SAS Royal Hotel, Copenhagen

After living in Sweden for almost a year, we finally got in a trip across the bridge to Copenhagen in October. We decided to make the most of the occasion (and had a well timed travel credit voucher burning a hole in my pocket) and stayed a night in the city. I booked us into the Radisson Collection Royal Hotel, or as it’s better known in design-history terms, the SAS Royal Hotel — the world’s first design hotel, and a true icon of Danish modernism. Designed by Arne Jacobsen in 1960, it was Copenhagen’s first skyscraper, and still one of my favourite landmarks today. Every detail inside was designed by Arne Jacobsen — including his famous Swan and Egg chairs designed especially for the hotel. We stayed in a standard collection room with a mulberry upholstered Swan chair and the classic AJ wall lamps.

The hotel underwent a big renovation in 2018, and most of the original features are now updated or gone completely, with the exception of one room which remains completely unchanged since 1960. We were lucky enough to visit Room 606, the Arne Jacobsen Suite, and see it in person! All of the textiles are a soft sea-foam green — from the chairs and sofas, to the bedding, and the divider curtain that screens off the sleeping space from the sitting area. There are no pillows on the beds… supposedly because Jacobsen wanted a sleek profile that mimicked the skyscraper shape, and to allow guests to order their own pillow from a menu shortly after check-in.

A lit make-up counter pops up from the counter bank, a Drop chair seated in front of it - and the Egg chair across from the counter rumoured to be where Arne liked to sit to watch his wife prepare for the day. Standing ash trays are part of the decor (Jacobsen was rarely seen without his smoking pipe) and other details - like the moulded timber waste-paper bin - blend into the room. Room 606 is such a special time capsule of design history! Guests can request a tour of the room anytime depending on availability; so if you’re in Copenhagen and staying at the Radisson Royal, I highly recommend scheduling a time for a visit.

Radisson Collection Hotel, Royal Copenhagen
Hammerichsgade 1
Copenhagen, Denmark