My wife and I stayed at Fleischer’s hotel in Vossevangen in August 2013. We were on a short weekend trip and decided to stay in Voss as we were covering parts of Hardanger and parts of Sognefjord. I booked the hotel online on the hotel homepage and I guess I booked it quite late as I was only able to get it for the rate of 2090 Norwegian Kroner (about 350 USD).

Finding the hotel was not that difficult as Voss is not such a large place and the hotel stands out as it is built in Swiss style. The entrance to the hotel is a bit weird as you enter the reception from the back (towards the railway). We got room number 36 located on the same floor as the reception. The room was not very impressive upon entry – I was assuming that as I booked late and ended up paying quite a lot for the room, we would get a better room but I guess that was not the case. The room had light walls with a few pieces of rather boring art work and it had a wooden floor. The bed was two single beds pushed together which is not great when traveling as a couple and the bed was not very comfortable. There was a two seat sofa by the window and a table and the view was not bad at all – we looked at Voss Kulturhus and the lake. There was also a small desk and a chair – and the desk included and old school and small TV. There was a wardrobe as well but no safe and no iron/ironing board. The small fridge has a few cold drinks and there were a couple of wine glasses. The lighting of the room was really bad and it a good thing that Norwegian summers are light so that you can get natural light into the room.

The bathroom was small and tiled in white tiles and included a bathtub with a shower option, a toilet and a sink. There were no amenities apart from a shower cap! There was a soap dispenser for washing the hands and it seems like there was a similar one in the shower – so no shampoo, no conditioner etc. The shower head did not seem to work properly and it would spray water in various directions. There was also a wall mounted hair dryer. We were not that impressed by the bathroom standard as there seemed to be hair left from the previous guest and the floor appeared dirty when we started to shower and water was splashing everywhere. There was not that much ventilation so it got pretty damp in the little bathroom. I don’t think there is much focus on details at this hotel – even the trash can in the corner of the hotel room was not working. The towels were thin and worn out. It did not seem like there was any ventilation in the room so we had to keep the window open at night to get some fresh air – this means that you also hear the traffic better on the road outside.
Breakfast at the hotel was not bad – they could offer some eggs, bacon, cereal, fruit, bread etc. At first it seemed like they only had standard jam etc but when looking closer it seemed like they had more local stuff as well (e.g. strawberry jam, brunost (the Norwegian brown goat cheese) and apple juice). When we came to the breakfast restaurant there was a sign saying that we had to wait to be seated (well, it was not spelled correctly) – but as we were standing there waiting a waitress told us that we could sit anywhere.

Location of the hotel is not bad – but then again Voss is a small place and you can basically walk anywhere from any location in town. I was afraid that we would hear the trains as the railway is right next door but that was not a problem.

Conclusion
I travel a bit for pleasure and business so I think I know a bit about hotel standards and qualities. I don’t mind paying a lot for a hotel room as long as I feel that I get something back for the money. In that respect I have to say that I’m shocked by the value for money at Fleischer’s hotel. I paid 2090 Norwegian kroner (about 350 USD) for the room and the room was one of the most basic rooms I have stayed at in a long time. Not only was it basic but it also seems to be neglected in terms of cleaning and maintenance. The bed was uncomfortable, towels thin and worn out, basically no amenities in the bathroom etc. Fleischer’s hotel is a part of De Historiske – an organization that promotes charming and historic hotels. Fleischer’s hotel might be a historic hotel with many famous guests in the past but today it is a worn down hotel that is absolutely not worth the room rate.

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com – trip reports and photos