I just spent a night at the 38-room Nimb Hotel Copenhagen, which belongs to Small Luxury of the World (SLH). This is even part of SLH’s Hilton Honors collaboration, so I actually booked this stay with a Hilton Honors free night award, when the cash rate would’ve been around $1,000.
I’ve gotta say, I’ve been fascinated by this hotel for a long time, and have been curious to check it out. After all, this is a luxury hotel inside an amusement park, with a very unusual theme (it’s a Moorish-style white palace). So what’s going on here, and is this property all it’s cracked up to be? In this post I’d like to share some initial thoughts, and then soon I’ll have a full review.
In this post:
Nimb Hotel Copenhagen is a luxury hotel in an amusement park
Nimb Hotel is located right in the center of Copenhagen. It’s literally across the street from the main train station, so you can’t beat the convenience of getting there (even if the area around a train station typically isn’t considered very desirable in most cities).
I was confused as I approached the hotel — what is this façade?! This is a luxury hotel?
You see, this gets at how quirky the Nimb Hotel Copenhagen is. It’s located on the property of Tivoli Gardens, which is a theme park right in the middle of Copenhagen. So staying at the hotel gives you access to the theme park. You don’t typically think of a city’s best luxury hotel as being within a theme park, but… well… welcome to Copenhagen!
The hotel’s iconic exterior is actually what you see from inside Tivoli Gardens, and not from the street. Here’s the catch, though — I stayed in February, and Tivoli Gardens is actually closed in the winter, so the main selling point of this property doesn’t apply during those months (you’re not even allowed to walk into Tivoli Gardens without an escort from the hotel, as construction work is done during these periods). But that didn’t stop me from enjoying this property immensely.
Nimb Hotel Copenhagen has beautiful and quirky facilities
The theme of Nimb Hotel Copenhagen is fascinating, because in areas, it looks like a pretty typical, unremarkable luxury hotel, like in the lobby area.
The rooms are nice enough, with a quirky design. I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite aesthetic in the world, but it fits for the theme.
Meanwhile some of the hotel’s facilities are astonishingly impressive. For example, for a 38-room property, I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a good gym.
For that matter, the overall spa facility is beautiful, including a relaxation area, hammam, and more.
The hotel also has a rooftop pool, though unfortunately it was closed for the season during my visit.
Nimb Hotel Copenhagen has amazing food & drinks
Nimb Hotel Copenhagen is a dining destination even among those who aren’t hotel guests, with great service and ambiance across the board. Nimb Brasserie is the hotel’s main fine dining restaurant, overlooking Tivoli Gardens, and I had a delicious (solo) dinner here. How beautiful is this room?!
For example, for my main course, I had the halibut en croûte, with fennel, cabbage shoots, trout roe, and champagne sauce, which was incredible.
Adjacent to that is Nimb American Bar (maybe soon to be renamed?), basically the hotel’s all-day bar and lounge area, and it’s also where breakfast is served.
I enjoyed breakfast immensely. For one, this included excellent barista coffee.
Then there was a small but very high quality buffet to choose from, with excellent fruit and yogurt, freshly baked pastries, cold cuts, and more. Yum.
This could then be complemented by a selection from the menu. I opted for the Arabic omelet, which has to be one of the best egg dishes I’ve ever had. It was so flavorful (and spicy)!
Lastly, there’s Nimb Bar, the hotel’s main bar, which also has a very cool vibe.
The cocktail selection here is incredibly imaginative, with each signature cocktail being unlike anything I’ve seen anywhere else. For example, I had the Mystic Megalith, which had everything from moss, to aloe vera, to lemon, to maple syrup, to clarified milk, without tasting like any of those things.
Nimb Hotel Copenhagen has incredible attention to detail
I think what impressed me most about Nimb Hotel Copenhagen was the attention to detail, and all the little inclusions. For example, all non-alcoholic drinks and snacks in the minibar are included with the stay.
I can’t say how excited I was when I saw toiletries from Oman-based Amouage, which has my favorite cologne in the world. I’ve never seen them used for hotel toiletries before, so I loved that, and it fit nicely into the hotel’s Arab theme.
Similarly, I thought it was adorable how at turndown service, the snack offered was dates, still very much leaning into that same theme.
There were just so many little touches that I appreciated, like a lemon being placed next to the bed with turndown service, with the suggestion of boiling water and having some lemon to support digestion, etc.
Bottom line
I visited Nimb Hotel Copenhagen during the dead of winter, and had an amazing stay. I absolutely want to return, though ideally closer to summer, when all of the hotel’s facilities are open, and access to Tivoli Gardens is available. If I enjoyed my stay this much during winter, I can only imagine how much fun it would be in summer… and in particular, I know it’s a hotel our kids would enjoy.
Unlike so many other luxury hotels, Nimb Hotel Copenhagen doesn’t fit into a box, where you can easily say “XYZ is the reason this is a good luxury hotel.” Instead, this hotel just has such an unusual and unique theme that you can’t help but be fascinated, with excellent execution across the board.
When you add in great dining and very nice facilities, I’d highly recommend this property. This is a phenomenal use of a Hilton free night award,
What do you make of Nimb Hotel Copenhagen?
FYI there are quite a few bars in Europe called the "American Bar". It's because the whole idea of a cocktail was popularized by Americans during Prohibition (to water down the bootleg liquor) and when this was brought to Europe the description came with it.
I think the best two are Nimb and d'Angleterre. What is nice is how different they are, so there's "something for everyone." The former is quirky, fun, and the suites are fantastic. The latter is a bit stuffy but is historically the best in the city, and I think has the best location. I know you were at Nimb in the dead of winter, but something to note is that it can be really noisy in summer since they do so many events/concerts/fireworks etc. right there.
@Ben: "I can’t say how excited I was when I saw toiletries from Oman-based Amouage, which has my favorite cologne in the world." So which one is your favorite cologne from Amouage?
if you want to step out of big chains, another great hotel right next to Nimb is Villa Copenhagen. It's in an old refurbished post office (or something like that).
Great use of FNC. The addition of the SLH properties and the ability to use those certificates for standard awards there is a major enhancement of the Hilton program. Copenhagen is a lovely city. Glad you had a nice visit!
We were there in October and the park opened after our first night with the Halloween theme. The cinnamon pastries at breakfast were off the charts. Loved all the nibbles that were left and open minibar. Wished we still had some of their great snacks. Staff were always helpful and remembered your favorites and names. The location is great and Copenhagen was filled with great museums and incredible restaurants. We want to go back soon.