7 Best Hotels in Copenhagen

It might seem strange that Copenhagen’s first true design hotel is owned and operated by a former ballet dancer but, in reality, Alexander Kølpin hails from a family of hoteliers (not to mention his father Jes is an architect). In fact, Kølpin’s former stomping ground, The Royal Danish Theatre, stands just across the street from the three 19th-century buildings now known as Sanders, a 54-room retreat and much-needed stylish addition to the city’s hospitality scene. The interiors, courtesy of London-based design firm Lind + Almond (whose previous work includes Soho House and Tom Dixon), are tasteful and eclectic: pale green and taupe walls, mid-century Danish furniture, baskets of local goods, and commissioned art by Mat Chivers and Elke Sada lend guest rooms a cozy, lived-in feel, while the glass-roofed conservatory offers an even more relaxed atmosphere with its rattan furniture and Arne Jacobsen chairs. Enjoy a pre- or post-performance tipple in cocktail bar TATA before regional Mediterranean cuisine in the kitchen restaurant.

Set inside the gorgeous former Royal Danish Conservatory of Music, this stylish 77-room stay fuses classical turn-of-the-century architecture with the best of Danish design—clean lines, simple accents, and lots of natural light. The results, courtesy of starchitect Gert Wingårdh, are breathtaking: high ceilings, oversized Bardiglio marble bathrooms with egg-shaped bathtubs, chevron-patterned wooden parquet floors, and furniture from Carl Hansen & Son including the iconic CH25 chair. Put away your design notebook, though: the food is just as compelling. Restaurant Niels serves up inspired French and Nordic dishes (fried duck on the bone with white unions and tarragon; grilled Danish pork with cabbage and leeks from Kiselgården). Once you’ve gotten your fill, hit up the sauna (which has its own hammam and cooling pool) or the streets in the direction of Tivoli Gardens, just steps away.

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Hotel SP34 might stand on the city’s prettiest street—leafy Sankt Peders Straede in Copenhagen’s bohemian Latin Quarter—but its interiors give its surrounds a run for their money. In a city known for its sense of style, designer Morten Hedegaard one-upped everything with a winning combo of contemporary and streamlined Danish furniture. The 118 guest rooms are visions of minimalism—slate-gray walls, leather headboards, rooftop views—while public spaces are a little more daring: the airy lobby is decked out with whimsical murals and doubles as a bar, while restaurants including a Basque tapas joint and über-Nordic coffee house are favored hangouts among Copenhagen’s artists and musicians.

Nowhere else in Copenhagen is worthier of a landmark grande dame hotel than Kongens Nytorv, the city’s oldest and most prominent square within spitting distance of the Royal Danish Theatre and world-famous Nyhavn Canal. Hotel D’Angleterre’s neoclassical exterior is as elegant and stately as when it first opened in 1755, but a recent tip-to-toe interior renovation led by local design firm C.F. Møller has brushed off signs of age and brought it into the present day. Many of the 90 guest rooms and suites have climate controls and grand bathrooms in addition to their charming-if-tiny balconies; the spa now boasts the city center’s only indoor swimming pool; and its Michelin-starred restaurant, Marchal, is packed with even more well-heeled Danes than ever.

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It’s impossible to miss Nimb, whose 1909 all-white Moorish-inspired façade (we’re talking minarets, colonnades, and an onion dome) stands out from its urban neighbors like a sore thumb—albeit in the best way. Interiors are just as striking: just 13 rooms (redone in 2008 by Matteo Thun) are decked out in hand-picked antiques and Venetian marble and come with their own fireplaces and freestanding bathtubs; downstairs, the bar has its own grand piano and the restaurants (including a classic open-sandwich option and vegetarian fine dining) cater to every palate and hunger level. And you couldn’t ask for a better location: one entryway faces the railway station; the other leads you straight into Tivoli Gardens.

No hotel lobby in Denmark makes a grander statement than that of Manon Les Suites. Guests enter into a multi-level atrium awash in light and hanging potted plants, centered by a tiled pool and surrounded on all sides by steel walkways that branch off into roomy apartment-style suites. If you know Guldsmeden hotels (they have six other locations in Denmark as well as outposts in Norway, Germany, and France), you’ll know the look: Balinese four-poster beds and organic toiletries, but here with the added perks of kitchenettes and cotton robes. Make yourself familiar with the 6th-floor lounge: this is where breakfast is served, and where guests convene for small bites (burgers; smørrebrød) in between snoozes by the pool.

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Denmark’s award-winning Brøchner Hotel group returned to designer Morten Hedegaard for their follow-up to Hotel SP34. The result is another style scene: 88 small-but-chic rooms in two refurbished buildings pop with bold colors and lacquer walls, while mosaic floors and ceiling mirrors add a bit of edge. Yes, you’ll still find a fair amount of Danish furniture and the traditional breakfast served at most Copenhagen boutiques, but the complimentary wine hour in the bar and rooftop terrace with its 360-degree city views give Hotel Danmark a leg up on the rest.