Recommendation Remains

After having stayed at the Diplomat Hotel many times in the 1990's, on a return to Stockholm we decided to try the hotel again. The location on the harbor remains a reason alone to stay here. Renovations continue, and the hotel continues to transform into a boutique hotel. The problem was and is that the rooms are of various sizes, at various level of renovation and with or without a view. Our initial room was not renovated, and very small, but with a view via a charming outdoor balcony. As promised we were moved efficiently to another room when available, which had some renovations, was large (huge for a Stocklholm hotel) and had a drop dead view of the harbor.

The ground level restaurant / lounge serves breakfast/lunch/dinner and is an "in" evening lounge. Breakfast was a chaotic buffet, whereas lunch was spectacular. A late night snack was merely acceptable.

While the Grand Hotel is a preferred business hotel and Hotel J is the preferred boutique hotel on the water, the Diplomat continues to do a very good job.

Hot rooms, chily reception, great location.

My wife and I stayed at the Diplomat for 2 nights prior to boarding a cruise. Overall we were pleased with the hotel. The location is on part of the harbor area in Stockholm--an easy walk to both the Wasa Museum and the Old Town--in a beautiful turn of the century building. The rooms vary greatly in size--we stayed in the third one we saw--but are comfortable and nicely furnished with adequate bathrooms. Unfortunately, the hotel is only nominally air-conditioned and, during the July heatwave our room was uncomfortably hot at night.

Breakfast is a standard, not very inspired buffet. However, the restaurant at the hotel, while expensive, is quite good with the option of seating outside on the sidewalk level. The front desk staff seemed a bit abrupt and would not extend the 12Noon check-out by even one hour.

We visited a number of other hotels in Stockholm while there and remain overall pleased with our choice based on location, aesthetics, and dining. The front-desk staff could warm up a little.

Great choice in Stockholm

We stayed 3 nights in May at the Diplomat, based on other's reviews and we were not disappointed. The Hotel is ideally located and within easy walking distance to most sights. We paid extra to get an upper level room overlooking the water. These rooms are good size, most with small balconies. The views are wonderful. We 'looked into' some rooms on the back side of the hotel and they were much smaller. If you plan to stay at the Diplomat, stay on the water side in the bigger rooms as you will not be disppointed.

The breakfast buffet is plentiful and very good. Everything for fruits, yogurts, fresh breads, eggs & sausage and even herring if you like!

Service was good, but it is really the location, the views, and the beautiful building that are the reasons to stay here.

Nice Rooms/Lovely Location

Spent a week at the Diplomat. Before entering room for first time...I thought...they look like lined-up cubby holes along a long corridor. Room was nice surprise. Light and roomy. One negative...Steps down to bedroom from entrance and bathroom.

Breakfast was just okay. In hotel, trendy restaurant in Stockhom. Staff is nice and helpful when not busy with restaurant guests.

Excellent location, Quality accomodation

My family and I stayed here for 4 days in October. The location was excellent--walking distance to the Vassa museum, Old Town (Gamla Stern), and many restaurants and bars. The rooms were beautifully decorated and extremely clean. Also, staff was friendly and sometimes helpful. This is a great hotel if you want the luxury of a 4 star hotel in a great neighborhood.

Lovely, as usual

My husband and I have stayed at the Diplomat twice, most recently in October 2005. This time, we were hoping to stay in one of the renovated rooms, but none were available when we booked. However, they did accommodate our request for a room on one of the high floors - we had a waterfront room on the 5th floor and the view was simply fantastic.

The room itself was adequate, although the furniture was a bit old/worn. On the plus side, the bed was extremely comfortable, and there was a well-stocked mini bar, flat screen TV, spacious wardrobe and safe with socket on the inside (so you could leave your mobile phone or camera to charge while in the safe).

The bathroom was small, fully tiled, with a shower in the corner (no bath). It had everything you'd expect: heated towel rail, wall mounted hair drier, tissue dispenser and a complimentary set of FACE Stockholm toiletries. The water pressure was good, although the temperature fluctuated a bit, which could be a bit of a pain if you like hot showers.

Overall, the room/bathroom were pretty average - I'd certainly not go back to the Diplomat for the sake of the room alone (although last time we stayed in a suite which was fab). For me, the Diplomat has three distinct advantages:

1. Location (on the beautiful & exclusive Strandvagen)

2. Waterfront view (stunning views of Nybroviken, Skeppsholmen and Djurgarden)

3. T/bar (trendy bar/restaurant overlooking the waterfront)

Breakfast was good, but not fantastic by Scandinavian standards, and the service a bit slow when clearing tables etc. The reception staff were friendly & efficient - we asked them to recommend and book a restaurant for us, which they did very quickly. The restaurant they booked was within walking distance of the hotel and just what we asked for. They were also super efficient at check in/out and when booking taxis for us.

I would definitely recommend paying a bit extra for a waterfront room (ask for one on the higher floors), but if you're not too fussed about having a refurbished room, the old rooms are perfectly acceptable and a bit cheaper. Beware when booking via Expedia etc. as the very cheap rates are for the worst rooms - there was a couple checking out at the same time as us, and they were complaining about their room, which was "not of 4-star standard". They'd booked via Expedia.

Smokers beware: the whole hotel is non-smoking, so my husband had to stand on the balcony to smoke. Not a bad thing really, as the view was stunning, esp. at night.

All in all, a decent hotel offering a comfortable base from which to explore Stockholm. We'll definitely go back for the views alone - but also to check out the refurbished rooms :-)

Great Hotel

The Hotel is located across the street from the water within walking distance of the Vasa Museum. the rooms were lovely, nice bathrooms. the staff could not have been more friendly or helpful. we highly recommend this hotel.

Wonderful view, good room, great staff

I was a bit concerned when booking the Diplomat based on other reviews but was happily surprised with the hotel and location. Upgrading to waterfront is key--the canal view and views of Galma Stan and Djurgarden are spectacular. It was a great location for grabbing a ferry or walking to a wonderful restaurant. Breakfast was also terrific. Staff were quite helpful as well.

Ask for a renovated room if available. Conde Nast voted this a best-buy for near-luxury and that's accurate.

Not a first choice

I have stayed in single bed rooms the last couple of times I have been there and both times the rooms have been fairly ok but they have been facing the courtyard which is really noisy. I like to be able to sleep (if possible) with a window open as opposed to having the (noisy) AC switched on. Forget that here, the (beutiful) Strandvagen is very noisy and the sound really builds in the small courtyard. The hotel has a nice "old" feel to it, but a trendy bar/restaurant has taken over the entry level/lobby area. There is actually a quite nice atmosphere there, but its not at all the quiet old fashioned bar you would expect to find in a hotel situated in such a beutiful (jugend) building. Breakfast is served in the same place and it is of good quality, but nothing special as one might expect/hope for in a top business hotel. Staff and service is fine. The elevator is slow and has poor capacity and whats more insists on leaving you at the 1st floor when descending which is really annoying when you are carrying luggage.

We liked it - we liked it not

I'm writing this review because I find myself increasingly relying on tripadvisor for information and feel it's only fair to share our experience given that we prefer small hotels off the beaten path and they often lack helpful coverage.So here comes Diplomat..It's easily one of the most beautiful buildings in Stockholm and its location is just perfect.We booked online close to 3 months ahead and requested the more expensive waterview room.When we arrived they put us in a room with a "courtyard view" - solid brick wall about 3 feet from the window. Now I want to be fair: the room was lovely and big ( as a matter of fact bigger than the waterfront one), they moved us as soon as we pointed out the mistake and all of the above was happening at 9 in the morning - way before official check-in time.The room where we ended up staying is the one that you see on their website and it has a really magnificent view and a few lovely Art Nouveau features. The most upsetting part is the hotel falls victim to an overzealous renovation and there's less and less of those features left both in the rooms and in public areas. The room was comfortable, the beds and all of the bedding simply outstanding, bathrooms were very good; the breakfast was fine, not great. We only had one other meal at the restaurant - lunch was reasonably good,but unreasonably expensive and the place was way too popular with local glitteratti for our taste. The housekeeping was excellent, the front desk visibly overworked.We do not regret staying there but would try something different next time.