Hotel Sanders

Sanders was created by Alexander Kølpin, a former principal of the Royal Danish Ballet, and it shows in the choreography of the place. Nothing announces itself. The entrance on Tordenskjoldsgade is a discreet door behind the Royal Danish Theatre; the lobby is a small lounge with a fire, a bar and a bookcase; the corridors are dim and carpeted; and the rooms feel like they belong to someone with taste who has gone out for the evening.

Materially, it is a specific and consistent argument: rattan, bamboo, brushed and aged brass, hand-glazed tiles, silk velvet, oak herringbone, hand-dyed linen and a lot of warm low light. Where most Copenhagen design hotels go cool and white, Sanders goes warm and layered — closer to a Mayfair townhouse translated into Danish grammar. For two people on a long weekend in February, it is possibly the most comfortable room in the city.

Location: the theatre block

You are in the Nikolaj/theatre quarter: Nyhavn is a two-minute walk, Kongens Nytorv three, the harbour front and the Royal Playhouse five, and the pedestrian spine of Strøget under ten. Tordenskjoldsgade itself is a side street with almost no through traffic, which means the hotel is central without being in the middle of anything. The Metro at Kongens Nytorv connects to the airport in about fifteen minutes.

Rooms and suites

Fifty-four keys spread across a converted block, in categories that run small to generous:

• Cosy — genuinely compact (think 14–16 m²). Beautiful, but only if you are out all day and travelling light.
• Charming / Lovely — the sweet spot for two people and two suitcases, most with a seating chair and a proper desk.
• Junior and Terrace Suites — larger sitting areas, and in the terrace categories a private outdoor space that is genuinely usable from May to September.
• Balcony rooms — a handful look towards the theatre rooftops; ask specifically at booking, they are not guaranteed by category alone.

Bathrooms are small-to-medium, tiled in hand-glazed green or cream, with marble basins and the hotel's own toiletries. Beds are excellent. Blackout is effective. Air conditioning exists but Copenhagen summers rarely test it.

Eating, drinking and the conservatory

Sanders Kitchen runs all day from breakfast into the evening, with a menu that leans Mediterranean-Danish: good eggs and rye in the morning, sharing plates and a short wine list later. Breakfast is not always included in the rate — check before you book, because it is worth having.

TATA is the intimate bar off the lobby, dark and low-ceilinged, with a cocktail list that takes itself moderately seriously and a crowd that is half guests, half Copenhageners.

The rooftop conservatory — a glass-walled garden room at the top of the building — is the reason many people book. It is a small space with plants, low seating and a bar, open seasonally and often reservable only for guests at certain hours. Ask reception on arrival what the current access policy is; it changes with the season and with private hire.

Service and atmosphere

The front desk is small and unusually good at the informal part of the job: a table at short notice, a taxi at 05:30, an umbrella that never comes back. There is no spa, no pool and no gym of any consequence — this is a hotel that has decided what it is not. Dogs are welcomed in most categories, and the lounge is one of the few hotel lounges in Copenhagen where a guest can sit all afternoon with a laptop and nobody minds.

Indicative pricing

Low-season doubles typically start around DKK 2,200–2,600 (approx. €295–350); mid-size categories sit around DKK 3,000–3,800; suites from roughly DKK 5,000. Rates rise in May–June and across December weekends. Direct booking usually beats the aggregators here because the hotel controls its own inventory closely.