The Thief

The Thief’s name is a clever one, with roots in local history: the hotel is built on Tjuvholmen, which was once a small prison island, colloquially named Thief Island. The name, however, is all that remains of the old prison — as a hotel The Thief is bright and open, the sort of place you’re not in any hurry to escape, unless it’s simply to pop over to the Renzo Piano–designed modern art museum just next door.

As for the rooms, they’re as stylish as the rest of this very contemporary development, though perhaps richer and warmer in color and texture than you’d expect from the classic Scandinavian stereotype. And despite its humble name The Thief is rather on the upscale end of boutique hospitality — the in-room gadgetry is well chosen, and particular attention is paid (this being Norway) to the bedding and the warm wool slippers.

These days Tjuvholmen is a newly booming arts-and-culture district, with a fair bit of dining and nightlife to go along with it. On top of it all, it’s a car-free district, with walking and biking the principal modes of transportation — that and the hotel’s own boat for cruising in the Oslofjord. That Norwegian boutique utopia has finally arrived.