I wouldn’t normally review an inexpensive stay at an airport hotel though this was my first stay at one of Club Carlson’s Park Inn branded hotels and I found it to be quite a good value.

1. Introduction and trip planning
2. Lufthansa First Class Dulles to Munich
3. Lufthansa Munich First Class Lounge
4. Lufthansa Business Class Munich to Oslo
5. SAS Economy Class Oslo to Longyearbyen
6. Radisson Blu Polar Hotel, Spitsbergen
7. Exploring Longyearbyen
8. Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel, Oslo
9. Exploring Oslo
10. Park Inn By Radisson Oslo Airport
11. Lufthansa 747-8i Frankfurt to Dulles
12. Park Hyatt Washington DC

One of Club Carlson’s series of lucrative promotions this year was a 44,000 point bonus for one stay at a Park Inn hotel.  The challenge with this promotion was the lack of Park Inn hotels in the US.  When I saw the promotion period overlapped with this trip to Norway, I immediately knew this would be my chance to cash in on the promotion.

I jumped on a 120 USD prepaid rate at the Park Inn by the Oslo airport knowing I needed a place to stay around Oslo before my early morning flight to Frankfurt and onward to the US.  There is also a Radisson Blu at the airport which is a Category 6 Club Carlson hotel but was significantly more expensive when I was looking to book.

On my last evening in Oslo, I hopped on the efficient flytoget airport train back to Oslo airport where the Park Inn is located.  The Park Inn has an extremely convenient location just a short covered walk from the Departures terminal.  The ability to walk to the terminal greatly reduces the stress involved in catching an early AM flight because there is no need to worry about when the hotel shuttle begins operation or if they will be on time.

The Park Inn was very stylish throughout for an airport hotel.  The exterior was industrial while the interior reminded me of a toned down W.

I walked into the lobby and was greeted immediately. I think the staff could sense that I wanted to get to my room as fast as possible so the check-in process was noticeably accelerated.  For a frequent business traveler where the majority of my stays are not for vacation, I really appreciate when a hotel can read the mood of the traveler and adjust accordingly.  When I am checking in very late at night by myself at a business hotel and look exhausted, a long drawn out explanation of the hotel amenities and services is not needed.  They had a key in my hand in less than a minute which I truly appreciated.

The room was simple yet stylish.  I am of the opinion that every standard room should have something a little unique about it.  It doesn’t need to be in-your-face bizarre. I just enjoy having some aspect of a room so I can remember it in the future.  The Park Inn had unique red stripes of varying direction, length and height throughout the room which made it stand out in my mind.

Like every other bed in Norway I experienced, they had the folded comforters and were extremely comfortable.  I had no bad nights of sleep in the entire country.

They had what you would expect in an LCD, desk, chairs, and coffeemaker.  All were in good shape and showed little if any wear.  The closet and safe were integrated directly into the room.

A plate of fruit was left in my room along with a note from the General Manager.  This has become pretty standard practice for most high end hotels but was a nice gesture from an airport hotel.

The bathroom was a little odd with one swinging glass door and nothing to keep the water from spilling all over the floor.  It almost felt the whole room was the shower since the tiles were consistent and there was no separation.

The greatest value an airport hotel can offer me personally is a great vantage point for plane spotting.  Oslo doesn’t have too many ‘exciting’ jumbo jets but I was able to catch a few 737’s taxiing. Unfortunately my room did not have the runway view as other rooms at this hotel do have.

The bottom line

To earn 44,000+ Club Carlson Points for one 120 USD night that I needed to purchase anyways, I felt like I got lucky on this one.  The Park Inn definitely exceeded my expectations for an airport hotel. The location could not be more ideal being shuttle-independent.  It is pretty easy to recommend this hotel when the rates are around what I paid in a country as costly as Norway.  As far as redeeming, this is a category 5 hotel so redemption costs are 44,000 which is not a great redemption value.