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Jan 06, 2024

16 Best Hotels in Copenhagen (2023)

EuropeChevron DenmarkChevron CopenhagenChevron By Lauren Jade Hill World-class

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By Lauren Jade Hill

World-class restaurants, an eco-mentality, and an affinity for great design not only help make Copenhagen a go-to destination—these are also just some of the factors helping set the Danish capital's thriving hotel scene apart. Both old and new neighborhoods are now home to some of the most exciting hotels to have debuted across Europe recently. Stay in a repurposed brewery or find theatrical inspiration at a boutique retreat across from the Danish Royal Theatre stage door. Take a dip in the open-air pool atop a former post office or join Copenhageners in imbibing in natural wines in a courtyard that could just as easily be in Paris. For your next trip, take inspiration from our edit of the best Copenhagen hotels.

This article was originally published on Condé Nast Traveller UK. Additional reporting by Alia Akkam.

All listings featured on Condé Nast Traveler are independently selected by our editors. If you book something through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Best Copenhagen hotel for: the eco-savvy

At first sight, there's little on the outside of this suites-only property on a main road north of the city center that reveals it's one of the city's stand-out hotels. But step inside and the story is very different. The former factory has been reconfigured in funky riad style with a central courtyard garden surrounded by six floors of balconied apartments. At its epicenter is the indoor pool, lined with day beds and surrounded by greenery like some wonderfully steamy tropical wonderland. The owner, Guldsmeden, is behind some of Copenhagen's more characterful small hotels, including the most recently opened Bryggen. This was the group's first venture into something bigger. The 87 suites are simply done out with raw concrete ceilings, small kitchen areas, and compact bathrooms, all with cheerful Balinese touches such as bamboo towel rails and bright, handwoven cushion covers. Down in the basement, there's a hip gym, which feels a bit like a nightclub with its pumping music and industrial aesthetics. The sixth floor houses the hotel's restaurant, Chapung, pairing an Asian fusion menu with great views across the city's lakes and a roof terrace for summer evenings. The signature breakfast uses all organic ingredients and for true eco-enthusiasts, there is muesli made from leftover breadcrumbs. This sustainable philosophy extends throughout the hotel, from the use of organic paint to providing compostable toothbrushes.

Address: Manon Les Suites, Gyldenløvesgade 19, 1600 Copenhagen, DenmarkWebsite: guldsmedenhotels.com/manon-les-suitesPrice: Doubles from about $292

Best Copenhagen hotel for: eco-minded foodies

Copenhagen Food Collection (better known as Cofoco) is the creative force behind this 2019-opened Parisian-style hotel—a first for the prolific restaurant group—curated with Danish sensibilities in the hip Vesterbro neighborhood. Set across from Cofoco's trendy Mediterranean-inspired restaurant, Delphine, the boutique property takes over a centuries-old building on the main Vesterbrogade shopping street with blue-and-white awnings marking its modern Parisian entrance and inviting cafe front. Inside, the welcoming reception curves around to the buzzy street-level Café Coco, which serves everything from breakfast bites and organic coffee to natural wines and accompanying plates, such as burrata with zucchini, arugula, and pistachio, in a space designed to emanate modern Mediterranean lifestyle. This cafe spilling out into the hotel's verdant green inner courtyard is also home to the Coco Bar à Vin, opened in 2022 and offering an extensive list of natural and organic wines, with more than 30 available by the glass, alongside snacks like oysters and charcuterie. Upstairs, the hotel's 89 rooms, ranging from singles to suites and family units, are all individually decorated in a fusion of modern and classic Scandinavian style with bold use of color and touches of art. This accommodation is joined on the upper floors by a ping pong and games room, ideal for families. Sustainability is a major focus here—the Green-Key-certified building harnesses solar power and operates plastic free.

Address: Coco Hotel, Vesterbrogade 41, 1620 Copenhagen, DenmarkWebsite: coco-hotel.comPrice: Doubles from around $112

Best Copenhagen hotel for: city panoramics

The younger sister to Hotel SP34, Hotel Danmark reopened in 2017 with the architect Morten Hedegaard's makeover transforming its ‘60s façade with mossy emerald-colored tiles and some clever tree planting. The bedrooms are styled in a hipster-spartan style, painted deep, inky forest green with contemporary Danish designs such as wishbone chairs, leather headboards, and herringbone blankets. The effect is handsome, although some of the smaller rooms are only as wide as the bed is long. Those on the sixth floor, however, can't be beaten for views of the Tivoli fireworks on a summer's evening, and above that is a sunny rooftop terrace. The downstairs bar, with its slatted wooden walls and brass lighting, is busy day and night, staff in pretty star-strewn uniforms pouring glasses of Albariño (between 5 to 6 p.m., it's on the house) while making dinner reservations for guests at nearby restaurants. Breakfasts are organic smorgasbords: compote stirred through with cream, sticky Danish pastries, and the classic brod piled high with cheese and salami. Neighboring Vesterbro and the cobbled streets of Christianshavn are easily explored on one of the hotel's shiny black bicycles.

Address: Hotel Danmark, Vester Voldgade 89, 1552 Copenhagen, DenmarkWebsite: brochner-hotels.com/hotel-danmarkPrice: Doubles from about $205

Best Copenhagen hotel for: connoisseurs of beer and design

A part of Copenhagen's newly developing Carlsberg City District, Hotel Ottilia (named after Ottilia Marie Jacobsen, the Scottish-born wife of brewer Carl Jacobsen) takes over a section of the red-brick former Carlsberg brewery site, pairing the original architecture and listed features of this heritage structure with modern Scandi design. In line with the social concept at each Brochner Hotel, the property's high-ceilinged reception area, featuring the striking Ottilia's Spine light installation, also acts as a lobby bar serving coffee, snacks, and drinks throughout the day and hosting complimentary wine and nightcap hours designed to bring people together each evening. This bar leads through to the voluminous living room now occupying the former Dipylon Hall in which white-painted brick walls and original features of the brewery, including the original clockwork, are complemented with modern Scandi furnishings and an inviting fireplace. The hotel's 155 industrial chic guest rooms, some featuring distinctive circular windows with leather window seats, span the floors above, with the highest-end suites then occupying the site's original round tower. These floors are topped with the hotel's restaurant Tramonto Rooftop serving Italian dishes such as pizza in a light-filled space with 360-degree views. An outdoor terrace featuring a small hops garden provides more seating in the warmer months—these hops are used in the creation of the hotel's own golden pilsner.

Address: Hotel Ottilia, Bryggernes Plads 7, 1778 Copenhagen, DenmarkWebsite: brochner-hotels.com/hotel-ottiliaPrice: Doubles from around $205

Best Copenhagen hotel for: theatrical inspiration

When it opened in 2017, this property found almost opposite the stage door of the Royal Danish Theatre became the third hotel from Alexander Kolpin, a former ballet dancer and the son of a theater designer and producer. Here, Kolpin and the British design firm Lind + Almond created an urban retreat in which theatrical inspiration can be seen through spaces such as the Tata cocktail bar (named after the red curtain in the neighboring theatre) designed with gold lights and plump velvet or damask cushions. Hotel Sanders houses a total of 54 bedrooms, across three handsome 19th-century townhouses, decked out with mid-century modern furnishings and a whole range of textures from hessian walls to marble panelling and Liberty wallpapers. Bespoke velvet chairs and vintage Danish lamps provide a glamorous touch to the otherwise homely lobby. The tiny kitchen restaurant with its low-key bistro menu is a laid-back, plant-filled space perfectly in tune with its young, cool diners. Of all the relaxed public spaces, of special note is the roof terrace, beautifully lit with Moroccan lanterns and stuffed with rattan furniture and woven rugs. The brilliant staff are multitasking masters in uniforms straight out of a Wes Anderson film and are happy to sort out anything from superb in-room cocktails to arranging a personal trainer.

Address: Hotel Sanders, Tordenskjoldsgade 15, 1055 Copenhagen, DenmarkWebsite: hotelsanders.comPrice: Doubles from about $653

Best Copenhagen hotel for: serenity in the city

This is the Swedish brand's first property in Denmark, just a few minutes’ walk from the Tivoli Gardens, and the smooth serenity of its sister hotel in Stockholm is very much in evidence. The stripped-back approach to interior design works well in this hefty building, once home to the Royal Danish Conservatory of Music, with its high ceilings, central marble staircase, and beautiful, ornate coving. For its latest incarnation, the 77 bedrooms are pleasingly weighty, with dusky-blue walls and herringbone-pattern wood floors, graphic dark-wood four-poster beds and plenty of Danish design details (even the black clothes hangers are from local interiors store Hay). Of course, in this city of fanatical Nordic foodies, restaurants matter and Nobis's taupe-toned dining room is a formal affair with ambitions to match. Local ingredients are celebrated in dishes taking inspiration from across Europe at Restaurant NOI and seasonal cocktails with Scandinavian influence are shaken and stirred at the Marble Bar. More subdued is the little wine cellar, a cozy but unadorned room which operates as a drinking den for those in the know. There is also an ultra-secluded (guests only) hammam with a sauna and cold plunge pool. Hewn out of white marble, it is, like much of the rest of the hotel, a lesson in peaceful, modern minimalism.

Address: Nobis Hotel Copenhagen, Niels Brocks Gade 1, 1574 Copenhagen, DenmarkWebsite: nobishotel.dkPrice: Doubles from about $342

Best Copenhagen hotel for: design aficionados

Opened in 2019, design-led Audo fits perfectly into the up-and-coming Nordhavn neighborhood on the northern edge of Copenhagen developing from its origins as a port to become a design-centric residential, work, and lifestyle enclave in which design studios and cafes are transforming its heritage buildings to retain the warmth and soul of the area. Bjarne Hansen, who is also behind Menu design company, created The Audo in collaboration with Norm Architects and the cofounder of Kinfolk magazine, Nathan Williams. Behind the original dark-orange façade of a former trade house, this impeccably designed and styled space now encompasses a 10-room hotel, cafe, fine dining restaurant, and concept store, all centered around an amphitheatrical staircase, in which all items of decor can be bought through the hybrid design concept. Generously sized, residential-style accommodation including suites, studio suites and a penthouse continue the design concept of the rest of the property and come with a careful curation of complimentary minibar items, breakfast in The Audo Salon, and use of bicycles for exploration of Copenhagen using The Audo's own City Guide. Summer 2022 saw the opening of this design concept's new fine dining Restaurant Hâidan serving the 18-course tasting menus of Palermo-born chef Gabriele Rizzo, fusing Chinese and Scandinavian culinary traditions.

Address: The Audo, Arhusgade 130, 2150 Copenhagen, DenmarkWebsite: theaudo.comPrice: Doubles from around $410

Best Copenhagen hotel for: modern opulence

Centrally located, right by Copenhagen Central Station and Tivoli Gardens, this 2020-opened modern take on the grand hotel brings new life to the city's former Central Post and Telegraph Head Office, which dates back to 1912. In its new era as one of the city's most coveted places to stay, this sprawling heritage landmark houses a collection of buzzy social spaces alongside four levels of sprawling rooms, all designed to feel like a grand Copenhagen apartment, distinguished by their high ceilings, herringbone floors, gold accents, and tall windows. The Shamballa Suite focuses on providing a place of peace and tranquillity and the Earth Suite showcases innovative sustainability solutions in space using only recycled materials. The pinnacle of accommodation options is the Universal Penthouse Suite spanning two floors linked by a spiral staircase. On entering the hotel, the capacious Courtyard Bar makes quite the impression with its sophisticated interiors taking cues from Nordic simplicity and showstopper glass canopy. This social enclave—also featuring full-size trees—leads through to the cozy Kontrast brasserie focusing on locally produced and sustainable ingredients, and the sophisticated T37 wine and cocktail bar integrating features of the old post office. A local and seasonal breakfast is served in the former sorting room and freshly baked bread and pastries come from the onsite RUG bakery. A highlight for guests is the 25m open-air, sustainably-heated rooftop pool that's only accessible to people staying here.

Address: Villa Copenhagen, Tietgensgade 35-39, 1704 Copenhagen, DenmarkWebsite: villacopenhagen.com Price: Doubles from around $234

Kaila Yu

Marianna Cerini

Katherine McLaughlin

Nicole Schnitzler

Best Copenhagen hotel for: family adventures

This family favorite has long been known for its please-all service (from bike hire to kids’ butlers) and 17 hi-spec but traditional-looking rooms in a 19th century building overlooking the Tivoli Gardens. These were joined in 2017 by 21 bedrooms occupying a swoopy glass-and-wood extension. Although the outside of this more recent addition is in complete contrast to the famous, lightbulb-studded original (designed, it seems, in homage to a Moorish palace), the bedrooms are similar in style, overlooking the park and decorated in muted jewel tones with artworks from around the world, ornate fabrics with skeins of rich blue and gold, and heavy wooden Asian antiques placed alongside beautiful Danish furniture. The star of the show here is the rooftop swimming pool, which is a real boon for families in summer. There are no fewer than six places to eat at this palatial property, including vegetable-based Gemyse in a glass-walled building inside Tivoli Gardens and Cakenhagen serving a vast array of pastries and tarts, as well as a changing line-up of year-round culinary pop-ups by star chefs.

Address: The Nimb, Bernstorffsgade 5, 1577 Copenhagen, DenmarkWebsite: nimb.dkPrice: Doubles from about $659

Best Copenhagen hotel for: historic grandeur

Heritage meets modern grandeur in this legendary hotel whose story began as far as 1755. A young French servant, Jean Marchal, had fallen in love with the daughter of the chef of the royal palace in Copenhagen, Marie Coppy. Sharing a love for the culinary arts, and the desire to present this passion to His Majesty King Frederik V of Denmark and his family, the couple established a restaurant serving the aristocracy with the support of the king. This was the beginning of d’Angleterre, which went on to become a Palace and one of the city's most highly regarded hotels. Since that time, the hotel has played host to countless famous celebrities, dignitaries, and royalty, and to this day it is a go-to for luxury hotel connoisseurs. In 2013, the grande dame marked the beginning of its latest chapter as it emerged from what's said to be the most ambitious hotel restoration in Danish history. Retaining the historic features of this neoclassic palace, this three-year transformation saw the reimagination and modernization of each storied space behind the hotel's instantly recognizable white façade, from its 92 sumptuous rooms and suites, including the palatial Royal Suite, to decadent dining rooms, a Champagne bar, and art-filled lobby. Still today, the character of this property is felt through every room, whether dining at the French-Nordic, Michelin-starred Marchal restaurant, sipping bubbles in Balthazar Champagne Bar or unwinding in the hotel's 2,000-square-foot, marble-clad spa.

Address: Hotel D'Angleterre, Kongens Nytorv 34, 1050 Copenhagen, DenmarkWebsite: dangleterre.comPrice: Doubles from about $653

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Warm minimalism is at its best at the Radisson Collection Hotel, Royal Copenhagen, a modern reboot of Copenhagen's first skyscraper, designed by Arne Jacobsen in 1960. Sleek but inviting Danish furniture—yes, that is Jacobsen's famous Egg chair—is strewn throughout the sprawling lobby, encouraging a bit of reprieve in the bustling space. The original suspended staircase, now upgraded with leather-wrapped handrails, is a beauty. In the guest rooms, heady views of Copenhagen steal the limelight, but look closer and the subtle design details—marble window sills, wood-paneled walls, mirrored panels—are just as impressive. Thanks to a thoughtful renovation in 2018 courtesy of Space Copenhagen, which incorporates a number of original elements, it's a beauty once more.

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Situated near the Amalienborg royal palace, the 145-room Hotel Skt. Annæ has a calming, residential feel, with a front terrace for warm-weather wine sipping and a fireplace in the lounge offering salvation for the far-more-frequent cold spells. The atrium, where you can sit at the communal table underneath a glam spiral chandelier, is another lovely place to read or catch up on email. All Deluxe rooms, courtesy of the design firm Space Copenhagen, nod to the preferred palette of Danish artist Vilhelm Hammershøi, whose paintings are dominated by black, white, and brown.

Kaila Yu

Marianna Cerini

Katherine McLaughlin

Nicole Schnitzler

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"Relaxed luxury" are the words often used to describe SKT. PETRI, and for good reason. This Latin Quarter hotel received a design overhaul in 2017 by Norwegian studio Anemone Wille Våge, and now the interiors have a soft, glamorous depth that brings new life to the historic architecture. Vilhelm Lauritzen's Modernist-style structure was built as a department store in 1928. Guest rooms have a sultry, regal palette of gold, deep blue, and touches of emerald; a geometric wall covering adds a dash of textural interest and subtle Middle Eastern vibes.

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Checking into a floating hotel isn't for everyone, but doing so at CPH LIVING yields rewards. A German-built barge that was extended in Poland and Estonia before finding new life as a hotel parked on a quay in Copenhagen's city center, this family-owned property offers a unique look at the city through a distinctly maritime lens. The 12 rooms are clean-lined and simply adorned with wooden floors, Danish furniture, and original aquatic-inspired paintings by the hotel's co-owner. Yet the star of each room is, of course, the panoramic view of the water and the city beyond.

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Inspired by the general manager's grandfather—a painter and head of exhibitions at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art—Hotel Alexandra is a temple for Denmark's glorious mid-century design achievements. The 61 rooms are each furnished differently, but all exude retro charm, with Danish chairs, lamps, and tables from the 1940s–1970s. Rooms and suites pay tribute to specific talents like Finn Juhl, Nanna Ditzel, and Jens Risom. The Ant, Egg, and Swan chairs adorn the Arne Jacobsen room; meanwhile, pink plastic walls dominate the psychedelic Verner Panton suite.

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Located near Kastellet, a 17th-century fortress, the 98-room Babette Guldsmeden—part of the Guldsmeden Hotels collection—is a quirky, eco-friendly property that, much like the rest of the portfolio, fuses Scandinavian and Indonesian design sensibilities. The decor is a real blend—Oriental rugs, shells dangling from curtains, white bath tiles, stone sinks—but somehow the motley approach works. Wood floors and wingback chairs add to the homey, oasis-like vibe.

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