Review of Hotel d'Angleterre Copenhagen

Hotel d’Angleterre is located at Kongens Nytorv in the heart of Copenhagen, neighbouring colourful Nyhavn, the Royal Theatre and Kongens Have (The King’s Garden).  Within walking distance are popular attractions such as the Royal Palace of Amalienborg, the Tivoli Gardens and The Little Mermaid. Other experiences include the canal district of Christianshavn or world-famous Freetown Christiania. The longest pedestrianised shopping street in Europe, Stoget, is located next to the property with a variety of shopping, dining and historic buildings to explore. 

The hotel is just 14.5 kilometres from Copenhagen Kastrup Airport (CPH); 40 kilometres from Roskilde Airport (RKE) and three kilometres from Osterport Rail Station. 

For local drivers, there is valet parking and guests may take advantage of the hotel’s custom d’Angleterre bicycles to explore the city.

With 37 guest rooms and 55 suites, no two rooms are the same at this historic hotel which enjoyed a complete renovation in 2013. Every room enjoys a luxurious and pared down neutrally Nordic colour palette mixing the classic elegant style with touches of Danish modernity. Textures are layered artfully with velvets, brocades, marble, hardwood floors, studded upholstered headboards and sweeping curtains. 

Rooms offer grand modern bathrooms with Amazing Space Spa bathroom amenities, individual state of the art in room climate control and the very latest entertainment systems. Other amenities include international newspapers; Bang & Olufsen 40 – 42 inch televisions with satellite channels, films on demand and a media hub; minibars; Nespresso machines; kettles and safes with an appliance charger. 

Guest rooms are sized at 25 square metres to 35 square metres and feature luxurious king or twin sized beds, large marble bathrooms with separate showers and tubs in some rooms. The Junior Suites are larger of course at 40 – 45 square metres - with views of either the beautiful Kongens Nytorv square, the calm side street of Hovedvagtsgade or the cosy backyard of the hotel. Sized at anything from 50 square metres of space up to 400 square metres for the largest configuration of the Royal Suite, the premium suites – The d’Angleterre Suite and The Royal Suite, also feature beautiful flower arrangements, Champagne and welcome amenities. Several pay homage to the most famous Danish authors and artists including Hans Christian Andersen, Karen Blixen and Thoraldsen. 

The Royal Suite (250 square metres) offers gilded panelling, plush carpeting, lavish fabrics and furnishings and glittering chandeliers with stunning views of the centre of Copenhagen from the spacious balcony. Featuring a master bedroom with a grand en-suite, a stately living room and a private dining room, this is in all senses of the word, a majestic, opulent space. It can be combined with the rest of the first floor to accommodate additional guests transforming it into a 400 square metre space and the biggest presidential suite in Copenhagen.  Royal Suite guests are also offered complimentary airport transfers, fresh fruit, homemade chocolates and a bottle of house Champagne.

The Amazing Space d’Angleterre spa is cool, calm and collected – a serene ambiance to provide a tranquil environment for mind, body and soul with healthy drinks on tap, relaxing music playing and the scents of aromatherapy oils and exotic flowers heavy on the air. 

There are more than 15 experienced therapists offering holistic organic treatments that take inspiration from Asian spa traditions with a touch of Nordic magic. The brainchild of award-winning spa owner Laura Bonné, this is Amazing Space’s flagship space tailoring the perfect treatment programmes based on personal needs, goals and desires in five treatment rooms, a traditional Nordic sauna with dry heat, an aromatherapy steam room and a relaxing lounge area. 

The spa also offers a stunning heated indoor pool measuring 10 x 12 metres – the only indoor hotel swimming pool in the urban centre. There are also mani-pedis, hair styling and makeup sessions available. The fitness area offers a wide range of TechnoGym equipment. 

Copenhagen is a wonderful place to explore and the concierge team at the Hotel d’Angleterre have pulled together some exceptional experiences for their guests. These range from visits to Schackenborg Castle, the second home of HRH Prince Joachim; to Gisselfeld Monastery dating from the 14th century; flying seaplanes at Rosenholm Castle or lunching in the great hall of the Gyldenholm Estate. Guests may also take cooking classes Danish style nearby the hotel, enjoy architecture tours of the city, take a VIP distillery tour or sail away on the Ocean Saloon – just some of the treats on offer.

For those who prefer to shop, the hotel offers the services of a personal shopper.

There is a permanence at the Hotel d’Angleterre that is rare these days. Still privately owned, the property is over 260 years old and yet is awash with new technology: a chic pared-back classic Nordic designed interior, a simply stunning spa and owners keenly aware of its environmental footprint. It has moved location slightly, been rebuilt a couple of times, been occupied by foreign powers and has had a clutch of sensitive owners but the property is still imbued with that passion for excellence that came from the original founders in the mid-1700s, Mr and Mrs Marchal.

Often referred to as one of the best restaurants in Copenhagen, the Michelin starred Marchal, is destination dining at its best. Opening in 2013 and winning the star the year after, an award kept ever since, this luxuriously appointed and chicly elegant space offers a modern French menu with a Nordic twist. With the restaurant’s name honouring the founders of the restaurant which eventually evolved into the Hotel d’Angleterre as we know it today, the tradition of fusing passion and culinary art continues to be at the core of the food and drink offerings. 

Open for all day dining, the kitchen is run by acclaimed Executive Chef, Jakob de Neergaard, one of Denmark’s best and most experienced exponents of French Michelin cuisine. The restaurant spreads out onto a terrace and sidewalk of Kongens Nytorv in the spring and summer months for al fresco dining. Marchal’s Wine Room provides the perfect private dining venue. 

With this property having England in its name, Afternoon Tea is of course taken very seriously here albeit given its own special twist. Working with Krug champagne, the hotel has reinterpreted the classic English Afternoon Tea with some unusual and eclectic choices reflecting the Nordic roots of the hotel. It is served in the beautiful high ceilinged Gallery Hall under glittering chandeliers on the finest “Emperor’s Garden” china from Furstenberg. 

The highly popular Sunday Brunch is another d’Angleterre tradition. Based on the very best produce seasonally available, a sumptuous buffet of classic dishes vies with innovative dishes, served alongside champagne. Expect anything from Gillardeau oysters to American pancakes with maple syrup and scrambled eggs with organic bacon. 

The smartly contemporary Balthazar Champagne Bar serves more than 160 different champagne varieties, champagne cocktails and classic concoctions and martinis. Located on the corner of the d’Angleterre and facing the streets of inner Copenhagen lending an urban vibe to the venue, the bar is named for the 12-litre champagne bottle. Balthazar is first and foremost about celebrating champagne with signature cocktails such as Downton Abbey, classics like an Espresso Martini accompanied by sophisticated tapas style snacks and a caviar service. With an almost monotone palette and a classically pared-down aesthetic, enlivened by purple velvet banquettes accompanied by a DJ deck on the weekend, this is a very sophisticated and vibrant venue. 

Maison d’Angleterre was created from the desire to bring the gastronomic cuisine and rarefied taste experiences of Marchal beyond the walls of the hotel and out onto the streets of Copenhagen. Maison is stocked daily with freshly baked cakes, pastries and other refined goodies from talented pastry chef Freja Krarup and they can be enjoyed either inhouse or at home, carefully placed in one of Maison’s special cake boxes. 

Year around and seasonal products can be found on Maison’s glass shelves and include homemade jams, pickled onion peels, truffles, Bornholm cold-pressed rapeseed oil, Rossini Caviar Gold Selection and Hotel d’Angleterre gin.

The Hotel d’Angleterre is committed to strengthening its environmental profile and to that end, has installed district cooling, delivered from Copenhagen Energy’s large district cooling central in Adelgade in the centre of town. By changing the old uninsulated windows and replacing them with triple glazed windows as well as establishing a completely new roof, the entire building has become energy efficient. 

Furthermore, all windows are equipped with automatic canopies that come out when the sun is shining directly at the building so the need for cooling the building is hugely decreased. In the kitchen of the hotel, three 1,500 litre / 330 gallon bio tanks convert all food waste to biogas which decreases the hotel’s CO2 with 11 tons per year and is equivalent to 26.5 kw hours.

All light bulbs at the hotel are gradually being replaced with LED bulbs and sensors in the corridors and offices switch off lights when no movement is detected.