Stockholm Hotel

Kungsholmen is an island with not that many attractions, it's a mostly residential area and a bunch of official buildings. And a bit of green space, if that is what you're looking for it's not a bad option.

Of course there are options to get around, there are five metro stations (blue and green line) on the island as well as several bus routes, including three trunk routes.

How much a taxi from the central station would cost very much depends on where on the island you're going to. If it's the eastern part a taxi will not cost that much, on the other hand a taxi will then be a bit silly as you can just walk from the station. A taxi to the western parts will cost more. Also, when you arrive at the central station, where are you coming from? If it's from Arlanda you can also consider the airport coach from Arlanda to Kungsholmen.

I stay a few times a year in Kungsholmen when visiting family, usually at the Courtyard Marriott (which I can recommend). It's a nice, safe, mostly residential area but still has an urban feeling with shops and restaurants. Yes, there are some nice parks in Kungsholmen, but it's still a city neighborhood and I wouldn't say it has drastically more green space than the rest of Stockholm (there are a lot of parks in the city!). In any case, it's very easy to get around with both subway and bus in Stockholm. Not sure what hotel you're looking at, but from the Courtyard, it's about a 10 min walk to the subway, 5 to a bus stop. There is also a taxi stand at the hotel, though we have never had a need for it. If the weather is nice, we usually even walk into central Stockholm along the waterfront at least once (~45 mins to Gamla Stan). I'd say the "downside" to staying in Kungsholmen is that if you want to do a lot of sightseeing, it's not as easy to just pop back to your hotel during the day, for example to rest or change for dinner like you could if staying in a more central neighborhood. So it depends on your needs and if that might be important to you.

As Badger mentioned, there is an airport bus from/to Arlanda that serves the Fridhemsplan subway station, which we find easier and more convenient than the train. If you're arriving by train to Central Station, it's easy to switch to bus/subway there but a taxi shouldn't be too expensive if you prefer that.

Thank you, I'm glad I asked. I think we'll stay at Freyes on Normalm then. Do you have any opinion about Freyes?

As far as I know, Freys is a decent enough hotel, but I would suggest looking at another neighborhood, especially if you liked the idea of more green spaces. The area directly adjacent to the Central Station is very practical and fairly budget-friendly, but wouldn't be my preferred neighborhood to stay in.
Maybe you can find something near Kungsträdgården or Östermalmstorg/Humlegården. I've stayed a few times in this area and it's really convenient to everything. These are very central, walkable, upscale areas near a lot of attractions with excellent public transport links. There are plenty of hotels on quieter streets or near parks and you should find some reasonably priced options for late April, though I am not sure what your budget is.

Thanks hopper18

I agree with hopper18. Nothing wrong with the hotel as far as I've heard, but the area is not where I would recommend staying. Being that close to the central station is great, you have quick access to all metro lines, commuter trains and a lot of buses. But the area is a bit boring, even if Vasagatan is a lot nice now after having been rebuilt. If you want green areas but still "close to things", you can also consider Södermalm.

Thanks Badger

Badger, if you want easy access but don't want to be right around the train station, what would be your first choices of where to stay? This is our first visit and we want to do the typical items on RS's plan. You can simply point me to other threads for places to stay, restaurants or local tours. I know you post regularly.

leifwinter12 - I hope you do not feel like I am hijacking your thread. This is just the most recent I saw on lodging.

My family (Gustafson) migrated to the U.S. from the Kalmar area in the 1880's with the Evangelical Free Church. The train dumped them in the middle of Nebraska -- familiar cold and difficult terrain for farming. Skansen will probably be out first visit. I am disappointed we do not have time to visit Kalmar on this trip (Norway train/fjord tour).

It's probably better to start a new thread MJ, that way you will get an email notification when someone answers your questions. Now leifwinter12 will get that notification instead

Our Swedish friends recommended that in Stockholm we stay on Djurgarden, an island within Stockholm. It worked very well for us, easy to walk over a small bridge or take a ferry to Gamla Stan. We stayed at the Scandic Hasselbacken Hotel on Djurgarden.