Radisson Blu Scandinavia Hotel, Oslo

Pros: Stig the Receptionist at front desk who tried to rectify the problems with our rooms

Cons: My wife and I arrived on the 17th August 2015, and on attempting to check-in we were told the "computer system" was not working and therefore we we not able to check in. We were told to either wait (they could not provide an estimate on how long it would take). After a 15-min wait we were checked in "manually". As an American Carlson member, I presented my Club Carlson Gold card, but it wasn't accepted because my trip was booked through Kayak! Nevertheless after a short delay we were in our room. Immediately we noticed that the carpet in the room was dirty, and there were 2-single beds (as opposed to a double as we booked) Credit to the front desk staff who promptly reassigned us to a "newly refurbished" room. The room was a marked improvement over the last, and we happily settled in; unpacking our suitcases and preparing for an afternoon of sightseeing. On return in the evening, we prepared for the night and around 20:00 we tried to lock the door. The door lock did not work. A call to the front desk and a couple of minutes later someone from maintenance was at our door. I explained that the door wouldn't lock from the inside and he insisted that the lock was working. I was a bit taken back by his curt response, but nevertheless invited him to try. What followed next had me flabbergasted! The maintenance employee closed the door, and using his body weight proceeded to to yank on the door handle until he could engage the lock. Curtly he replied, "There it is locked". I attempted to unlock door by turning the lock itself and when I couldn't he demonstrated how to unlock the door. Standing on his toes and again using all his body weight he pressed down on the door handle until the lock disengaged. Again the curt response, "There it is unlocked". I couldn't believe it! Visibility annoyed at this point, when I pointed out that locking the door in such a manner would be a fire hazard (not to mention my wife will never be able to unlock the door if I locked it), he suggested that I actually didn't need to lock the door as no one from the outside could get in without a key. In response I stated that any member of staff could enter if the door was unlocked, to which he acknowledged was true and said I could either call the front desk to arrange a new room, lock the door as he demonstrated, or leave the door unlocked; but there was nothing he could do to fix the lock. Another call to the front desk and we were offered a room on the 20th floor. So after repacking we moved to our 3-room for the day. From then on the only issues we faced were with our room keys. Every time we left our room, the room key would not let us back in. So we had to make our way to the front desk where they would make a new key. Every time without fail!

Not reviewed, reservation cancelled

Pros: We don't know what we would have liked because our reservation was cancelled on the morning of our flight to Oslo because of a hotel workers strike.

Cons: Obviously, we didn't like the need to find another hotel at the very last minute.