Review: Clarion Hotel The Edge Tromso

We arrived in Tromsø via a Wideroe flight from Bergen and headed off to the Clarion Hotel, The Edge which would be our home base for our northern lights expeditions.

Booking

Tromsø is the regional and administrative center for Northern Norway and therefore had more hotels than you would expect for a city of 65,000 people. While there were a number of hotels, my preferred chains of Marriott, Hilton, and Hyatt have a very limited presence here with a newly opened Moxy from Marriott being the only option.

That hotel was further out from the city center than we wanted to be so I turned to American Express Travel. There aren’t any hotels in Tromsø that are part of Fine Hotels and Resorts or The Hotel Collection so I wouldn’t be getting any extra benefits though there were a few options. The Clarion properties (The Edge, Hotel With, and Hotel Aurora), Radisson Blu, and Scandic Ishavshotel all had good reviews and we selected The Edge primarily due to the location.

Since our trip was during prime northern lights tourism season, we paid a steep $422 per night for our Superior Room.

Lodging

The Edge is located in the center of Tromsø and is situated between the Storgata, Tromsø‘s main street, and the Prostneset Bus, Boat and Hurtigruten Terminal. This made it easy to access shops and restaurants as well as the departure point for many of the tours in the area. Thanks to its distinctive, angular shape, it is easy to spot.

Clarion Hotel The Edge Tromso Exterior

Check-In

We arrived at the hotel just after 5:00p and headed straight for check-in. The process was quick and efficient which was appreciated since we had a northern lights tour departing at 6:00p. I also hold no status with Choice Hotels so there were no benefits, upgrades, or anything else to discuss.

Clarion Hotel The Edge Tromso Check In Desk

Lobby

While the room felt like a cruise ship cabin, the lobby space was bright and airy (for the few hours a day that the sun was up) thanks to the two story atrium and the large wall of windows.

Clarion Hotel The Edge Tromso Lobby

While not as bright at night, it still felt fresh and modern with a wide variety of seating options.

Clarion Hotel The Edge Tromso Lobby

Room

We were assigned to Room 720, a Superior Queen Room which was a slight upgrade from the Superior Double that we booked. I wanted a larger bed all along but they were sold out by the time we booked. The doors were heavy and metal and reminded me of the doors you’d find on a cruise ship instead of a hotel.

Clarion Hotel The Edge Tromso Room 720

Upon entering the room, my first impression was that it was small, though the layout was mostly well thought out. The bathroom was located to the right while the rest of the room opened up in front of us. To the left was a small closet area along with some shelves that housed an ironing board, iron, hair dryer, hot water kettle, and a safe.

a wooden cabinet with a shelf and shoes on a bench
a iron and iron on a shelf
a shelf with a coffee pot and coffee cups
a ironing board in a closet

A small bottle of wine and two glasses were also located in the cabinets while the remainder of the minibar items were in a small fridge built into the wall next to the bathroom door.

Clarion Hotel The Edge Tromso Minibar

The main portion of the room was small but well thought out. There was plenty of storage for our luggage but this isn’t a space I’d want to spend any more time in than necessary. To the left was a bench which was great for putting on bulky snow boots and laying out large winter clothing. (Apologies for the clutter in the photos, we were trying to change for our excursion right after we checked in).

Clarion Hotel The Edge Tromso In-Room Seating

Next to the first bench was another, smaller bench with a flat screen TV mounted on the wall above it.

Clarion Hotel The Edge Tromso In-Room TV

To the right of this was a small desk. I didn’t work from here much but you could work from here for a couple of hours if needed.

Clarion Hotel The Edge Tromso In-Room Desk

Across from the desk and TV was the bed which had small, floating nightstands on each side. Power outlets and light switches for the bedside lamps were located on panels in the wall.

Clarion Hotel The Edge Tromso Superior Room Bed

Finally, against the window, there was a small chair and table with a light fixture overhead. It was odd that the light was over the chair and pretty low which meant you were likely to hit your head when sitting down. Only thing that went here during our stay was my bag

Clarion Hotel The Edge Tromso In-Room Table and Chair

It was dark when we arrived but the next morning we were able to see a good, but slightly obstructed view of Tromso due to the surrounding buildings.

View of Tromso from the Clarion Hotel The Edge Tromso

The bathroom was on the smaller side and had very little separation between the sink, toilet, and shower. The shower was open to the bathroom and only separated from the toilet by a glass wall.

a bathroom with a shower and sink
a bathroom with a glass shower door

Toiletries were Rituals branded and were mounted to the wall in reusable bottles.

a group of green bottles on a tile wall
a group of green bottles of hand soap on a white tile wall

The bathroom had one major flaw, which was the design of the shower. With no door and the only wall placed parallel to the stream of water, the bathroom essentially flooded each time someone took a shower.

Clarion Hotel The Edge Tromso Shower

Overall the room had a decent layout, but the bathroom and placement of the lamp directly over the chair was somewhat odd.

Food and Beverage

The hotel has three primary food and beverage options, though one (Skybar) was closed during our stay. The Social Bar and Bistro, located on the second floor, served an impressive breakfast spread each morning from a variety of stations. While we only had breakfast here, it transitions into a full service restaurant for lunch and dinner.

Seating at The Social Bar and Bistro at the Clarion Hotel The Edge Tromso

Breakfast was served buffet style from a variety of stations. No menus were given but each station had a card to identify the dish.

a man in a white shirt behind a counter with bowls of fruit
bowls of different types of food on a counter
a pans with eggs and bacon on a table
baskets of bread and pastries on a counter
a group of pots with food in them
a group of bowls of eggs on a counter
a counter with food items on it
a buffet table with food on it
a table with different food items on it
a counter with food in bowls

In a separate part of the restaurant was a beverage area with coffeemakers and a variety of juices and milks.

Clarion Hotel The Edge Tromso Breakfast Buffet Beverage Station

We ate breakfast here on both mornings of our stay and enjoyed the variety of options. Our last day happened to fall on Valentine’s Day and the staff put out extra decorations to celebrate.

a plate of food on a table
a teddy bear sitting in a chair next to a table with food

Downstairs, next to the lobby, is the Living Room Bar. We left early both nights for excursions but even at 5:30p on a weeknight it was clear that the bar was a poplar spot.

Clarion Hotel The Edge Tromso Living Room Bar

The bar offers a variety of beer, wine, and spirits and even has its own beer, brewed by a local company.

a bar with bottles of alcohol
a refrigerator full of beer and beverages

Though tucked in the corner of the lobby, the bar had plenty of seating and was arranged to give some views out into the action of the city. I went back in the morning to get pictures of the seating areas when the bar was empty for these photos.

a room with a couch and tables and chairs
a room with a couch and tables

Summary

Tromso isn’t a city that is known for its luxury hotels and, given the fact that this was a Clarion, we went in with low expectations. The Clarion brand is decidedly more upscale in Norway and the hotel reflected that. The room had a few quirks, mainly the shower that sprayed all over the bathroom, but the location was fantastic for our needs. On the off chance we need to return to Tromso, I’d look at booking this hotel again.

In This Trip Report

3 comments
  1. Finishing this report…lost track of you over on FT. Re: hotel, as I learned in 2023, my US Choice status means nothing in Scandinavia…no points earned either. Noting that Choice explicitly states points earning when booking directly. These hotels are in a ‘Strawberry’ program. Irritating.

    Anyhow, thks for posting. Like the site!

    1. While I don’t have Choice status it would definitely be a shock if you thought you had it when you showed up and got nothing. I don’t quite understand the Choice/Strawberry relationship in the Nordic countries.

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