The Thief

The Thief is the design hotel by the canal on Tjuvholmen, opened in January 2013. See its curved façade of larvikite and gold in 3D, by day and at night.

What you see in the model

The hotel has a round, curved shape facing the canal. The façade has three distinct layers: dark glass at the bottom, a light stone volume with balconies in the middle and a dark top floor.

At night the windows glow warmly, and the hotel is reflected in the canal. Outside, boats lie in the marina, and the footbridge leads across the canal.

North of the hotel is the neighbouring building Landgangen 2, clad in green copper, with balconies behind yellow, green and blue glass screens.

Behind the hotel you'll find a kindergarten with a whale and a playground. It's one of the little details worth looking for.

History

The Thief opened on 9 January 2013, with 119 rooms. The hotel was designed by Mellbye Arkitekter, with interiors by Anemone Wille Våge. It is Petter Stordalen's five-star hotel and is run by Nordic Hotels & Resorts, part of the Strawberry group.

The façade is point-hammered larvikite, a Norwegian stone, with gold-coloured aluminium fins at the balconies. On the top floor the larvikite is polished. The two lowest floors have glass façades set back beneath the stone volume, without columns. The hotel covers around 7,500 square metres, and on the seventh floor is the 160-square-metre Oslo Suite.

Art is an important part of the hotel. The collection is curated by Sune Nordgren, former director of the National Museum in Oslo, and includes works by Andy Warhol, Peter Blake and Richard Prince, among others. The hotel collaborates with its neighbour, Astrup Fearnley Museet.

Did you know?

Tjuvholmen means “thieves' islet”. The site was a place of execution for thieves in the 17th and 18th centuries.
When the hotel opened, the British newspaper The Independent called it “Norway's first six-star hotel”.
The restaurant is called THIEF Restaurant. When the hotel opened, it was called Fru K.
The hotel is on Holmen, the southern part of Tjuvholmen, where most of the homes are.
Thief Spa has a pool and treatments inspired by Moroccan clay, the Finnish sauna and the Turkish hammam.
On the roof is Thief Rooftop, with glass walls and a sliding roof.

Practical information

The address is Landgangen 1, 0252 Oslo. The hotel is by the canal, close to Astrup Fearnley Museet and Tjuvtitten. The nearest tram stop is Aker brygge by Rådhusplassen, 600–700 metres away. Information about rooms, the restaurant and the spa is on the hotel's website.