The inimitable Scandinavian style that pervades the restaurant and public spaces is continued in the 77 rooms and 3 suites, creating easy, uncluttered spaces for relaxation.
BERLIN – Copenhagen is a city famed for its design-savvy crowd, Michelin-starred restaurants, and laidback attitude. This September sees the opening of a hotel that amplifies these traits and more. Housed in a historic 5, 500 square-meter landmark building from 1903, once home to the Royal Danish Conservatory of Music, Nobis Hotel Copenhagen is set to take the city’s hospitality scene by storm. Set between the infamous Tivoli Gardens and the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek museum, Nobis Hotel Copenhagen combines effortless style, luxury, and heritage, with a personalized level of service that is unrivaled. The 77-room hotel – the Nobis Group’s first property outside of their native Sweden – offers all of the comforts of a urban refuge within the heart of Denmark’s thriving capital.
Architecture and Design
Star architect Gert Wingardh and his team at Wingardh Arkitekter were tasked with overseeing the evolution of the property, which they did with finesse. Wingardh sought to pay homage to the storied building's roots while adding his own signature touches. The result is a masterclass in marrying old and new: original architectural details – such as the grand staircase – have been preserved and restored, while bold contemporary accents are defined by superior-quality natural materials such as marble, copper, stone, hard oak, and glass. The stark modernity of the concrete reception desk, for example, is complemented by an elegant, heritage color scheme of green and gray tones. Throw in the enviable location in the cultural heartbeat of Copenhagen, and you have the blueprint for one of the city's most eagerly awaited arrivals.
Rooms and Suites
The inimitable Scandinavian style that pervades the restaurant and public spaces is continued in the 77 rooms and 3 suites, creating easy, uncluttered spaces for relaxation. Each of the individually sized rooms, with soaring ceilings and original detailing, are painted in soothing green and blue tones, and all have chevron-patterned wooden parquet floors and high windows with crossbars as center pieces. Rooms are outfitted with classic Danish furniture from Carl Hansen & Son, including the iconic CH25 chair which is found in the Superior and Deluxe room categories. Rugs come courtesy of Swedish brand Kasthall, while luxurious, cloud-like beds from Duxiana promise an untroubled night’s sleep and a lacquered oak minibar tray and crystal glasses from Danish designer Frederik Bagger ensure nightcaps are dispensed in a fittingly chic manner. The bathrooms are entirely outfitted in Bardiglio Nuvolato marble – a material characterized by its fine-grained, deep gray, cloudy look, and luxurious amenities from luxury Swedish brand Byredo, treating guests to in-room pampering.
Food for Thought
The Nobis Hotel Copenhagen restaurant, Niels, was also renovated by Wingardh Arkitekter. Ensuring that the restaurant stands out visually as well as through its culinary delights, Wingardh covered the building’s facade in glass and copper plates, with the piece de resistance being the strategically placed crossbars, an homage to Le Corbusier’s La Tourette Dominican monastery. Headed up by Chef de Cuisine Jeppe Foldager, Niels Restaurant borrows from the best of Nordic culinary traditions, serving a classic, yet modern kitchen, combining traditional French and Nordic gastronomy in a modern and personal culinary style, always with the finest quality ingredients as a focus.
Chef Foldager’s food celebrates the rich natural bounty of Northern Europe by sourcing ingredients from artisan producers, farmers, and fishermen based in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. The bar also takes inspiration from its Nordic neighbors, showcasing a menu of classic cocktails with a focus on quality, regional ingredients and Scandinavian spirits.
Location
Sandwiched between the city center and Vesterbro, Nobis Hotel Copenhagen puts guests right in the center of it all – a stone’s throw away from the buzzing Radhuspladsen town hall square, Nationalmuseet (National Museum), the Danish Design Center, and the infamous Tivoli Amusement Park and Gardens – the world’s second oldest amusement park, which opened in 1843.
Made by Originals
The driving force behind many of Stockholm’s top hotels, restaurants, and nightclubs isn’t Swedish at all. It’s Italian-born Alessandro Catenacci. Back in 1987, the Stockholm-based restaurant empire belonging to Scandinavian culinary great Tore Wretman – that included Cafe Opera, Operakallaren, the Riche, and Stallmastaregarden—went on the market. The prospective buyer, a 29-year-old of Italian extraction named Alessandro Catenacci, proved to be very clever. After running a six-month due diligence on the deal, he realized that Wretman’s company had assets beyond the asking price, including real estate and art. Armed with this information, Catenacci borrowed money and bought the business. He then liquidated some of its assets – including a painting from the Operakallaren by Swedish art-star Bror Hjorth, which went for 11 million Swedish kronor, almost a third of the deal’s total value.
Catenacci is obviously incredibly savvy, but he’s definitely not just a number cruncher. He is an intuitive manager, a local visionary, a devoted family man, and a really nice guy. He’s also one of those rare people who is confident enough to admit he’s made mistakes. “Oh, lots of them,” he laughs heartily. “I have a longstanding joke that I was lucky I owned my own business, because if I’d been an employee, I would definitely have been fired!” Statements like this one are proof that Catenacci, who goes by the nickname Sandro, doesn’t take himself too seriously despite being a serious businessman.
Catenacci’s ease makes his success look as if luck were indeed a factor, but it is actually the result of a long-term vision, hard work, and an intuitive business sense. The conglomerate’s philosophy, in many ways, combines the best of Catenacci’s Italian heritage – a heady approach to fine food and a keen eye for quality – and the utmost in Scandinavian understatement.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
