Review of Thon Hotel Opera (Oslo, Norway)

Personal Introduction to Thon Hotel Opera, Oslo
I was assigned Thon Hotel Opera as part of the "Norway in a Nutshell" plan. There were two classes of hotels to choose from, and we chose the more premium option for an additional fee. First impressions were: 

• Suitably located close to the Oslo Railway. All you need to do is to cross a street! 
• Efficient reception. Managed to check-in and check-out without any fuss.
• Breakfast seems to be included and is a must, due to the huge premium selection (will cover that more later)
• Internet is provided but rather choppy. 
• TV and entertainment system included option to log into Netflix (your own account), Spotify, Tidal etc. Otherwise you can watch SkyNews (UK). 
• Pillows are a little too soft. I had to use my travel pillow as an additional support. 

The Interior of the room 
​Colourful interior, and I was fortunate to be assigned a room that overlooked the waterfront (partially) as well as the Oslo cityscape. There was adequate space for 2 large luggage. There was the usual hot water kettle, as well as the mini bar. Thon Hotel must be popular with business travellers as well since there was an iron and the ironing board too. The bathroom was also very modern and covered with white tiles. Thon Hotel also provided Morton Brown shampoo and soap, and guests can make a purchase at the lobby reception if they wished to. 

Amazing Breakfast Spread
The highlight was probably the amazing breakfast spread. Now, you must remember that the cost of living in Norway is exorbitantly high. A simple breakfast at the nearby Burger King will cost about 120 NOK, equivalent to about SGD 20 or 20 Singaporean Dollars. A typical BK meal in Singapore would likely cost only about SGD7. 

Hence, it is certainly worth it to have a hearty breakfast in this impressive buffet spread. There was a machine that freshly squeezes oranges for your "freshly squeezed orange juice". There was also mango and strawberry smoothies, and also apple juice. You can also have a full range of coffee as well as teas (more than eight types of tea), and if you prefer to brew it in a teapot, that's also provided. 

For the cold section, besides the salad section, there's the delicious pate, the gravlax salmon, herring, etc, with scampi salad, potato salad, etc, and a variety of hams. For the hot section, there's the omlette section with hard boiled and soft boiled eggs. I saw a huge heap of bacon, and then there's the tomatoes and mushrooms. I particularly enjoyed the pancakes, which was crispy around the edges, and was really delicious with the maple syrup. There's also the yoghurt section, with a variety of fruits such as pineapples, cantoloupes, melons, watermelons, etc. In short, there's so much to choose from that you would be spoilt for choice. 

All in all, I enjoyed the convenience of Thon Hotel Opera as well as its impressive buffet spread. It's no wonder Thon Hotel Opera is also ranked highly in TripAdvisor.