Hello blog space! It's been such a long time since I've had the opportunity to use the "Staycay Series" label, but honestly it's just so much more expensive to do staycations around Europe. But hey lucky us, because my friend recently flew into Copenhagen for a work trip so my other half and I thought it was the perfect opportunity to fly in and meet her while exploring Denmark just a little. And now introducing our stay of choice this trip...
This is CityHub Copenhagen
Confession: I've always been interested in the idea of staying at a CityHub just because it reminded me of Japan's capsule hotels, except CityHub's rooms looked a little more spacious and less claustrophobic. Why we never took action however, was just because we've almost outgrown the interest of having to share toilets and bathrooms with other guests. But because there were 3 of us this time, we managed to book out an entire room (aka the Hub XL) all to ourselves that came with a personal toilet and bath.
2 bunk beds were available, sleeping 4 comfortably
Now you see the stairs by pulling it out
And now you don't, just by pushing it away
Upon entering our room, we were greeted with 2 large bunk beds, which means each room comfortably fits 4 if you need. This makes CityHub Copenhagen really ideal for groups in my opinion, because you wouldn't have to be scattered across separate rooms if needed. Perhaps not for light sleepers, but convenient for plannings nevertheless.
One cool feature that I thought was sleek was how the stairs to the upper bunk could be hidden away for convenience. My friend and I both tried climbing to the top bunk for a feel of who should take the bed above, but felt like it was a little more stuffy than the lower bunk beds. This may have been caused by how tall the beds were, so the person sleeping up top would be merely inches away from the ceiling. The steps were also really far apart from each other, and while getting up to the top bunk wasn't a big deal, it was climbing down that felt really unstable.
And dual showers because why not?
(Spoiler: I later learned why, but read on to figure it out)
The attached toilet and bathroom was really big, but weren't separated so if someone were to be tending to "businesses" then it's likely you can't just pop inside to wash your hands. There were also these dual rain shower heads that really puzzled me in the beginning, but I later learned from my colleague that it's possible it's so people could shower together? Perhaps it's a cultural thing but apparently it's totally normal to just shower with friends in the Europe.
Thankfully though, despite having our private attached bathroom, we were still welcome to use the shared toilets and baths outside our room. I did visit the shared area at one point as the shower in our room somehow didn't have hot water one evening, and was pleasantly surprised to see how clean it was. Every bathroom came with shower gel and shampoo amenities from the Dutch brand, Rituals, and clean towels were aplenty for use everywhere.
The common area by the lobby
More seatings where necessary
CityHub Copenhagen prides themselves in being a sort of hub where travellers come and go, but at the same time gave everyone the opportunity to meet likeminded people of sorts. With that in mind, it comes as no surprise that they would have this really nice chill area in the lobby. Guests could spend their days and evenings knocking back a pint or two with other guests or their own friends - and it was the area that the 3 of us frequented the most.
You can't say no to Carlsberg in Copenhagen?
Coffee and tea at your fingertips
Unlike most hotels, the lobby at CityHub Copenhagen felt more like a pantry where you could pour your own pint of beer or fix yourself some coffee from the machine. Prices were also highly reasonable, between 20 to 25 DKK for coffee or between 40 to 45 DKK for beers and spirits. In fact, it may actually be cheaper than drinks you get from pubs outside...unless you visit the 7-Eleven convenience store that was a 4-minute walk away.
Payment at CityHub Copenhagen is never via cash, but rather through the NFC wristband that everyone gets upon checking-in. This wristband allows you to access the room (aka hub) areas, unlocks the free storage lockers if needed, and you get to "pay" for your drinks and food at the hotel. For safety purposes, you could rack up a maximum of 200 DKK on the wristbands each time before you need to clear your tab with the staff via card payment in order to buy more items. I thought this was really smart and sleek, but it also meant you needed to be very careful with where you leave the wristband when taking showers or going outside.
Thanks for everything, CityHub!
All in all though, I truly thought our stay at CityHub Copenhagen was a really enjoyable one and I appreciated being able to be housed in a single room as a group of 3. This meant a lot of late night chats and at one point we even had instant noodles in our hub rather than the lobby area, making it an even more personal memory with each other.
Location wise, I think CityHub Copenhagen is quite unbeatable as it's a 15-minute walk from the central train station. There's a bus stop right in front of the hotel that takes you to the tourist area, Nyhavn, while an 8-minute walk takes you to the metro station. They have several eateries surrounding the hotel, and sometimes you may even get a discount if you flash your CityHub wristband. We tried this out at the Pappa Pizza restaurant right opposite and got a 15% off our entire bill.
Checking-in and out of the hotel was also fully automated, though you'll always have the option of approaching their CityHosts (aka their staff) for help. As we left, I told my other half that I'm now even more intrigued to try their branch in Rotterdam, the Netherlands...so maybe, hopefully I'll have an update on that someday? Who knows? Only time will tell and then you'll get to read it all here!
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