I have a rule about avoiding hotels near train stations. Noise gets in the way of sleep, and sleep is not something I’m willing to gamble on. So, color me surprised when I broke that rule and booked Amerikalinjen through Amex’s The Hotel Collection, with a room right in front of Oslo Central Station. FHR bookings also come with a handful of standing perks, like a room upgrade when available and guaranteed 4 pm late checkout, worth knowing about if you’re deciding how to book your own stay.

What impressed me most about Amerikalinjen wasn’t the room or the service, though both were good. It was two specific things: the soundproofing and the breakfast.

A Building With a Past

Amerikalinjen isn’t a hotel built to look old. It actually is old. The building went up in 1919 as the headquarters of the Norwegian America Line, the shipping company that carried thousands of Norwegians across the Atlantic in search of a better life in the United States. For decades, this was the building where those journeys started. Tickets were bought here, luggage was checked here, and countless goodbyes happened on this very spot before passengers made their way to the ships.

The hotel opened in 2019, timed to the building’s hundredth anniversary. The renovation kept a lot of the original bones. You’ll still find the grand staircases, the high ceilings, and touches throughout that nod to the building’s maritime past. It gives the whole stay a bit more weight than your average city hotel. You’re not just sleeping somewhere convenient. You’re sleeping in a piece of Oslo’s history.

Location

Amerikalinjen is a two-minute walk from Oslo Central Station. Once you step out of the station, you’ll see the hotel standing off to the left. It’s a very convenient spot. The Oslo Opera House and the Munch Museum are both about a 10-minute walk away, and the Royal Palace is roughly 20 minutes on foot through downtown. If you’d rather not walk, the tram stop is just a few minutes from the hotel and can get you to the National Museum or Oslo City Hall in no time.

If you need to stock up on any necessities, there are also several convenience stores nearby, some open until late.

The Room

Our “Standard” room looked directly out over the busy square below, which is exactly the kind of view that made me nervous going in. But the soundproofing on the windows surprised me. Even with the trains, trams, and foot traffic right outside, the room stayed quiet.

Just inside the door is a large dresser that packs in a surprising amount of storage. One side has a place to hang your coats and clothing, along with an iron, ironing board, and a luggage stand. The slippers tucked in there are some of the best I’ve found in a hotel, soft but sturdy enough to actually hold up for the whole stay, and there’s a shelf up top with robes. The other side of the dresser has a Nespresso machine, electric kettle, tea, wine (extra charge), cups, and glasses, plus a mini fridge, which comes with the usual inflated minibar prices if you use it. At the bottom, there’s a drawer safe.

The bathroom has a decently sized walk-in shower with both a standard and a rain-style showerhead. The body wash, shampoo, and conditioner are from Sprekenhus, a local Oslo brand.

The bed is a queen, set against a tiled mirror wall that makes the room feel bigger than it is. The bedside light has both USB-C and USB-A ports so you can charge your electronics overnight. One fun detail is a Bluetooth speaker built into the room, controlled through a panel on the thermostat. We also found two cookies waiting on the small desk as a welcome treat.

Everything inside felt sturdy and well built, the kind of detail you notice more in an older building than a brand new one.

Facilities

The gym, on the basement level, is open 24 hours and better outfitted than most hotel gyms: modern equipment set over a multi colored wood floor, with greenery visible through the windows thanks to the building’s original layout. The same floor holds a small wellness area with a Finnish sauna and heated mosaic loungers. Worth setting aside twenty minutes for, even if you’re not usually the spa type.

If you’re around on a Friday or Saturday, it’s also worth checking out Club Gustav, the hotel’s basement jazz club named after Gustav Henriksen, the founder of the original Norwegian America Line. It regularly hosts live jazz and is a nice window into what the hotel is going for beyond just being a place to sleep. Keep in mind it’s ticketed separately from your room, so plan if it’s part of the draw for you.

Service

Check-in was smooth from start to finish. We arrived early, around noon, and the front desk was happy to hold our luggage and have it sent up to our room once it was ready. The staff member who checked us in was warm and walked us through the hotel’s amenities without rushing.

The breakfast staff was just as welcoming and quick. There’s not much more to say here. It was good all around, and that consistency matters more than people give it credit for.

Food

Breakfast is served in Atlas, the hotel’s main restaurant, and it’s one of the real highlights of the stay. Because we booked through Amex’s Fine Hotels + Resorts program, breakfast was included for the length of our stay. It’s a buffet with a solid mix of Norwegian and Western staples: smoked salmon, cod spreads, cheeses, cold cuts, pastries, and hot items like bacon and ham. I looked forward to it every morning, and it set us up well no matter what the day had planned. If breakfast isn’t already bundled into your room rate, I’d still pay for it.

We only really used Atlas for breakfast, but it’s worth knowing the hotel has a few other food and drink options if you’re around for other meals. Atlas itself runs Nordic European small plates the rest of the day, Haven is an all-season green garden in the middle of the hotel for something more low-key, and the Little Bakery does its own take on New York style bagels if you want something quick. For drinks, Pier 42 is the hotel’s cocktail bar, named after the New York pier the Norwegian America Line once sailed from, and it’s popular with locals as well as guests.

Bottom Line

This is another property I wouldn’t hesitate to book again. Rooms typically run around $300 a night, which puts it on the higher end. But if you have Amex Platinum hotel credit to put toward it, Amerikalinjen is a strong choice, and one I think you’ll enjoy as much as we did. Just remember that you need a minimum of two nights to get the $300 credit!