Long before every hotel lobby contained an expensive chair, three enormous lamps and a bookshelf nobody was allowed to touch, Copenhagen had already invented the design hotel.
The SAS Royal Hotel Copenhagen, now known as the Radisson Collection Royal Hotel, opened in 1960. Designed by legendary Danish architect Arne Jacobsen, it is widely regarded as the world’s first true design hotel.
That title was not earned by placing a fashionable sofa near reception and calling it a concept.
Jacobsen designed almost everything.
The building. The interiors. The furniture. The lighting. The carpets. The door handles. The signs. The ashtrays. The glasses. The cutlery.
Presumably, nobody was allowed to choose a teaspoon without consulting him.
The SAS Royal Hotel Was One Complete Design
The hotel was conceived as a Gesamtkunstwerk — a complete work of art in which architecture, furniture, colors, materials and everyday objects formed one unified vision.
Hotels had, of course, been luxurious before 1960. They had chandeliers, marble staircases and enough gold decoration to make guests wonder whether they were sleeping inside a jewelry box.
The SAS Royal Hotel offered something different.
Jacobsen created a clean, modern environment in which every element belonged together. The strict glass-and-steel exterior was balanced by softer furniture, natural materials and carefully selected shades of green and blue.
You can explore more about the thinking behind this approach in our story about why Scandinavian design became so popular.
The result was a hotel that did not merely contain Danish design. The entire building was Danish design.
The Birthplace of the Egg and Swan Chairs
Two of Arne Jacobsen’s most famous creations were designed specifically for the hotel: the Egg Chair and the Swan Chair.
Their curved, organic shapes provided privacy and comfort inside the hotel’s open lobby while creating a dramatic contrast with the building’s straight modernist lines.
Today, both chairs are international design icons produced by Fritz Hansen and displayed in homes, offices and museums around the world.
Originally, however, they were hotel furniture.
Very famous hotel furniture, admittedly. The sort of furniture that now costs considerably more than most people’s first car.
The hotel also introduced several other Jacobsen designs, including the Drop Chair, the Series 3300 seating collection and the AJ Lamp. Together, they helped turn the SAS Royal Hotel into one of the most influential interiors of the 20th century.
Copenhagen’s First Skyscraper
The hotel was revolutionary inside, but it was hardly shy on the outside.
At 22 stories, the SAS Royal Hotel became Copenhagen’s first skyscraper and one of the most striking symbols of post-war Scandinavian modernism.
This was a city known for church towers, copper roofs and modest historic buildings. Then Arne Jacobsen placed a large glass tower beside Copenhagen Central Station.
Opinions were divided.
Some saw a confident symbol of the future. Others saw an enormous modern box that had accidentally landed beside Tivoli Gardens. Jacobsen later recalled that it had even won a competition for Copenhagen’s ugliest building.
Architecture can be cruel before it becomes iconic.
Today, the Danish Architecture Center describes it as a landmark in Danish architecture and the birthplace of some of the country’s greatest design classics.
When Your Hotel Was Also an Airport Terminal
The SAS Royal Hotel was built for Scandinavian Airlines during the glamorous early jet age, when passengers dressed properly for flights and nobody attempted to board carrying a pillow, six shopping bags and a half-eaten sandwich.
The building functioned as both a hotel and a city-center airline terminal. SAS passengers could check in for their flights at the hotel before taking a dedicated bus to Copenhagen Airport.
Hotel, airline office and airport connection were combined into one impressively smooth travel system.
There were no apps, QR codes or automated chatbots asking whether your problem had been solved.
There was simply a person at a desk, a bus outside and a reasonable expectation that your suitcase would follow you.
The arrangement captured the optimism of 1960s air travel: modern, international and remarkably confident about the future.
Room 606: The Arne Jacobsen Time Capsule
Although much of the hotel has been renovated over the decades, one extraordinary space remains: Room 606.
It is the only surviving guest-room interior that preserves Jacobsen’s original 1960 design. The furniture, colors, lighting, textiles and built-in wooden details provide a rare glimpse of the hotel as it originally appeared.
The official Arne Jacobsen archive describes Room 606 as an important reference in the history of architecture and design.
The room is preserved rather than sold as a normal overnight stay, but private visits may be possible by prior arrangement.
That is probably for the best. Leaving your charging cables, takeaway coffee and open suitcase inside one of Denmark’s most important interiors might be frowned upon.
Why the World’s First Design Hotel Still Matters
The SAS Royal Hotel changed what a hotel could be.
It showed that accommodation could have a complete visual identity rather than simply a collection of expensive objects. Architecture and interior design could tell the same story, while furniture, lighting and even cutlery could contribute to the guest experience.
The influence can still be seen in boutique hotels and design-led properties around the world.
Whenever a hotel proudly tells you that its rooms have been “carefully curated,” a small part of that idea leads back to Copenhagen in 1960.
Naturally, most modern hotels stop before designing their own ashtrays.
Times have changed.
Experience Danish Design in Copenhagen
The Radisson Collection Royal Hotel remains one of Copenhagen’s most distinctive places to stay. Its location beside Copenhagen Central Station and Tivoli Gardens also makes it highly practical for leisure travelers, corporate groups and international events.
It fits naturally into a wider journey through Denmark’s design, architecture and cultural experiences, from historic furniture and contemporary architecture to museums, creative districts and landmark buildings.
At Best of Nordic, we regularly include the hotel in tailor-made Copenhagen programs, business travel, conferences and design-focused itineraries. We can also explore the possibility of arranging a private visit to Room 606 for groups interested in Arne Jacobsen and Danish modernism.
Our experience with meetings and incentive travel in the Nordic countries allows us to combine distinctive hotels, local specialists, transportation and private experiences into one carefully planned programme.
Because staying at the world’s first design hotel is memorable.
Stepping inside the room where the original vision survived is something else entirely.
And it all began in Copenhagen — with one architect, one glass tower and two chairs that became far more famous than anyone sitting in them.