The Radisson Royal Collection Hotel has many accolades: the world’s first design hotel, the only hotel by renowned designer and architect Arne Jacobsen, and one of the most prominent buildings in the Danish city of Copenhagen. Opening in 1960 as the SAS Radisson Royal Hotel, it still dominates the city skyline, and underwent a renovation and reimagining a few years ago by Radisson Hotel Group at the hands of multi-disciplinary design studio SPACE Copenhagen architects, to bring the historical icon into the future, while staying true to Arne Jacobsen’s roots
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An imposing building on Hammerichsgade, its excellent location puts it just steps away from Copenhagen Central Station and all the action of Tivoli Gardens - the world’s second-oldest (and probably prettiest) amusement park.
The history inside this hotel is palpable and the man with all the stories is concierge Sekkal Mahieddine, who has welcomed guests to the hotel since its opening. There’s even a ‘wall of fame’ that lists the esteemed guests who’ve stayed over the years: Henry Kissinger, Prince, Ban Ki Moon, Roger ‘007’ Moore, Nelson Mandela, Louis Armstrong, Bill Clinton, the Beatles...
Inside, it’s like stepping back in time, whilst simultaneously feeling au courant. The lobby has been brought back to Arne Jacobsen’s original idea, of creating a lively space to give guests a sense of welcome from the very first second. The lobby’s striking spiral staircase has been reinstated, whilst Jacobsen’s iconic ‘Swan’, ‘Egg’ and ‘Pot’ chairs make a prominent reappearance - the latter discovered at an auction and brought home. The art on the walls has resurfaced from Arne Jacobsen’s archives, reframed to let the world relive the architect’s legacy.
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The hotel’s five bespoke Signature Suites – designed in collaboration with Fritz Hansen and completed in 2018 – put Danish creativity on show, each a tribute to famous designers and architects: Cecilie Manz, Poul Kjaerholm, Arne Jacobsen, together with iconic designs from KAISER idell and GamFratesi. However, it’s in Room 606 on the sixth floor that Arne Jacobsen’s story lives loudest. One of the world’s most famous hotel rooms, it has been kept exactly as he designed it in 1960, in all its light-filled, geometric, Danish modernist glory – even featuring his favourite ‘Drop’ chair.
Between feasting on Peruvian-Japanese cuisine at Issei – where the bill is presented in a miniature Arne Jacbosen ‘Egg’ chair – and sipping coffee in the hotel’s storied lobby, we pack in four days of sightseeing. We wind our way to the top of 17th-century Rundetaarn ‘Round Tower’ for the city’s best views; buy olives, cheese and fresh flowers at Torvehallerne market; watch the ‘Changing of the Guards’ at Amalienborg Palace; whizz down a four-storey indoor slide at Danish Architecture Center; stroll through the colourful streets of Nyhavn; take a boat along the canals from Ved Stranden to see The Little Mermaid statue by Edvard Eriksen; and spend hours riding roller-coasters and eating candyfloss as the sun sets over Tivoli Gardens.
Naturally, all roads lead back to Radisson Collection Royal Hotel, where a sleep in the Arne Jacobsen Signature Suite takes you from the past to the present, ready to do it all again the next day.
