16-05-2025
11 of the best hotels in Copenhagen for under £200
Copenhagen's boutique hotels are much like the city itself: intimate, stylish, thoughtfully designed — and often on the expensive side. Enjoying life is certainly in focus (that's the key idea of the Danish concept of hygge, after all) and with most attractions and restaurants typically a 15-minute cycle from any central hotel, it's easy to do, wherever you're staying. For best rates, look off season and outside the biannual fashion weeks in January/February and August, when hotels are typically packed. These affordable places are all offering room-only doubles at under £200 a night, based on a midweek stay in low-season. It pays to be flexible where possible — if you travel during the high season from June until the end of August, or over a weekend, prices can be significantly higher.
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Best for fashionistas
The city's most fashionable boutique hotel has a rock'n'roll vibe, incredible central location and sophistication to boot. The previous hotel in this space hosted everyone from Josephine Baker to Blur and Lenny Kravitz; today, it's all ice-cream colours and a light-filled central courtyard with 109 pared-back rooms. Striped cream and maroon bathrooms add a little pizazz, while the hotel's Italian restaurant, Donna, has a fun lipstick-red ceiling and retro etched glass mirrors. It's just steps from the central City Hall Square and main shopping streets — and let's not forget that the hotel is run by the excellent Cofoco group, responsible for some of the city's most fun restaurants. Guests get 15 per cent off when dining in any of them; ask the concierge for a full for understated chic
Kong Arthur is tucked away a street from the Lakes in central Copenhagen and has 214 rooms with a home-from-home vibe — if your home is full of muted colours, understated art and Danish design classics, that is. Rooms are cosy and comfortable; the standout loft rooms give the space of an apartment with a living room and work well for families, while economy doubles are perfect for the single business traveller. There's a sunny courtyard, pastries to buy at the bar from the nearby independent bakery Albatross & Venner, and Ni'mat Spa next door offers massages and beauty treatments. The organic Danish breakfast (not included in all rates — check on booking) is a full Danish buffet with the likes of ham, sausage and cheeses from local organic farms and dense, seed-topped rye bread. There's also a daily 'Cozy Hour' from 5pm to 6pm when guests are served a drink (alcoholic or non-alcoholic) on the | POOL | Best for stylish city breaks
The city's grand old post office building has been sensitively remade into this 390-room hotel across the street from Central Station and Copenhagen's inner-city amusement park, Tivoli Gardens. Draws include the bijou rooftop with its skinny 25m lap pool and a bar/café that's a favourite with locals. Rooms have a Danish design feel to them, with muted natural colours and environmentally sensitive materials. The whole vibe is eco-luxe, blending the classic features of the historic building — beautifully restored staircases and original panelling — with modern sustainability.
Best for vintage fans
Located on Vesterbrogade in a nexus of streets packed with independent shops (the key streets to aim for are Vaernedamsvej and Istedgade), Coco Hotel doubles down on the local vibe with vinyl nights, vintage furniture and the mini Wood Wood boutique in the café; there's also a leafy inner courtyard. Every one of the 89 rooms is different, decorated with large photography prints, bright colours and artsy posters. Like Bella Grande, Coco is part of the Cofoco group, in whose restaurants guests get a 15 per cent for great-value getaways
Outside the heart of the city in the modern, corporate Orestad area, but still just a couple of metro stops from the heart of the city, Zoku is a concept hotel ideal for digital nomads, those coming on business or anyone staying longer in the city. Micro apartment-style rooms are designed with modular features so you can go from a compact workspace with fully equipped kitchen to sleeping space in a flash. You can even personalise your room with art from the in-house Art Swap station. On the rooftop terrace, the café acts as a shared working space in the day and holds networking events in the evening.
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Best for bodega culture
This charming, boutique hotel is in the heart of the city, near independent shopping streets and the Tivoli Gardens, and has easy transport links all over town. As well as its roof terrace, which hosts parties and DJs on weekends in warmer weather, it has cosy, homely bedrooms and an Italian restaurant. Walk through the lobby and discover Pinden, a bodega-style taste of old Copenhagen, where you can drink beer and wine and eat snacks and pies. Bodegas are to Copenhagen what boozers are to London, and this one has quite the history — there has been a pub here since 1907, and it's seen everyone from actors to railway workers stop by for a pint. Best for a great location
Across the bridge from Nyhavn with the twin jewels of Ganni Postmodern and Hart bakery steps away, not to mention the city's waterfront Opera Park next door, there is no better location for a truly Copenhagen experience than this. The modern hotel brings an unexpected twist in its Danish summerhouse-style rooms — nautical and arty, they include sailing boats, sea views, posters from the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art and vintage-styled knick-knacks. The Victory bar on the top floor is one of the only places in Copenhagen where you can enjoy a pint of Guinness and a pie next to a roaring fire, with East London stylings, while Tiger Lily, the Asian restaurant on the ground floor, adds a welcome touch of spice. Best for a relaxing escape
Hotel Ottilia is in the heart of Carlsberg Byen, where you'll also find the Home of Carlsberg visitor experience, the city's hottest bakery, Kobenhavns Bageri, and an array of hand-picked restaurants and shops including Henrik Vibskov's sample store. With raw concrete walls, round windows and exposed brickwork, the hotel's 155 contemporary rooms revel in architectural style. Restaurant Tramonto has Italian food at lunch and dinner on the rooftop, which is also where breakfast is served. It's only a couple of steps to the luxury spa Aire Ancient Baths, and there are plenty of restaurants nearby, including the city's legendary burgers at Gasoline Grill. Best for city views
This sleek and corporate waterfront five star hotel hosts dignitaries, politicians and royalty thanks to its location close to Christiansborg Palace, the seat of the Danish government. Its 394 spacious, modern rooms are full of hushed, textured details: chartreuse velvet chairs beside quilted charcoal walls with windows on to sweeping views of the harbour and historic buildings that trace it. On the roof, yellow buckets of Veuve Clicquot and plates of oysters line the bar, and views stretch to CopenHill, the royal palace at Amalienborg and all along the harbour. The hotel's Plates restaurant spills out onto the path beside the harbour underneath while, steps away, the local favourite Rosforth & Rosforth sells cloudy natural wines under Knippelsbro bridge. Best for Danish design
For devotees of Danish design, it doesn't get better than staying at Arne Jacobsen's only hotel, sometimes called the world's first design hotel, which opened in 1960 as a symbol of a new era of travel. Details have changed — the Japanese-Peruvian Issei restaurant is an addition — but not in room 606, which has remained exactly as the designer intended, with bed linen to match the grey-green colour scheme and natural materials throughout, including rosewood panels. Everything from the spiral staircase and the exterior of the building to the ashtrays and the sleek door handles were designed by Jacobsen as a gesamtkunstwerk (total work of art). The remaining 260 bedrooms are decked out with natural wood panelling and Jacobsen's Swan chairs, and grant views of Tivoli Gardens (ask for the highest floor available for front-row views of the Saturday night fireworks every week in summer). Children are welcomed with a games pack and a dedicated menu,and there is an excellent concierge service. Best for family city breaks
Hotels in the Scandic brand are always a good idea when you're travelling the Nordics on a budget. Of their 13 family-orientated Copenhagen hotels, they have a sleeper hit in Kodbyen, Copenhagen's popular meatpacking district. The 370 rooms are simple and neutral-coloured; larger suites have a king-size bed plus an extra bed in a clever loft space above it. The lively industrial-styled lobby has a cocktail bar and decent restaurant and the hotel is also known for its large and airy gym. A short stroll away, you'll find an excellent playground, and the best ice cream parlour in town, Ismageriet.
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