Radisson Collection Royal Hotel, Copenhagen

We recommend the Royal to architects, designers, collectors of Scandinavian furniture who want to sleep in a manifesto. It's a hotel for travellers who prioritise patrimonial authenticity over palace comfort, thirty-something and fifty-something couples on a design weekend, business travellers who appreciate the central location. Families find their place here (spacious rooms, quiet neighbourhood), but the clientele remains mostly adult and sensitive to design history.

The 69-metre tower, inaugurated in 1960, remains the only skyscraper entirely designed by Arne Jacobsen, from the structure to the ashtray. Concrete and glass facade, 20 storeys, 260 rooms arranged around a central core. Preserved interiors: teak panelling, geometric-patterned carpets, original suspended light fixtures. Some floors were renovated in the 2000s respecting Jacobsen's plans, others keep their intact sixties patina.

The Alberto K restaurant on the top floor offers an Italian menu (fresh pasta, risottos, fish) with panoramic views over the city and harbour. Scandinavian buffet breakfast on the ground floor, decent without being memorable. Lounge bar in the lobby with classic cocktails and Nordic wines. Room service available 24/7, simplified menu after 10pm.

The Royal stands in Vesterbro, opposite Copenhagen Central Station, 400 metres from Tivoli. Mixed neighbourhood, former red-light district turned trendy, independent cafés and art galleries two streets away. Nyhavn and Strøget ten minutes on foot, Kastrup airport 20 minutes by direct metro. The area buzzes until midnight, residential after, never static.