Ascot Hotel

The Ascot Hotel has a simple entrance with a couple of low steps that lead to automatic doors. The lobby can get pretty busy during check-in and check-out times, though there isn't a lot of seating so travelers tend not to linger. Off to one side is a small bar with a TV and an industrial coffeemaker, and guests are welcome to take free tea, coffee, and hot water from here. The spacious breakfast restaurant sits at the back and is home to a pair of iMac computers available for guests' use. A set of double staircases lead up to three floors of rooms, and an elevator takes guests all the way to the top floor. The apartments are located in a separate but interconnected building joined by a solarium-style mini skybridge on the second floor. The Ascot attracts a mix of tourists and business travelers and hosts regular events in its six basement-level meeting spaces.

The Ascot is a centrally located property, a five-minute walk from the Tivoli Gardens and the central railway station. The area has plenty of shops and restaurants, and there's a health food store and a regular supermarket a couple of minutes away on foot. The National Museum is a 10-minute walk away while the Museum of Copenhagen takes 15 minutes to reach on foot. The Little Mermaid statue is about a half-hour away via public transportation, while Freetown Christiania can be reached in about the same amount of time by bus or metro. Getting to the airport takes about 20 minutes by car (traffic permitting) or around a half-hour via train or metro departing from the central station. 

The Ascot offers Single and Double Rooms -- including connecting rooms -- as well as snazzier penthouses and family-friendly apartments with kitchenettes. Decor in most units is simple and not particularly stylish, and includes light-wood furnishings and built-in shelving units that house minibars and electric safes. The color schemes are neutral, with off-white walls, beige drapes, and saffron-hued throw cushions and bed runners. All rooms have small desks and flat-screen TVs. Note that the beds in Double Rooms, while comfortable, are actually two singles pushed together against a headboard. 

Bathrooms vary, but are generally small and have shower-tub combos and limited counter space. Past visitors have reported stale smells in the bathrooms, and fans of miniature hotel toiletries will be disappointed by the wall-mounted dispensers containing hand soap, lotion, and -- in the showers -- a shampoo/body wash combo. Rooms overlook the street or a semi-open courtyard area, the latter of which can be particularly noisy at very early hours of the day due to the sounds of garbage trucks. Hallway noise has also been reported in some rooms. 

Breakfast is served every morning in a large breakfast room and is included in many room rates. The spread is excellent and includes hot items, baked goods, cereals, and juice. Special diets can be accommodated and there's soy milk for vegans and lactose-intolerant guests. The breakfast room also has a baby grand piano and a couple of iMacs with a printer. There's also an Australian restaurant adjacent to the hotel with all kinds of strikingly un-Danish dishes like kangaroo steak, and the hotel offers 24-hour room service. A bar off to one side of the lobby serves drinks and offers free tea and coffee to guests. 

Other features include six small meeting rooms, one of which is behind the breakfast room, which can double as a break-out space. The rest of the meeting spaces are in the basement, where the fitness center is also located -- while there are a few types of cardio and resistance-training machines, there aren't any free weights. Bicycle rentals are available directly from the front desk and there's a luggage storage room for guests to use before check-in or after check-out. Wi-Fi is free throughout the hotel, however, connections can be slow during peak times and guests have to log in every 24 hours.