built around a tropical indoor jungle pool, part of the eco-certified, Balinese-styled Guldsmeden group.
Absalon Hotel · Vesterbro
The Absalon, near the Central Station, was redone in bold colour and pattern by Tricia Guild of Designers Guild. It is a family-owned hotel, run across generations.
Hotel Bethel · Nyhavn
Hotel Bethel fills a 1903 former seamen’s mission on the corner of Nyhavn. Its tower is a landmark at the harbour end of the canal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are these hotels ranked?
No. The groups sort them by character, and the order within each group carries no meaning.
What made a hotel interesting enough for this list?
A story. Every entry was a Golden Age grand dame, a warehouse or brewery or post office reborn, a Danish design landmark, or a boutique with a real past. Comfort alone did not qualify.
Why are there no prices?
Rates change daily and a priced list goes stale in a month. Where a hotel runs its own site, its name links there, so you see the current rate and book direct.
Which hotel puts me closest to the day trips on this site?
Most day trips from Copenhagen run up the coast to Kronborg, Hamlet’s castle at Helsingor, and the Louisiana art museum, or across the Oresund bridge to Malmo in Sweden. The city-centre and harbour hotels sit most central.
Do the small hotels book out faster than the grand ones?
Usually. The small design boutiques, the Audo, SP34, Hotel Sanders, hold few rooms and fill first. Book those well ahead.