Hotel d'Angleterre

There is a moment on every Copenhagen trip when you cross Kongens Nytorv and realise the square is essentially a stage set: the Royal Danish Theatre on one side, Charlottenborg's brick on the other, the top of Nyhavn cutting away to the harbour, and, closing the north face in white stucco, the d'Angleterre. It has been in the hospitality business since 1755, when a royal chef and his wife opened a lodging house nearby, and it has been the address for visiting monarchs, opera singers, film crews and Danish families doing something serious ever since.

What matters for a traveller is that the 2013 restoration did not turn the building into a museum. The public rooms are grand but usable — you can sit in the lobby with a coffee and a laptop without feeling watched — and the bedroom stock has been reduced in number and increased in size, which is why ninety-two keys include fifty-five suites. That ratio is unusual even among European grand hotels and it explains the pricing: you are frequently paying for a room with a separate sitting area, not a corridor with a bed in it.

The building and the address

The white neoclassical facade with its balconies and flagpoles dates from the late nineteenth century, but the site's hotel history begins in the mid-eighteenth. The square in front, Kongens Nytorv, was laid out by Christian V in the 1670s and is still the hinge of central Copenhagen: the Metro's M3 and M4 circle line stops beneath it, the pedestrianised Strøget begins a few steps west, and Nyhavn's painted houses are a ninety-second walk east. Amalienborg Palace is ten minutes on foot. If you want to see the historic city without transport, this is the best-placed hotel on our list.

Rooms and suites

Room categories run from Superior doubles at around 25–30 m² through Deluxe rooms and Junior Suites to the large named suites at the front of the building. The palette is consistent — soft greys and creams, pale panelled walls, heavy curtains, marble bathrooms with underfloor heating and, in most categories, a walk-in shower plus a separate tub. Beds are custom-made with Danish linen; the pillow menu is real and worth using if you sleep badly.

• Superior / Deluxe rooms — the rational choice. Ask for a courtyard room if you are a light sleeper; the square is quiet by big-city standards but the theatre crowd and taxis do exist.
• Junior Suites — best value-to-space jump in the building, usually with a seating area and a view down towards Nyhavn or across the square.
• Signature suites — front-facing, balconied, and in December they look directly onto the hotel's famous illuminated facade. Book these eight to ten months ahead for Christmas.

Dining and drinking

Marchal is the hotel's Michelin-starred restaurant, open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, with a French-Nordic kitchen, a terrace onto the square in summer and a room that manages to be formal without being silent. Breakfast here is included in many rates and is the most convincing hotel breakfast in the city: proper Danish rye, cheeses, pastries baked in-house, eggs cooked to order.

Balthazar Champagne Bar occupies a corner of the ground floor and pours a genuinely deep list by the glass — grower Champagnes alongside the grandes marques. It fills after 21:00 and is one of the few places in the old town where a jacket does not feel out of place.

For a change of scene, the smørrebrød lunch counters of the Nyhavn side streets and the fine dining of the Inner Harbour are both walkable; see our dining guide.

Spa, pool and wellness

The below-ground spa is small, stone-lined and calm, with a heated indoor pool, sauna, steam room and treatment rooms. It is not a resort spa and does not pretend to be — the point is a swim and a sauna before dinner in a city where the November light disappears at 16:00. Guests have complimentary access to the pool and fitness room; treatments are booked separately and fill quickly at weekends.

Practicalities

• Check-in 15:00, check-out 12:00; late check-out is often possible outside peak season if requested the night before.
• Valet parking is available at a daily charge — but a car is close to useless in this district. The Metro from Copenhagen Airport to Kongens Nytorv takes roughly 13–15 minutes.
• The concierge desk is a genuine one: theatre tickets, restaurant tables at short notice, and a reliable lost-passport protocol.
• Dogs are accepted in selected categories with prior arrangement.

Indicative pricing

Low-season doubles typically start around DKK 3,900–4,500 (approx. €520–600) per night including breakfast; Junior Suites from roughly DKK 6,500; the largest suites move into five figures. Rates climb sharply during the Christmas illumination period, in mid-summer and around major conferences. Always price directly at the source.