Step inside and guests walk into an aesthetic of understated affluence.The Park Lane hotel/Supplied
It’s not that the pillows stacked on the bed in my room at Copenhagen’s Park Lane Hotel were inadequate. They were what you’d expect at a five-star: plentiful, sumptuous and filled with goose-down. But after checking in and setting down my suitcase, I noticed a “pillow menu” and it felt foolish to not order from it.
There was a cooling pillow, one filled with microbeads designed to “reduce wrinkles and relieve tension,” another made with memory foam and infused with essential oils, and a butterfly-shaped number offering “the ultimate neck and facial support.”
A few minutes after sending a request to the front desk, a member of the staff appeared at my door to deliver the butterfly pillow. This Princess and the Pea-esque offering was one of the many luxe touches at Park Lane that made my stay feel like an indulgent country escape, despite being just north of Copenhagen city centre.
My stay felt like an indulgent country escape, despite the hotel being just north of Copenhagen city centre.The Park Lane hotel/Supplied
Why you should visit
Park Lane reopened earlier this year after an extensive renovation. The 69-room hotel is in Hellerup, the ultraposh neighbourhood some refer to as the Beverly Hills of Denmark. When the concierge led me down the hallway to our room, he paused in front of a window. He pointed to a street below, Hambros Alle, which he identified as having the most expensive real estate in Denmark. During a walk down some of the residential streets in the neighbourhood, we saw what that wealth looked like: orange roses trained to climb arches, carefully trimmed hedges with leaves so glossy they looked polished by hand, every luxury sedan gleaming like it had just returned from the carwash.
That aesthetic of understated affluence was present at Park Lane, too. The lobby’s rich, muted hues resembled a box of artisanal chocolates: the elegant dark wood walls contrasted with the earthy marble floors. Recessed light under the brass concierge desk cast a warm, sophisticated glow. On a tour of some of the larger suites which had been converted from ballrooms, I saw intricate chandeliers and ceiling medallions, both tastefully restored, hanging overhead. From the elevator to the hallways, the hotel smelled good and expensive – maybe owing to its newness, its moneyed clientele or the Acqua di Parma toiletries stocked in every bathroom.
The room we stayed in had a moody, neutral palette.The Park Lane hotel/Supplied
We stayed in one of the more economical deluxe rooms where the moody, neutral palette continued: an oatmeal-coloured upholstered headboard, grey wallpaper, wide-plank wood floors and black nightstands and tables. The bathroom was tiny but the design team did not skimp on the fixtures and finishes, all of which were upscale. The sink was carved right into the stone counter, with a brushed-metal faucet positioned on its left side (usually this space-saving installation is annoying and messy to use but Park Lane’s version was well-executed).
At night, with the heavy slate-coloured window coverings drawn closed and many well-placed lamps turned on to cast an amber glow, the small but polished room became a warm cocoon. In the mornings, we’d open the doors of the Juliet balcony to let the sunshine and birdsong flood into the room and the space transformed. Our suite faced the a beautifully manicured sanctuary of old-growth trees, grassy fields, weathered sculptures and a few pieces of interactive public art, and it felt like we were far from Copenhagen’s hustle and bustle.
Each morning we sat down in the plush seating at Restaurant 2900 for breakfast, included in our stay. The five-course feast would make Marie Antoinette go, “Hmm, this seems excessive”: croissants, yogurt, Iberico ham, smoked salmon, smoothie bowls, fried asparagus, French omelets, sweet and savoury waffles, feta-watermelon salad and caviar were all on the menu.
A variety of dishes were on the breakfast menu at Restaurant 2900.The Park Lane hotel/Supplied
Room for improvement
The hotel plans to open an upscale spa and gym in the basement at the end of 2026. During our stay, the conference room was converted to a makeshift exercise room with weights, a few machines and a stack of towels. Sure, the cardio machines faced the park, but my husband noted it was so tight and sparse that it would’ve been uncomfortable if anyone else arrived in the middle of his workout. If you want to get some cardio in, you’d be better off borrowing one of the hotel’s cruiser bikes and taking it out for a spin.
Since you’re in the neighbourhood
Public libraries are seldom on urban tourist itineraries but it would be a shame to skip the Gentofte Library, located beside the hotel and the lovely garden. It’s a stunning, futuristic building that feels like an art museum filled with bookshelves. The airy, sunshine-filled gathering area off the main entrance is the perfect place to enjoy a cortado and map out the day’s itinerary before you head south into the city centre.
The Park Lane hotel/Supplied
The takeaway
On this trip, we spent much of our time in the city centre: checking out Vilhelm Hammershoi’s moody paintings in private galleries, browsing Danish-designed housewares in upscale department stores and taking a constellation of trains and buses to pick up swoon-worthy cardamom buns and strawberry tarts at Copenhagen’s best bakeries. In Copenhagen, like so many European metropolises, if you’re able-bodied, it’s difficult to log fewer than 20,000 steps a day. And so it was a delight, after those long and tiring days, to return to the relative quiet of Hellerup and kick up our feet.
- Park Lane Copenhagen is about 20 minutes by taxi or 35 minutes by transit from the downtown core. Rooms start around $435 in low season. parklanecph.com
The writer was a guest of Welcome Copenhagen. It did not review or approve the story before publication.