Room With A View: Scandic Palace Room 301, originally uploaded by Ralph Grizzle.

Room 301 at the legendary Palace Hotel boasts one of Copenhagen’s best views. French doors open onto a balcony overlooking the bustle below and beyond at City Hall Square.

Acquired by the Scandic chain and re-opened in April 2009, the long-established landmark Palace Hotel, built in 1910, got a complete make-over to its 170 rooms, restaurant, bar and lobby area.

I found Room 301 to be extremely comfortable — and spacious, with a walk-in closet, a large workspace, giant flat-screen television, a sitting area and spacious bathroom. But my favorite feature was the balcony.

With its location at City Hall Square, near Strøget, the shopping street, and opposite the amusement park Tivoli, the Palace Hotel is as central as it gets in the Danish capital.

Room 301 is certainly a room with a view.

Watch a video review of room 301.

Click on any of the thumbnails below to view photos of the Palace Hotel.

I like Scandic’s no-nonsense approach. Corner room 324 at Copenhagen’s Scandic Webers, for example, is light and spacious and comes equipped with everything tourists or business travelers need: coffee and tea maker, ironing board, safe, air-conditioning, a large workspace/desk, flat-panel television and free wireless internet.

Scandic’s hotels share a core philosophy of “being easy,” offering “value for money,” and to be “open-minded, caring and considerate,” in short, the chain says, “showing common sense.”

The Swedish Scandics boasts Swan “ecolabelling” in recognition of the chain’s active environmental work. The chain is striving to bring the same “eco standard” to all of its hotels throughout the Nordic region.

I also appreciate the water bottle, shown here. The Scandic chain used to transport 4 million bottles of water annually to its hotels. That was unsustainable, management felt, which is why the chain now invests in the best water there is — H2O from its own tap.

In guest rooms, you’ll find attractive hand-blown glass water bottles designed by an Olympic swimmer, who has an obvious affection for water. Her handprint wraps around the bottle. Fill the bottle from water dispensers that serve still or sparkling. Your cost: $0.

The 152-room Scandic Webers is only a couple of blocks from Tivoli and Central Station.

Copenhagen’s beloved Little Mermaid, known from the Hans Christian Andersen fairytale, will leave the city in 2010. She will travel around the world to be part of World Expo in Shanghai from April to November 2010. The Little Mermaid has never left her spot at Langelinie Pier, where cruise ships dock, since the statue was erected in 1913. While in Shanghai, her place in Copenhagen will be temporarily taken by a sculpture created by a Chinese artist.