Norway’s Best Hotel Breakfasts For 2022 Revealed

Those who like a good breakfast to start their day when on vacation in Norway should head to Trondheim. That’s the verdict of the latest edition of the Twinings’ Best Breakfast award, back for the first time in three years.

Trondheim’s Scandic Nidelven and Britannia Hotel beat off competition from Oslo’s Thon Hotel Rosenkrantz to share the award. Atle Farmen, CEO of Haugen-Gruppen which organizes the award, said the quality of this year’s competition was “world class.”

Trondheim takes the title again

It’s an incredible 14th win for the team at Scandic Nidelven in just 16 editions of the competition, but the offer from their city rivals at the Britannia Hotel forced them to share the prize for the first time in the award’s history.

Since opening in 2019, the Britannia has made a splash on the city’s culinary scene and picked up a Michelin star for its signature restaurant Speilsalen after less than one year in business. The hotel also ranked second in the Twinings’ breakfast awards in its first year.

The lavish Palmehaven provides a stunning setting for guests enjoying à la carte breakfast at the Britannia. Hotel director Ida Dønheim called out the “hard work” behind the achievement: “Our dedicated breakfast team has made a fantastic effort throughout the year and delivers food and drink experiences and service at a very high level every morning.”

She was also delighted that the jury recognized the hotel’s focus on sustainability: “We only select the best products for our buffet, most of which are home-made or made together with local producers, instead of offering many variations of each item.”

Meanwhile, Scandic Nidelven hotel director Kjetil Vassdal highlighted the “strong breakfast culture” at the hotel and thanked his team for “constantly thinking about how we can develop further.”

As positive as the award is for the teams at both hotels, it’s also a notable victory for Trondheim. The city and surrounding region Trøndelag holds the title of European Region of Gastronomy this year, the first time anywhere in Norway has held the title, and only the second in the entire Nordic region after Denmark’s Aarhus.

Elsewhere in Trondheim, Thon Hotel Prinsen and the Clarion Hotel & Congress were awarded ‘excellent’ status, as was the Scandic Hell hotel located near to Trondheim Airport.

What makes a good breakfast?

Everyday breakfast in Norway is typically a rushed, home-based affair involving bread and a topping, a cup of coffee and a kiss on the cheek. In fact, it’s quite hard to find a place to order breakfast aside from coffee shops, especially outside Oslo.

It’s a totally different story in hotels, however. As with other Scandinavian hotels, even mid-range and some budget hotels in Norway offer a generous breakfast buffet to guests.

To stand a chance of winning, the 400 hotels in the competition must deliver on quality, selection, presentation, information to guests, service, atmosphere, cleanliness and tidiness.

With its third place award, Thon Hotel Rosenkrantz is considered to have the best hotel breakfast in Norway’s capital city Oslo. Other Oslo hotels to be recognized in the awards included Thon Bristol, Amerikalinjen and Oslo Plaza.