HOTEL REVIEW | Scandic Front in Copenhagen

I turned 44 in June. I have this tradition – when possible – of not being in Belgium for my birthday. From Sweden in 2013 to the Châteaux of the Loire Valley in 2014, Lake Orta in 2015, Rome in 2016, London in 2018, North Carolina and Virginia in 2019, England in 2022, and Rotterdam in 2023. In June 2025, I headed to Copenhagen in Denmark with Steve.

Steve and I booked three nights at the Scandic Front. The ‘Front’, I’m guessing, is referring to the waterfront. In casu the Innerhavn or Inner Harbour. The hotel is also very close to the popular Nyhavn, the New Harbour.

Three days before arrival, I received this message.

Dear Timothy

We are looking forward to hosting you at Scandic Front!

Before your stay, there are a few key things we would like to inform you about:

1. Luggage storage
If you arrive before the check in time, you can store your luggage in our locker rooms. The price is 10 DKK per hour for the small locker and 15 DKK per hour for the big lockers. These lockers are secure and can only be accessed with your own personal credit card. Lockers can also be used after check out.

2. Cleaning
We are a Eco-labelled hotel, which means we have some requirements to live up to. We will therefore not enter your room automatically to clean it during your stay. You will receive a QR code upon check in, which you scan and book cleaning online. This is of course free of charge, but has to be booked the evening before you want your room cleaned.

3. Parking
If you are arriving by car, we have a partnership with Jeudan Parkeringshus on Sankt Annæ Plads. The price is 275 DKK for 24h and all you have to do is park your car in the garage and register your car in the reception. The payment has to be done upon check in.

We look forward to see you!

Best regards,

Front Desk Team

That’s not very welcoming, isn’t it? It sounds cheap. But hey, it’s what it is. We will certainly ask to clean the room every day.

Checking in

The front desk manager was friendly and funny and provided us with all the information we needed. It was late, around midnight. So it was too late to book a cleaning slot for our room on the same / next day (as it was just passed midnight when we were in the room).

The room

The room is spacious. The colour palette is dominated by grey and black. It works. There is a large bed. The bed linnen are presented German style, i.e. folded. There is a tv, a long desk and tea and coffee making facilities.

Storage option are scarce. Only a few boxy shelves. Power outlets? Hard to find. No next to the bed, which is frankly quite incomprehensible.

Oh, the air conditioning worked fine. That was welcome on this summer solstice weekend.

The bathroom

The bathroom has a ‘standard’ size. One sink, a walk-in shower. The floor is a bit odd. It’s made of pebbles. I’d call it Mediterranean. There is no foot mat. Because the pebbles are ‘drying friendly’?

We found it impractical and sacrificed a small towel.

Soap(s) and shampoo are unbranded and in dispensers.

The Wi-Fi

The Wi-Fi s*cks. Speeds are okay, but the dedicated account was rarely accessible. Once you find it, you’re redirected to a web page where you log in without password.

This type of system more often than not fails. Often, you don’t see the correct account name in the list of networks. And when you see, it the web page doesn’t pop up. And if by accident you click it away, good luck finding it back.

The gym

There is a gym, which I didn’t use. That’s right. I hurt my back the day I travelled to Copenhagen. And while the gym is spacious, the gym equipment is outdated and the equipment offered not really what I like. Sorry.

Breakfast

While Scandic Front is a fairly standard four-star hotel, its breakfast offering is above average. There’s everything you expect: warm English breakfast items, bread, cold cuts, cheese, vegetables and fruit, yoghurt, cereals, juices, …

But there are also Danish items such as Danish pastries, a Danish pâté and Danish cheese.

A fine breakfast offering, albeit it never changed the three mornings we were there.