One of this year's goals during our Norwegian holiday was reaching the top of Gaustatoppen at 1883 metres above sea level. Gaustablikk Høyfjellshotell was a natural choice for accomodation in the area.
This review will include more than normal, because they have a lot of activities, we tested the restaurant, and some key factors from the time of booking until the check out is worth mentioning.
When deciding to book at Gaustablikk Høyfjellshotell we were looking for two nights. At their homepage Gausta.com, the cheapest normal room price was 4600 NOK ($500) for the four of us and 5100 NOK for a suite. We used booking.com instead and got a family room for 3200 NOK ($350) which is a much more fair price. After leaving the hotel we made a really good choice taking the cheapest option!
Upon arrival we had reserved times for breakfast and dinner in the evening. We had also sent an email asking if we had to book time for the swimming pool. The response was yes, we had to, but they had now sorted this out for us.
Check in
First impressions are important, and here we must be honest: Gaustablikk did not come out very well at first.
The e-mail about the swimming pool was totally unknown, which resulted in our kids not being able to use the swimming pool at all, and this was one of the reasons we did not stay in one of the hundreds of cabins in the area.
The receptionist did not show any empathy either and did not want do see our email. It also turned out the hotel does not clean the rooms, empty the garbage bins or change the towels as normal at this time. Staying for more than one night, the garbage bins will get full and you will need more towels for a family of four. Not much space to hang the towels to dry!
The room
The room itself was good. We got a room overlooking the parking lot, which turned out to be a good thing. On the other side of the hotel you got a beautiful view over the Gaustatoppen, but the sun will shine right at your windows all day and evening, and it will be really hot during the warm summer days.
Our room included a double bed, a double sofa bed, a desk, a small tv and a small bathroom, which was still big enough. The rooms seemed to be relatively newly refurbished and the cleanliness before arrival was good. Sleep quality, on the other hand, was mediocre.
Ok bed, could have been better, but we slept ok. Good blinds which kept the room dark during the night, but also as in most of the Norwegian hotels: Too hot!
In addition there is a lot of noice from the hallway, and unfortunately a lot of people think it is a good idea wandering in the hallway laughing and talking loud closer to midnight.
READ OUR REVIEW OF ZANDER K IN BERGEN
Breakfast
We love testing hotel breakfasts, this is one of the highlights of a hotel stay. The hotel provided a good selection of both bread and rolls. A nice selection of cold dishes, and ok warm dishes. Bacon only for the fried eggs, but they had som small sausages, beans in tomato sauce and scrambled eggs. The scrambled eggs were inedble by the way. If you want a lunch pack it costs 65 NOK ($7) which is a fair prive.
On the day of check-out we wanted a late breakfast (latest is 09.30), and a quiet and lazy breakfast. The day before we had a six hour hiking trip to the top of Gaustatoppen and wanted to relax. After 20 minutes the staff told us the kitchen were closing and they would remove the food in ten minutes. The situation became a bit chaotic, and it was not the relaxing breakfast we planned for, The staff seemed a bit stressed and we felt we had to just eat and leave. Not very pleasant.
Dinner
After the trip to Gaustatoppen we wanted a nice meal in the evening. A little misunderstanding as we thought we could choose between a set three course meal and from the a la cart menu. They only had a set menu and a burger buffet for the kids. This evenings three course meal consited of grilled cheese with mullets for starters, oven baked common ling as a main course and panna cotta as dessert.
The children were very disappointed. Gaustablikk Høyfjellshotell is supposed to be a family friendly hotel, but the food for the kids were simply not good enough. The burger bread so dry they had to drink cola to get it down. Neither of the kids finished their food after this six hour hiking trip, and starving. Make something nice for the kids as well!
As for the three course meal you can make i much better yourself. Being served common ling at a hotel in the mountains felt a bit misplaced. It also turned out there was an option for people not taking the fish, but we were never given this option.
This meal was the most expensice we had in our entire four week holiday and was one of the worst.
Activities
Gaustablikk Høyfjellshotell has a lot of activities. Most people use the hotel for their base before hiking to Gaustatoppen, but you can rent SUPs, boats, canoes, pedal boats, bicycles, play paddle tennis, table tennis, shuffleboard, walk/hike, go on a bike ride, use the pump-track for bicycles or just sit and enjoy the fantastic view of Gaustatoppen. In addition they have two floating saunas on Kvitåvatnet. Seemed like a very popular activity.
Conclusion
Just after checking in I met a few former colleagues. "Its a bit like a facotry this place", they told me. They were aboslutely right. It felt like a factory, an overpriced one. No soul, no finesse. The only thing I really remember from this stay was the view. But unfortunately that´s not enough.