Review: Villa Copenhagen
Copenhagen’s newest grande dame is a buzzy landmark property with the city’s finest private art collection
TLDR: Why stay at Villa Copenhagen?
Come for Villa Copenhagen’s ultra-convenient location, stay for… everything else. Seriously. Scandi-chic interiors and an envy-inspiring contemporary art collection? Check. Heated rooftop pool overlooking the historic facade, just steps away from a traditional Nordic sauna? Check. In-house bakery run by a Noma alum, turning out cardamom buns that practically melt in your mouth? Check. Villa Copenhagen truly has it all. Just book it – and you can thank us later.
Read on for our full Villa Copenhagen review, covering our first impressions, along with detailed reviews of the guest rooms, surroundings, service, food and drink, amenities and more.
Villa Copenhagen review at-a-glance
- Address: Tietgensgade 35-39, 1704 Copenhagen, Denmark
- Location: Highly walkable, easy access to public transit
- A few steps from Central Station, København H metro & Tivoli Gardens
- 10 minutes on foot from Vesterbro’s trendy restaurants & bars
- 30 minutes (or less) on foot to most main tourist attractions
- Price: Rooms start from $340 | Book your stay
- Don’t miss: Rooftop pool & sauna circuit, the multimillion-dollar art collection
- Best for: Stylish-yet-approachable weekend warriors, decadent hotel breakfast connoisseurs
Set the scene: Give us your first impressions
After a red-eye from Chicago and a short, 18-minute train ride from the airport, we stumbled onto the platform at Copenhagen’s Central Station and wound our way to the nearest exit.
Exactly 5 minutes and a half-block’s walk later, we arrived in Villa Copenhagen’s airy, light-filled lobby. We were surrounded by stylish strangers lounging on plush velvet banquettes and sipping midafternoon cocktails – a sorry contrast with our bleary eyes and jet-lagged brains.
Lucky for us, our room was ready right away. Within a few minutes, we had showered, closed the blackout curtains, and snuggled up under the Swedish-style down duvets for a short nap.
Tell us about the rooms. How did you sleep?
Our room was small but well-appointed, with herringbone hardwood floors, chic bubble glass light fixtures, and an arched dormer window overlooking the courtyard. It’s also clear that no detail was overlooked during the design process.
From clever under-the-bed storage to motion-activated low lights in the bathroom to the oh-so-Scandinavian fir and pine-scented bath products, every design choice reinforced the brand’s commitment to “conscious luxury.”
Notably, our room was also extremely quiet – no small feat for a property with 390 rooms and with such close proximity to the train station. Thankfully, it seems sound-proofing was a priority during the latest renovations.
What’s the surrounding area like?
Villa Copenhagen is located across the street from Tivoli Gardens and a short walk from trendy Vesterbro’s many bars and restaurants (we loved Sanchez for tacos and margs and Mother for pizza and spritzes). For more design-forward recs, check out our Copenhagen city guide.
Most major tourist attractions (think Nyhavn Harbor’s colorful houses and Rosenborg Castle’s crown jewels) are within a 30 minute radius by foot. København H metro station is also nearby, offering fast connections throughout the city.
Those making the pilgrimage to Louisiana – the renowned modern art museum located 35 kilometers north of central Copenhagen – will also appreciate the proximity to Central Station, where northbound trains depart every 15 minutes for Humlebæk Station.
How was the service?
The service at Villa Copenhagen is perfectly pleasant. Hotel staff are neither overbearing, nor inattentive. All of our needs were met promptly and professionally, but without the over-the-top bending-over-backwards typical of other luxury hotels.
Tell us about the food and drink options.
Each morning, we moseyed down to the former mail sorting room for breakfast, where we were greeted by a lavish spread of pastries, eggs, meats, fruits, coffees and specialty juices. Don’t sleep on the cardamom buns, a Scandinavian staple baked fresh by the property’s in-house bakery, Rug. If you’re anything like us, you’ll even be tempted to stash a few in your bag for an afternoon snack.
There are plenty of other options for onsite dining, too. The Courtyard Bar serves up all-day light bites, coffee and cocktails (we visited for nightcaps and desserts on more than one occasion), with first-come, first-served seating. Other options include Brasserie Kontrast (which serves a farm-to-table dinner menu each night) and T37 Sharing Bar (which offers exactly what you’d guess – shared plates).
On a scale from 1 to heavenly, how do the amenities stack up?
Villa Copenhagen’s crown jewel? The heated rooftop lap pool, with its stunning views of the hotel’s historic facade (and apparently one of only a handful of outdoor pools in Copenhagen). Fair warning, though – while the pool is heated, it’s not hot tub-hot; you’ll want to keep moving (or spend a few minutes in the sauna, which is a few steps away, before jumping in) to stay warm during the winter.
Note that pool use is by appointment only; all hotel customers are entitled to up to 60 minutes of pool time per day as part of their room rate. So before you don your bathrobe and head for the pool, make sure that you’ve booked a time slot with the front desk.
Anything else we should know?
Art and design lovers will appreciate the property’s art collection, thoughtfully curated by Sune Nordgren. Perhaps most striking is Jaume Plensa’s (Spanish, b. 1955) larger-than-life bronze sculpture, Minna’s Words, which is suspended from the lobby’s glass ceiling. Works on paper by Per Kirkeby (Danish, 1938-2018) and Ian McKeever (British, b. 1946), among many others, round out the eclectic private collection.
The verdict: Would you stay at Villa Copenhagen again?
Definitely. In fact, less than a year after our first stay, we made a return visit during a 24-hour layover with friends in Copenhagen. Our traveling companions were so smitten with “The Villa” that one friend even made their own return pilgrimage a few months later. Book your stay.
More Copenhagen tips, tricks & recs
- Design diary: Copenhagen for field notes on the city’s art and design scene
- City guide: Copenhagen for design lovers for design-forward recs for where to stay, eat, drink, explore & shop
For even more travel recs for the design-obsessed, subscribe to Armchair Traveler on Substack.
