Hotel Viking

Absolutely nothing.

Love this classic hotel. Great location, great views, great service. Best in Newport

Terrible experience here, and I’m only on night 1 of 3. Currently looking for other hotels in Newport to pack up and move. I’ve had a king room booked since February, and a few weeks back I called to make it a suite with a king bed and pullout coach because my 13 year old son was joining us now. They said “all set - we made the change”. Upon arrival, come to find out they didn’t make the change and so we are crammed in a room with a cot for my son. I’m not even against cots in general, but you can’t even walk anywhere in the room with it in here, and the cot smells like mildew. That’s not even the worst part - the AC went out today and the room is 78 degrees. The pool had no towels (I had to go to the front desk to request some), the pool railing to get into the pool was broken, the paint on the ceiling is chipping and filling off, the towel in my room was dirty, the speakers upstairs at the Cap Club were burned out and half the drinks on the menu weren’t available because of some machine that was broken. It’s crazy that they can charge ppl $800 + a night for this. I come to Newport every 4th and was excited to try this hotel but I will never be back - and I would NOT recommend this to anyone else. I wish I had read some of the other reviews before coming because I would have thought twice before booking. Save your money - or if you are looking for something high end…try something else Forty One North is nice, Goat Island, the Marriott, Bretton….literally anything is better than what we have experienced here. Seems like they are just here to take people’s money and no one is actually managing the building or customer experience.

Checked in today (July 3rd) at 12:30 during the middle of the heat wave. AC wasn’t working and the room was 85 degrees. Called front desk and they said they would fix it. Came back from lunch, room was still 85. Front desks topped answering the phone so went in person multiple times to request a fix. Eventually had to leave the hotel with my 8 month old baby, who was red faced and screaming. Was told hotel would call me when it was fixed. No call by 5:30 pm so I keep trying to call the front desk. The number on the website goes to sales desk voicemail.

I drive back to the hotel to see a 20-person deep front desk line. Befriend others in the lobby whose AC hadn’t been working since the night before. Realize the hotel was completely disingenuous about this being a quick fix as the lobby is filled with dozens of people whose rooms don’t have AC on one of the worst heatwaves in recent history.

I had to wait another hour for the “room director” to come talk to me and give me the correct front desk number so Expedia can contact the hotel for my refund. Completely disgusted by the way this was handled.

The recent renovations are certainly a nice improvement, but the air conditioning at this old hotel has been terrible. Our room was 85 degrees last night, making for a miserable experience. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be any viable solution. The front desk was unhelpful.

Do yourself a favor and stay at the Brenton. The hotel management should be ashamed that we were checked in to a room in such bad condition. The manager Cassie knowingly checked us in to a room with no working air conditioning, a clogged tiny sink - with a shelf over it which made it impossible to brush your teeth. ( see photo)We waited for 24 hours before they came to fix the air conditioner, we were on our way to the wedding we were in town for and we were almost late since we had to get ready with 2 service technicians in our room. When we got back it was still not fixed, we had to use a dusty old box fan which is what they sent up to our room. When we checked out we were told the room was being decommissioned, which was no surprise, it should have been before we were checked in. I mistakenly left a gold chain in the safe , I called 3 times each time the told me they would check and call me back but no one ever did . The bell hops were great, but the service at the front desk is terrible. I did not get any sleep for the 2 nights I stayed. If I could give this hotel 0 stars I would !!

Just returned home after finishing our holiday at the Hotel Viking. We were expecting great things from this newly refurbished hotel but were so disappointed.
On entering for the first time the reception area was chaotic to say the least. The whole weekend was full of wedding parties and you had to fight your way through to get to the door on numerous occasions. The receptionist asked us on arrival if we had come for a wedding. When we said no she said ‘good’.
We were then told our room wasn’t ready but was given another room instead. To say this was small was an understatement. There was hardly any room to get changed and we had to squeeze past each other every time we moved anywhere. On top of that half the lights and plugs didn’t work so we had to settle for one light for the whole room which was quite dark.
We reported this on the day we arrived but nothing was done for the whole time we were there.
The air conditioning was so loud we had to turn it off during the night which left the room too hot.
On checking out I mentioned all the above and was offered a small refund only then to be charged almost $1000 for a room that had already been paid for by our travel agent.
Overall I felt that we were being put behind the needs of all the wedding party guests. This room was reserved last year so I didn’t expect to be put in what could be considered an oversized cupboard,
Would not recommend this hotel to anyone and our agent has been informed. It is certainly not the hotel this portrays to be.

went for 45th aniversary. I got married at the Viking and worked there in college so there was a connection.Room was nice came back after dinner a horror show. The a/c was a floor model vented out the window. The TV had to be turned on to 33 to get above the noise. Had to yank the plug out of the wall to shut it as it kept waking us up. The next day when they asked how my night was and I told them the front desk said yea you got one of the rooms with the portible AC you should have called and we would have moved you. Then went to restaurant and asked the hostess if they had egg whites she said I don't know I could go and find out. Not the right answer. The windows when you got off the elevator were filthy. We then went to check out. I left cash for housekeeper. Needed to tip valet. I asked front desk for change and was told we are a cashless hotel ask the valet. No ATM? I said no cash as a courtesy to guests and she looked at me like I had 10 heads I then went to valet who had no money. We did tip him on way in so guess what he lost. As a retired head of a hospitality academy they all would have flunked my class. I currently work for another hotel and know this is not proper way to deal with people in this day and age. Do not go there and waste your money or time they don't care. There are many other hotels in Newport,

Good location. Delicious breakfast. Parking valets were great.

Hotel Viking photographs well, and the lobby and bars are genuinely beautiful. Unfortunately, the renovation felt surface-level. Once you get past the common areas, the rooms do not feel like a true 4-star hotel.

My room felt unfinished and poorly maintained. The TV setup had wires strewn around it in a way that looked more like a college apartment than a luxury hotel charging premium rates. On top of that, the TV was not even connected to the internet. I asked the front desk to have it connected, but no one resolved it, and I eventually had to figure it out myself. There was no minibar, no sense of polish, and the room simply did not match the image the hotel presents online.

The property also felt like it was not truly ready for guests. The elevator closest to my room opened into what appeared to be an active construction area, which I had to walk through just to get to the gym. That is not an acceptable guest experience at a hotel charging luxury rates.

Service was lackadaisical throughout the stay. I called three separate times asking for a steamer, and it never arrived. At this price point, basic requests should not require repeated follow-up, let alone go completely unresolved.

The worst part was the billing. After my stay, the hotel charged me an extra roughly $1,000. I then had to spend weeks chasing them through multiple calls and an email, before finally getting the refund I was owed. That is completely unacceptable for any hotel, let alone one marketing itself as a high-end property.

Overall, the experience felt like a polished façade: pretty public spaces, but rooms and service that do not live up to the price or rating. Between the unfinished-feeling room, the poor TV setup, weak service, the active construction-area access issue, and the extra $1,000 charge that took weeks of follow-up to resolve, I would not recommend Hotel Viking.

Just spent three nights at Hotel Viking. I did not know anything about the hotel before staying there. I thought it was a wonderful place to stay. Granted it was built 100 years ago so the rooms are not sized by today’s standards but furnishings were new, tasteful and felt upscale. The hotel is beautiful having just completed an extensive restoration. Everything is new but retains the historic nature of the original hotel. Location is great and within walking distance of restaurants and shopping. Staff was courteous and attentive. Would stay there again!

This is a beautiful hotel with good restaurant and coffee shop amenities. The beds are very comfortable. A couple of things were annoying. 1- the shower water was tepid at best. 2- there was no vanity area for a woman to do makeup. 3- the AC unit was extremely loud. A 1977 window unit would have been quieter. I am in the construction business and I know this hotel was recently renovated and I can’t understand why this wasn’t attended to. 4- our room 308 was nestled between maintenance shops and the stairwell. The walls seemed paper thin and whatever maintenance workers were there were very noisy. Some room for improvement but a beautiful place in a beautiful town.

Pros:Remodel looks nice, with a nice comfy bed. Nice shower
Cons: AC issues in 2 different rooms, some outlets and lamps did not work. Outlets on the baseboard and kuerig wouldn’t reach it.
Small rooms. I know its an old building but not comfortable for extended time
Front desk ladies nice, no help at arrival door. Security guard very unpleasant

Went for Memorial Day weekend and overall had a good time with one really big question: why did the bar close down at 9:30 on Sunday of a major holiday weekend when Monday is a day off? We got there at 9:40 only to be informed they had already called last call, so we couldn't get a seat. Other hotel guests came in a few minutes after us (we were seated in the lobby at this point so witnessed this) and were similarly rebuffed. Then right around 10:00 a large group of hotel guests came in and were very disappointed that they couldn't get a drink. The bar staff must have wanted to leave after a long weekend - they said "we called last call" like that was legally binding in Rhode Island (it is not legally binding until the state-mandated last call which is much later). Again, it was 9:40 on a holiday weekend. My wife and I had been looking forward all day to having some drinks and playing backgammon in the bar, we had confirmed with the front desk what time the bar was open until, but apparently that was a mistake. I hope they fix this, because the bar is physically gorgeous, the drinks were admittedly good (when we had some the previous day), and the finger foods were great. Viking Hotel truly is quite a good hotel, and I recommend it - just careful when you try to get a drink! The refurbishment they recently did was well done - rooms are small but I liked our suite, and other than that one time in the bar, service was fantastic. The front door staff/valets were great, as were the ladies behind the front desk and housekeeping. The refurbished courtyard was fun, our young daughters liked it, and the indoor pool was useful given the rainy weekend (pool temp was COLD but there was a hot tub). Fitness center was better-than-expected.

My daughter (14), mother, and I stayed at Hotel Viking Newport for a long weekend in May. The renovations to this historic hotel are beautiful! I most enjoyed the very soft beds and good-sized accommodations of our double-queen room. Everything is new and very clean. We had maid service each day and they took care to make our room perfect and comfortable. We enjoyed the bar area in the hotel for small bites and drinks in the evenings. The concierge was very helpful in setting up dinner reservations and helping us with any questions we had. Unfortunately, we had wet weather all weekend long, so we did not walk as much as we wanted. The final day was sunny, so I walked to Thames and around town - the hotel is a perfect locations for walkers! Would definitely recommend to anyone visiting Newport!

Incredible experience dining at the hotel!
Yurii went above and beyond! Our server I believe was Stephanie was so attentive, and the food was incredible
Our daughter is getting married this weekend at the Rosecliff and we made that our first stop did not disappoint!

shower/bed

Recently was there after their 2026 renovation. Not impressed with the staff. No place to get a bottle of water or a place for evening coffee. Everything looked “sterile”. No appearance to a return to grandeur. It was “modernized”. You have to dodge painters and employees loitering in hallways. If they weren’t ready to provide 100% service, they should have waited. The myriad of add on charges were shocking.

The bed and pillows were comfortable. Nice location great breakfast in dining room.