Hotel berhampiran Raufoss Kirke, Vestre Toten

Came with no expectations, but the hostel delivered good quality for money - and the view from Hovdetun was super. There was tennis courts and a nice outdoor pond to bath in with lots of opportunities for families. The breakfast was, even though it was way smaller than you get at a hotel, the best on our summer journey. Homemade scrambled eggs topped it - and possibilities to get exactly what you want at any time. The rooms though was a little bit disappointing. Lived in a small cabin, with limited possibilities for fresh air, and a bathroom that needed refurbishing. The receptionist when we came were polite and nice, and gave us a great end to our trip to Gjøvik!

So this is like any other conferencehotel, some of the rooms are quite old, and some of them are nice, you get what you pay for. Conference lunch was just OK, breakfast OK after Norwegian standard, big plus for the waffle iron. The dinner at the pi (3,14) rooftop restaurant was the big plus here. Nice view and fresh air, after a day at the conference. A hour in the spa, was also a nice treat!

I spent a few weeks at Grand in November and December, and I could not be more pleased with my stay. If you are going to visit Gjøvik Grand is the perfect place to stay. It’s a short walk from the rail- and bus station, and once settled in your room you live in the heart of what can be called the “restaurant district” of Gjøvik. The hotel is connected to Egons, but I recommend experiencing the restaurants and cafes close by. Within a few minutes’ walk you can eat Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, Italian, Turkish, Indian, and Spanish and Latin food, and the hotel also offers a great evening meal! Grand offers both breakfast and an evening meal included in the stay. Having experienced evening meals in other hotels I did not expect much and I was very pleasantly surprised. The evening meal is a full dinner with usually two options where soup is a constant. The food tastes great. I had the best Boeuf Bourguignon at Grand! It is a clearly a big advantage that the hotel has their own chiefs, since the quality is consistent. In addition there is “fika” with Norwegian waffles every afternoon. They taste good. I was very pleased with my room. Bed was comfortable and big plus with the two armchairs. Great pillows! I also had a very nice bathroom. Housekeeping is not daily for visitors that stay for more than a night, but you inform the front desk when you want to have your room taken care of. The staff is very friendly and I have only good things to say about their service level. There was always a “good morning” and a friendly face. In addition to being close to other restaurants it is also close by the stores downtown and to the shopping centre CC Gjøvik. Before heading to the shopping centre I recommend to see what the individual and independent stores have to offer.