Grand Hotel Oslo

Grand Hotel is one of Oslo’s most famous hotels, located on Karl Johans gate in the centre of the city. Opened in 1874, the hotel has long been associated with Norwegian cultural life, international guests and formal events, including the Nobel Peace Prize traditions in Oslo. With its grand façade, historic interiors, restaurants, suites and central position close to the Norwegian Parliament and the National Theatre, the hotel has become one of the capital’s most recognisable urban landmarks.

The hotel is most directly connected to the Norwegian film Grand Hotel (2016), directed by Arild Fröhlich and starring Atle Antonsen, Håkon Gomez Bøhmer and Vera Vitali. The film uses the real hotel as its main setting, turning its corridors, rooms, lobby areas and suites into the emotional and social world of the story.

In Grand Hotel (2016), Axel Farstad, played by Atle Antonsen, is an ageing, alcoholic writer who checks into Grand Hotel in Oslo in a desperate attempt to finish his last book. At the hotel he meets Noah, a ten-year-old boy with Tourette syndrome, and the two are forced into each other’s company over several days. The setting is important to the film’s tone: Grand Hotel becomes a protected, elegant and slightly isolated world in the middle of Oslo, where both characters can avoid parts of their lives while also being forced to confront them. The Tower Suite is especially recognisable, and Visit Oslo has described it as the iconic suite used in the film.

Grand Hotel (2016)

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