Norefjell Ski & Spa

We have visited this place before, and was looking forward to a full summer week of outdoor fun for the kids combined with nice restaurant dinners and spa treatments. The nature and surrounding area is great, even for a summer stay, with a small constructed lake for swimming and canoeing, some farm animals and great hiking opportunities. The indoor pool is not great, but it's okay. This was our first experience with the large apartments in front of the main hotel building. It was nice to have amenities like a washing machine and tumble dryer, but next time (if it ever happens) we'll definitely go back to the suites. The apartment felt worn down, kitchen appliances were out of order and over all the kitchen was not very well stacked. "Never mind", I said, "we're not going to cook ourselves anyway". Man, was I mistaken! This time visiting the restaurant I got the feeling that there was not a single real chef operating the kitchen, only waiters heating pre-made food in microwaves and oil fryers! (Yes, the "barbequed sausage" from the kids menu came out looking like it was a hundred years old. I was told it was because they prepared it in the oil fryer. That's a first. Why would you want to throw a grill sausage in the oil fryer, unless it is because it is easier than barbequing it? Especially when it makes the thing look really gross...). My first suspicion that not everything was going all great in the kitchen, was when I read in the menu that no fish og shellfish could be removed from the fish soup. I was actually considering it, and being allergic to shellfish I almost always get accommodated when asking to remove mussels and clams. Unless the soup is pre-made. So yeah, I should have seen the rest coming. The whole dinner party of 11 was served cold meat or fish (except for the greasy, not-grilled barbequed sausage which was so oiling hot that it should've come with a warning), and sloppy vegetables – also cold (intended, according to the waiter). The tiramisu dessert was served with frozen (straight-from-the-freezer-cold) forrest berries, and not the local strawberries from the menu. Apparently is was to prevent the ice cream from melting, said the waiter. But the tiramisu did not come with any ice cream, not in the menu and not on the plate. The creme brulée was served with a large scoop of passionfruit sorbe, that was not only a strange and pretty poor match, but it was thrown right on top of the creme brulee, softening and chilling the hot layer of crunchy caramel – and of course melting and mixing in, making the whole dessert into porridge a few minutes in. Stop whining about petty details, you think? Maybe. But when charging prices on gourmet restaurant level and doing a x4 surcharge on wines (we ordered a few bottles of a wine we regularly enjoy from our local Vinmonopolet, so I know what it costs) I expect better. I dont mind paying good money for good food, but I get a little grumpy when I pay a lot for microwave-dinners and sausages that have been swimming in frying oil. So, instead of a holiday with nice evening visits to the restaurant, we ended up with a week of fast food from the pizza-place on the 1.st floor and taking trips to Noresund for home cooking. No spa treatments either, as I was not able to get in touch with the spa-reception by phone. Tried calling them for a whole day, then leaving a note in the main hotel reception. In the end I failed to confirm a back massage, as I was unable to reach them – again – for a full day. With the restaurant experience fresh in mind I was kind of indifferent. We enjoyed the outdoor area, and the children loved the animals. But we ended up leaving one day before scheduled.

We spent 5 days at this amazing resort. The suite was spacious and modern and the view fantastic. We enjoyed the nature, spa, riding for our grandchildren and walks in the surrounding terrain. The spa was magnificent and service impeccable.

Stay away!!!! Words are hard to find when expressing how horrible this place is. The rooms are tiny and without air-conditioning and the bed was like a hammock. The bathroom is cramped and lacks ventilation. There is no minibar and no room service. The reception was unwilling to make a dinner reservation for us when we asked. The food in the ala carte restaurant is horrendous, the worst we have been served in 20 years, and had to be sent back and there is not even a salad on the tiny menu. They even seem to have watered out the only decent single malt they had in the bar. The scrambled eggs were made from powder, and the pancakes too. The property suffers from poor maintenance and lack of a passionate leader's eye. By the way, not once did we spot an executive. It seems like the place is left to summer interns during high season. The walls are thin and the floors are far from solid. Any motion next door or above will wake you up with a jolt. Of course you get what you pay for, but the fact that they claim 4 stars fooled us to stay for a night. I strongly recommend that you turn around and find another authentic nice place somewhere in the region.

Crowded resort. Nice and well maintained property, but very much a disappointment versus price and quality. Did not get the feeling of being a guest. Service is kind of not existing. Feels like a huge assembly line more than a quality resort. Food is expensive and the quality mediocre. 210 kroner for a 0.6 liter draft beer. Soggy pizzas for four people above 800 kroner. Because of COVID you have to preorder everything. We stayed three nights in a large suite for four people; the room was not serviced during the stay; not even clean towels or toilet paper delivered. Access to the wellness are is additional 300 per person. The best thing with our stay was to spend time outdoors enjoying the phenomenal surrounding nature, eating quality food outside the resort. Would not recommend this place except for families with small children (and it was tons of them already). Unfortunately this resort will probably still survive and deliver average experiences without service to an unreasonable high cost. The location and facilities deserves a higher service atmosphere! Next time we will spend our money at a more authentic quality hotel with a soul and service atmosphere - avoiding the feeling being ripped off.

Our stay was during the Covid-pandemic and the restrictions needed did affect the quality of the stay. That being said, the location and views are beautiful. The hotel is peaceful and pretty well organised. The Covid-restrictions were most notable in the spa and during meals. However the suite we stayed in had a good kitchen, so we made our own meals after the first day.