Andersen Boutique Hotel

Flying in the face of Copenhagen stereotypes, the Andersen Boutique Hotel traffics lightly in export-grade Scandinaviana. Fun precedes functional, with nary a pale wooden chair in sight. In-your-face graphics trump comforting coziness, and carpet, rather than smooth planks, covers the floor. Nevertheless, the coat hangers come from Muuto, a design outfit specializing in New Nordic, and some staff wear uniforms from the hip local label David Andersen Denmark.

This smaller offshoot of well-known, family-run Absalon Hotel uses fabrics and colors from the famed Designers Guild to achieve a freshness and gloss that the more established property doesn’t desire or require. Lively hued blankets in geometric patterns cover the ubiquitous Quilt of Denmark duvets, like kites passing over puffy clouds. Everything pops. Sinks and toilets come from Philippe Starck.

Vesterbro, which encompasses Copenhagen’s “meatpacking district,” has gone from gritty to glamorous, much like the one in Manhattan. Pity the butchers who’ve been pushed out, but envy the restaurateurs, artists and artisans, bartenders, designers, and others who now call this neighborhood home. Unlike the one in Manhattan, however, this area retains much of its rough, craggy charm. Andersen puts you near Istedgade, Halmtorvet, and Værnedamsvej (also known as “food street”), which today specialize in cool clothes and popular cafes, rather than the meat products and red-light vices of yesteryear.