Hotel Continental, Oslo — Restaurant in Oslo

Hotel Continental Oslo trades on its name and supposed prestige, but after staying here for just one night, I can confidently say it falls shockingly short of anything resembling a true 5-star experience.||||We booked this hotel through the Virtuoso program for a brief overnight on our way to Lofoten, expecting classic elegance and professionalism. The check-in was smooth (that’s the one thing I can commend). But the rest? Disappointing at best, and criminal at worst.||||The room, for which we paid nearly $700 for a single night, was cramped, dated, and underwhelming. A standard Hilton or Marriott would have been more comfortable. The bathroom doors don’t even lock, which is an odd and lazy oversight for a hotel at this price point.||||But here’s where it went from underwhelming to outrageous: while we were out to dinner between 6:45 PM and 8:30 PM, housekeeping entered the room. When we returned, we found €100 and $100 USD missing from a wallet left behind. This wasn’t misplacement. It was theft.||||I called the front desk immediately. The receptionist said he would escalate the issue, but no one followed up. So I called again later and reached the duty manager. I asked her to speak with the housekeeper assigned to our room and search her belongings, as I was certain the missing money would be found on her person. Incredibly, the duty manager claimed she didn’t even know which housekeeper had serviced our room, and that no one could look into it until the following day.||||The staff had been made aware of a theft, and still allowed the employee in question to finish their shift and leave, all without any questioning or inspection. Any opportunity to recover our stolen property was completely lost. That kind of delayed, dismissive response is not just negligent, it’s enabling.||||The fact that a guest can be robbed within hours of checking in should be unthinkable at any hotel, let alone one positioning itself as Oslo’s flagship luxury property. It shows a serious failure in security, staff supervision, and basic integrity.||||We’ll be filing a police report, and we’ll also be reporting this incident to Virtuoso directly. Based on our experience, we’ll be strongly recommending the hotel be removed from the Virtuoso program. ||||But for anyone considering Hotel Continental: for your safety, your wallet, and your peace of mind, maybe consider staying somewhere else. Oslo has better options that don’t charge $700...

I had a very disturbing incident — I felt that someone violated my privacy, not once but twice.

On the day of our check-in, I was arranging my suitcase and unpacking my clothes when, suddenly, a member of the room service staff opened the door without knocking. She looked at me and said she didn’t realize I was in the room — she had come to remove the alcohol from the minibar. I asked her, “How can you open the door without knocking?” She did not apologize, but instead explained, “Because I was here a little while ago and no one was in the room” (referring to before our check-in). To be fair, the “Do Not Disturb” sign was not on the door at that time, but in any five-star hotel, staff are expected to knock and announce themselves before entering — with or without the sign.

What’s even more frustrating — and the main reason I am writing this complaint — is that later in my stay, I left my room with my family after 5:30 p.m. I was certain that the “Do Not Disturb” sign was hanging on the door handle (a heavy ring-shaped sign that cannot be removed easily — unlike a paper one). When I returned several hours later, I discovered that the room had been cleaned and the “Do Not Disturb” sign had been removed and placed inside the room. This is unacceptable. They have absolutely no right to enter and clean the room when the sign is displayed.

I genuinely cannot understand why anyone would think it is acceptable to enter a guest’s room when the “DND” sign is clearly displayed. This is a matter of privacy — and I don’t believe anyone would allow a person to enter their home or car without permission. As long as I am renting this room, no one has the right to enter it unless I have explicitly granted permission. What if I had been inside the room — sleeping, changing, or stepping out of the bathroom — as they walked in?

I spoke with the reception staff regarding the second incident. They were polite and understanding, and assured me that they would speak to the manager in the morning and have them contact me. I am now awaiting this follow-up.

In total, this experience has cost the hotel several stars in my personal rating — solely because it made me feel violated and disturbed...

The check-in was smooth (that’s the one thing I can commend). But the rest? Disappointing at best, and criminal at worst.

The room, for which we paid nearly $700 for a single night, was cramped, dated, and underwhelming. A standard Hilton or Marriott would have been more comfortable. The bathroom doors don’t even lock, which is an odd and lazy oversight for a hotel at this price point.

But here’s where it went from underwhelming to outrageous: while we were out to dinner between 6:45 PM and 8:30 PM, housekeeping entered the room. When we returned, we found €100 and $100 USD missing from a wallet left behind. This wasn’t misplacement. It was theft.

I called the front desk immediately. The receptionist said he would escalate the issue, but no one followed up. So I called again later and reached the duty manager. I asked her to speak with the housekeeper assigned to our room and search her belongings, as I was certain the missing money would be found on her person. Incredibly, the duty manager claimed she didn’t even know which housekeeper had serviced our room, and that no one could look into it until the following day.

The staff had been made aware of a theft, and still allowed the employee in question to finish their shift and leave, all without any questioning or inspection. Any opportunity to recover our stolen property was completely lost. That kind of delayed, dismissive response is not just negligent, it’s enabling.

The fact that a guest can be robbed within hours of checking in should be unthinkable at any hotel, let alone one positioning itself as Oslo’s flagship luxury property. It shows a serious failure in security, staff supervision, and basic integrity.

We’ll be filing a police report, and we’ll also be reporting this incident to Virtuoso directly. Based on our experience, we’ll be strongly recommending the hotel be removed from the Virtuoso program.

But for anyone considering Hotel Continental: for your safety, your wallet, and your peace of mind, maybe consider staying somewhere else. Oslo has better options that don’t charge $700...