The Zoku is that good, this could end up being a really short review!
I realised when booking this trip that while I have ticked off almost every major European capital on my list of places I have travelled to (and many more minor cities), I didn’t think I had ever been to Denmark.
This turns out to have been a major oversight.
With the exception of the ground staff at the airport, everyone is unbelievably nice. Really almost teeth achingly lovely, and not in the kind of “Have a nice day” saccharine way you might get in some countries (I am naming no names in case I end up on an ICE watch list). Genuinely interesting and interested people.
If you don’t believe me, play along with this little game.
You arrive at your hotel, pay, jump out of the taxi and check in. As you gather yourself to go to your room, you realise you have left your phone in the taxi!
In the city in which you are currently reading this does the person who has checked you in just shrug their shoulders in mock empathy, or do they grab your taxi receipt, track down the taxi company, and find out exactly who dropped you off?
And once said taxi driver has been located do they a) claim they can’t find it, b) find it but say they will drop it off at the end of their shift and expect a whopping fare for bringing it there, or c) tear round to your hotel, hand your phone over, and refuse any recompense?
While that story is not about me, it describes the exact sequence of events that happened to a colleague of mine staying at the Zoku at the same time as me (presumably you have guessed which sequence of events above describes the Copenhagen end to this story)
Travelling on business is not, if you have ever read a corporate travel policy, meant to be fun, although you are frequently made to feel as if the company is doing you a favour by dragging you away from your family for days on end, and being subjected to the indignity of the broken seat on the plane next to the toilet.
I recently stayed in New York, in a hotel room so small that you had to pull the bed down from the wall (and strictly speaking only a trained operator was allowed to do that), so I did not have high hopes for my business trip to Copenhagen. I had managed to sneak this hotel in, just over the company travel limit, as it was within walking distance of the customer (thus saving valuable taxi fares), and because the customer’s staff were staying there too (although they baled at the last moment and stayed at the Radisson up the road: not my fault!)
Check-in is, a bit surprisingly, on the roof.
Fortunately it is mainly enclosed by a very large conservatory, accompanied by canned jungle noises. Really, it’s a lot better than I am making it sound.
There is a lot of outdoor space (even a hammock) and so on a lovely autumn day, it was a pleasure to sit outside
Check-in was friendly, although the only slight issue was that the particular card terminal did not take Amex.
As I stepped out of the lift to go to my room, I got another indication of what the room was likely to be like, as I saw a shelf of pictures which I was being encouraged to take to my room to hang my own art!
I hope the photos speak for themselves. It is only the second time I have stayed in a room with a mezzanine bed (the first had a large dropdown screen and a selection of what can only be described as “racy” videos), and the first time I have stayed in a room with its own set of pop-out stairs.
It was the perfect setup. While the square footage may not have been huge, you ended up with everything you need for a small apartment (complete with fridge, microwave and hot plate), in something that cost less than the average hotel room (about £170 a night). There was a big desk to work on, a sofa, a bookshelf (why?!) and the thing which made me realise none of this was an accident, a 13A plug.
Yes, I travel with an adapter for my laptop charger, but anyone who had entered into a death struggle with a European plug knows, the heavy transformer always droops. But with a proper 3 pin plug socket, no such issue. It was a small point, but shows exceptional attention to detail.
I can’t comment on breakfast as I had brought my own, but the buffet selection looked excellent. I can say that the pizza we had for dinner on the first night (from their wood-fired oven) was exceptional.
I honestly try really hard to find some fault in anywhere I stay, but this is one of those rare exceptions where everything from service to food to accommodation to value was faultless. I’m almost hoping that when I get home one of the staff has cloned my credit card and gone on a spending spree, but they are all so bloody nice that I reckon everyone else would send me a card to say sorry and have a whip round…
Conclusion
Overall rating: 5/5
Room: 5/5
Service: 6/5
Good: 5/5
Value: 5/5
Would I go back? Copenhagen is currently #1 on my “next city break” list.
Zoku: Zoku Copenhagen
