🏨 Hotel Hans Egede Nuuk

Hotel Hans Egede: Nuuk’s largest hotel, on the main street, with a rooftop restaurant

Our guide to Hotel Hans Egede in Nuuk, Greenland: location on Aqqusinersuaq, rooms and suites, the Sarfalik restaurant and Skyline Bar, guest ratings, prices, pros and cons, a map, and how it compares with the other hotels in Nuuk.

📍 Location 9.0 / 10🍽️ Restaurants and bar🕒 24-hour reception

⚡ Short answer

Hotel Hans Egede is a 4-star hotel with 140 rooms and 10 apartments on Aqqusinersuaq, Nuuk’s main street, opened in 1987. Guests rate it 7.8 out of 10 on Booking.com and its location 9.0, the best score of any big hotel in town. It has two restaurants, a bar on the top floor, a gym and a sauna, and breakfast is included.

• Rating ⭐ 7.8 / 10 (315 reviews)
• Location 📍 Aqqusinersuaq, city centre
• Included 🍳 Breakfast, Wi-Fi, parking
• Check-in / out 🕒 15–23:30 h / until 10 h

Check prices on Booking.com 🏨

If you ask someone in Nuuk where to stay, the first answer is usually “Hans Egede”. The hotel has stood on Aqqusinersuaq, the city’s main street, since 1987, and with 140 rooms it is the largest hotel in Greenland’s capital. It is where delegations and conference guests stay, where locals book a table for a birthday dinner with a view of the fjord, and where travellers come for a drink in the Skyline Bar at the top of the building. The shopping centre, the cultural centre Katuaq, cafés and the bus stops are on the doorstep. This guide covers rooms and prices, the restaurants and bar, the location with a map, guest ratings, pros and cons, and how Hans Egede compares with the other hotels in Nuuk.

What is Hotel Hans Egede?

In short: Nuuk’s largest and best-known hotel, a 4-star business and leisure hotel in the city centre with 140 rooms, 10 apartments, two restaurants, a rooftop bar, a gym, a sauna and conference rooms. It opened in 1987 and is named after Hans Egede, the Danish-Norwegian missionary who founded the colony that became Nuuk.

Hans Egede arrived in Greenland in 1721 and founded Godthåb, today’s Nuuk, in 1728. His statue stands on the hill above the old colonial harbour, and his house is the oldest building in the city. The hotel that carries his name is a modern, six-storey building on the main street, the busiest address in town. It is the closest thing Nuuk has to a grand hotel: a lobby that is open around the clock, a choice of restaurants under one roof, a bar with a view and conference rooms that host meetings, courses and official visits.

The same company runs HHE Express, a simpler hotel in the city, and Nuuk Hotel Apartments by HHE, which suit longer stays with a kitchen. For a visitor, Hotel Hans Egede is the choice when you want everything within a few minutes’ walk and a full-service hotel around you. You pay for that: it is one of the most expensive hotels in Nuuk, and guests rate value for money lower than the location.

Hotel Hans Egede floor by floor

Take the lift through the building: press a floor to see what is there.

Where is Hotel Hans Egede?

In short: on Aqqusinersuaq, 3900 Nuuk, the main street through the city centre. Shops, cafés, restaurants, the Nuuk Center mall and the Katuaq Cultural Centre are a few minutes’ walk away; the old colonial harbour, the cathedral and the National Museum are about 15 minutes on foot. Nuuk Airport is 4.7 km away.

Location is the reason most people choose Hans Egede, and guests rate it 9.0 out of 10. You step out of the door onto the main street, with the bus stops, supermarkets, bank, pharmacy and souvenir shops close by. Café Esmeralda and Qulaani are about 50 metres away, according to Booking.com. In winter, when pavements are icy and the days are short, a central address saves a lot of taxi rides; at night, you can walk back from dinner in a few minutes.

Distances are approximate walking estimates; use the map for exact routes. The main street is busy by Nuuk standards, with cars, buses and people, so if you want silence, ask for a room facing away from the street. The upper floors have views of the mountains and the city.

Rooms and prices

In short: double and twin rooms of 21 m², and suites from 42 to 57 m² with city or mountain views, a coffee machine and a minibar. All rooms have a private bathroom, a flat-screen TV, free Wi-Fi and breakfast included. A sample 3-night stay in early November cost about €363 a night for a double room and from about €548 for a suite.

The standard rooms are a good size for Nuuk at 21 m², modern and well kept, with a desk and a kettle or coffee machine. Guests describe clean rooms with good beds and linen, and several mention the view from the higher floors. The suites are double the size, with a separate sitting area in the largest ones, and suit honeymooners, longer stays or anyone who wants space to spread out during a winter trip. There are no extra beds, and the minimum age to check in is 18; children are welcome with their parents, and cots depend on the room type. At the time of our check, rooms could be cancelled for free until a few days before arrival.

Restaurants, bar and breakfast

In short: Sarfalik on the 5th floor serves lunch every day and fish and seafood dinners Monday to Saturday, with views of Sermitsiaq and the fjord. A Hereford Beefstouw is a steakhouse with musk ox and reindeer on the menu. The Skyline Bar sits on the top floor. Breakfast is a buffet with vegetarian and gluten-free options.

Sarfalik. The hotel’s main restaurant is on the 5th floor, with windows over Nuuk Fjord, Sermitsiaq and Store Malene, the mountain behind the city. At lunch it serves lighter dishes; in the evening, as Sarfalik Fisk & Skaldyr, it focuses on fish and seafood from Greenlandic waters, plus a few meat dishes, with a menu that changes with the season. It is one of the best places in Nuuk to try halibut, char, shrimp and other local fish, and a popular choice for a special dinner, so book a table.

A Hereford Beefstouw. The Danish steakhouse chain has a branch in the hotel. Alongside classic steaks it serves Greenlandic meat such as musk ox and reindeer, and redfish. Several guests single it out in reviews.

Skyline Bar. At the top of the building, the bar has views over the city. It is the obvious place for a Greenlandic coffee, the flaming coffee cocktail, and on winter evenings you may see the northern lights over the rooftops.

Breakfast. Breakfast is included and rated “very good” on Booking.com: a continental buffet with vegetarian and gluten-free options, served in the restaurant with a view of the harbour. For more about local dishes, from suaasat to musk ox, read our guide to Greenlandic food.

Facilities and practical information

The 24-hour reception and the check-in until 23:30 make Hans Egede the easiest hotel in Nuuk for late arrivals and delayed flights, which are common in Greenland. One guest praised how the staff helped during flight cancellations. Tell the hotel your arrival time in advance, as the booking conditions ask. The gym and sauna are welcome after a cold day on the water or a hike, and the free parking is useful if you hire a car.

What do guests say about Hotel Hans Egede?

In short: 7.8 out of 10 from 315 reviews on Booking.com. Location scores highest at 9.0, followed by Wi-Fi (8.9). Value for money scores lowest at 7.1, because the hotel is one of the most expensive in Nuuk.

Guests from Canada, the United States, Belgium and the UK describe a modern, clean hotel with comfortable beds, good breakfasts with a view of the harbour, and restaurants they enjoyed, especially the steakhouse and the Greenlandic dishes on the menu. The central location comes up in almost every positive review. The lower scores mostly concern the price: for what you pay, some guests expected more from the facilities. If your budget is tight, our comparison below shows cheaper hotels with breakfast; if location and restaurants matter most, Hans Egede is hard to beat.

Pros and cons

Hotel Hans Egede vs other hotels in Nuuk

In short: Hans Egede has the best central location and the most facilities of the big hotels in Nuuk, at a higher price. Hotel Søma is cheaper and by the harbour; Hotel Aurora is the cheapest full hotel with breakfast, about 1 km from the centre. Filter and sort to compare.

Choose Hans Egede if you want restaurants, a bar and the city on your doorstep, arrive late, or travel for business. Choose Hotel Søma Nuuk if you want harbour views and an early breakfast for boat trips at a lower price. Choose Hotel Aurora Nuuk for friendly family-run service, family rooms and the lowest price of the full hotels, and accept a 15-minute walk.

How to get to Hotel Hans Egede

Nuuk Airport is 4.7 km from the hotel. A taxi from the rank outside arrivals takes about 10 minutes; city buses run along Aqqusinersuaq; and the hotel offers an airport shuttle, so check the price when you book. Since Nuuk’s longer runway opened, jets fly in directly from Copenhagen and, in some seasons, from North America. Routes and airlines are covered in getting to Nuuk.

Tours you can do from Hotel Hans Egede

In short: walking tours start in the centre, a few minutes from the hotel; boat trips leave from the harbour, about 20 minutes’ walk away, and several tours include pickup. Filter by walking, boat, food or pickup.

The boat trips have their own guides: Nuuk Fjord Sightseeing Boat Tour, fjord cruise with picnic and fishing trips. For a taste of local life, read about kaffemik, and for the sights near the hotel, see things to do in Nuuk.

Who is Hotel Hans Egede best for?

Hans Egede suits first-time visitors who want to walk everywhere, business travellers and conference guests, couples on a special trip who want a suite and a dinner with a view, and anyone arriving late at night. In winter its central address, restaurants and bar under one roof matter more than in summer: you can spend a dark, stormy evening without going outside. It is less suitable for travellers on a budget, families who need extra beds, and those who want a quiet, small-hotel feel. For Christmas and New Year, when the restaurants in town close, a hotel with its own dining rooms is a big advantage; see Greenland at Christmas and New Year’s Eve in Greenland, and for the aurora, our northern lights guide.

Questions about Hotel Hans Egede

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