Brakanes Hotel

great view

I am reading reviews saying, the view isn't enough....... and do you know what, it was for us! What a spot!!!! We splashed out on a suite with a fjord view as there were 3 of us travelling; myself, my husband + my daughter of 24 years. When we stepped out onto the balcony we were blown away. We planned on walking during our stay and the walks available off the doorstep are amazing too. We stayed 2 nights + were very lucky with the weather + so were able to swim in the fjord. The sauna looking out over the fjord was on my list of things to do + it did not disappoint. All of the staff we interacted with were friendly, helpful + quite lovely. Breakfast choices were perfect + I really enjoyed the food in the evening. Only slight negative here was that we had paid for a room with dinner included + so had a set menu, which had soup, then a choice of 2 mains + 2 puddings. However, the choice was exactly the same both nights + I feel like there should have been a change of options. The grounds at the front of the hotel offer various areas to sit + enjoy the view; there are sunbeds which we did use given our luck with the weather; internally there are so many nooks and crannies with fabulous rooms to sit in in large groups or smaller intimate ones. We stayed in 5 different locations on our trip to Norway + they all could have done with a bit of TLC but I honestly do not know how you could stay in a location like this and not beam from ear to ear. LOVED IT!!!

The Brakanes Hotel in Ulvik is well past its days as a peaceful, luxury hotel. They seem to now cater to large tour bus groups, making it crowded, noisy, and unfriendly. Since they allow smoking on the balconies, the rooms themselves smell of smoke. The morning breakfast buffet was by far the worst we experienced in two weeks of touring Norway. The staff was frazzled by the large tour groups, and unlike most other places we stayed in the beautiful country of Norway, they never smiled or greeted the guests. Very overpriced for what you get.