Hotel Ottilia

Hotel Ottilia is a boutique hotel in Copenhagen's Carlsberg district, Denmark, operated by Brøchner Hotels. The property opened in 2019 and occupies two historically significant former brewery buildings associated with the Ny Carlsberg and Carlsberg brewing complex. Together, the buildings provide 155 guest rooms, including four suites in the corner tower, as well as conference facilities, two bars, a ground-floor café, and a rooftop restaurant and terrace with views across Copenhagen. The hotel takes its name from Ottilia Jacobsen, the wife of second-generation Carlsberg brewer Carl Jacobsen. The name reflects the property's location within the architectural and industrial landscape shaped by the Jacobsen family and their breweries. Rather than presenting itself as a purpose-built contemporary hotel, Hotel Ottilia is built around the adaptive reuse of protected industrial heritage, combining accommodation and hospitality services with surviving brewery architecture. The older building, commonly known as the Malt Chamber, dates from 1881. Designed by architect Vilhelm Dahlerup, it originally served a range of brewery functions, including use as a brewhouse, machine house, and malt-storage facility. Its corner tower included a water tower, while part of the complex contained residences for unmarried brewery workers. Those workers lived on the brewery premises partly so that they could act as fire guards. The building's red-brick exterior, arched windows, decorative brickwork, tower, and roof lantern remain central to the hotel's visual identity. The second building is Storage Cellar 3, constructed in 1969 to a Functionalist design by Svenn Eske Kristensen. It was built to hold approximately six million litres of beer. After its beer tanks were removed in 1995, the structure was used for archives and storage before its conversion into hotel space. Its facade is distinguished by 60 golden mosaic discs arranged in five rows. The discs represent the cylindrical beer tanks that once stood behind the wall and have become one of the building's defining architectural features. The conversion was designed by Poul Schülein of Arkitema Architects in collaboration with Christoffer Harlang, a professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. A major design challenge was introducing daylight into the largely enclosed Storage Cellar 3. The renovation addressed this with tall, narrow windows placed beside the mosaic discs. On the side facing Bryggernes Plads, shallow circular niches and round windows complement the facade treatment. Hotel Ottilia also preserves elements of the site's historical memorial program. Busts of figures connected with brewing, science, and the Carlsberg enterprise appear on the ground-floor facades. These include Louis Pasteur, Gabriel Sedlmayr, Emil Christian Hansen, and members of the Jacobsen family, including J. C. Jacobsen, Carl Jacobsen, and Ottilia Jacobsen. Some busts were transferred from a building demolished in 1969 and installed on Storage Cellar 3. The brand's positioning is therefore rooted in design-led urban hospitality, adaptive reuse, and access to Copenhagen's Carlsberg district. Its offer combines boutique accommodation with food, beverage, meetings, and rooftop experiences, while the protected buildings provide a distinctive setting that differentiates the hotel from standardized lodging properties.

Hotel Ottilia's history is inseparable from the development of the Carlsberg brewery district in Copenhagen. In 1870, J. C. Jacobsen's Carlsberg Brewery was expanded with an annexed brewery. The annex was leased by his son, Carl Jacobsen, following disagreements between father and son. In 1880, J. C. Jacobsen ended the lease, and Carl Jacobsen established his own brewery on neighboring premises. With his father's consent, Carl named the new operation Ny Carlsberg, while the original brewery became known as Gammel Carlsberg. The hotel's older building was erected in 1881, during this period of industrial development. Known as the Malt Chamber, it was designed by Vilhelm Dahlerup and served several brewery-related purposes over time, including brewhouse, machine house, and malt-storage functions. A tower at the corner of Pasteursvej contained a water tower. The complex also included residences for unmarried brewery workers. Living on site allowed those workers to serve as fire guards, reflecting the operational needs of a large nineteenth-century brewery. The Malt Chamber's architecture is characteristic of the historic Carlsberg environment. Its red-brick walls, arched windows, decorative banding, and tower topped by a roof lantern preserve the industrial and historic character of the building. The roof lantern is crowned by a copy of the Ancient Greek statue known as the Praying Boy, linking the brewery complex to the Jacobsen family's broader interest in art and classical references. A newer structure at the site, Storage Cellar 3, was built in 1969. Designed by Svenn Eske Kristensen in a Functionalist style, it replaced an earlier building and provided capacity for approximately six million litres of beer. The beer tanks were removed in 1995, after which the building was used for archives and storage. Its later conversion into a hotel created a second architectural component for Hotel Ottilia, contrasting the older brick brewery building with a modernist industrial structure. Storage Cellar 3 is especially recognizable for its facade of 60 golden mosaic discs arranged in five rows. The discs represent the horizontally placed cylindrical tanks that had originally been located behind the wall, with the gold suggesting the beer they contained. During the hotel conversion, the architects retained this visual reference to the building's industrial purpose. Round openings and niches on the Bryggernes Plads side, together with tall narrow windows on the Pasteursvej side, helped introduce daylight while maintaining the facade's historic composition. The adaptive-reuse project was designed by Poul Schülein of Arkitema Architects in collaboration with Christoffer Harlang of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. Both buildings are listed in Denmark's registry of protected buildings and places, making the conversion an exercise in integrating modern hotel requirements with architectural conservation. The completed property opened in 2019 as Hotel Ottilia and became part of Brøchner Hotels' Copenhagen portfolio. The hotel name honors Ottilia Jacobsen, the wife of Carl Jacobsen, the second-generation brewer associated with Ny Carlsberg. The site also retains sculptural references to the people and institutions connected with the brewery. Busts on the historic building include Louis Pasteur, Gabriel Sedlmayr, and Emil Christian Hansen, while the Storage Cellar 3 facade presents members of the Jacobsen family, including J. C. Jacobsen, Carl Jacobsen, and Ottilia Jacobsen. Several of these busts had originally stood on a building demolished in 1969 and were transferred to the newer structure. Since opening, Hotel Ottilia has operated as a 155-room boutique hotel. Its accommodation offer includes four suites in the corner tower, while its non-room facilities include conference areas, two bars, a ground-floor café, and a rooftop restaurant and terrace overlooking Copenhagen. The hotel's identity is consequently based on the combination of contemporary hospitality services and the preserved material history of the Carlsberg brewery district.

• 2019

  Hotel Ottilia opens

  [1]Hotel Ottiliaen.wikipedia.org

  The converted brewery buildings opened as a 155-room boutique hotel operated by Brøchner Hotels.

• 1995

  End of beer-tank operations

  [1]Hotel Ottiliaen.wikipedia.org

  The beer tanks in Storage Cellar 3 were removed, after which the building was used for archives and storage.

• 1969

  Construction of Storage Cellar 3

  [1]Hotel Ottiliaen.wikipedia.org

  Storage Cellar 3 was built to a Functionalist design by Svenn Eske Kristensen, replacing an earlier structure and providing large-scale beer storage capacity.

• 1881

  Construction of the Malt Chamber

  [1]Hotel Ottiliaen.wikipedia.org

  The older building now forming part of Hotel Ottilia was completed as a brewery facility designed by Vilhelm Dahlerup.

• 1880

  Carl Jacobsen establishes Ny Carlsberg

  [1]Hotel Ottiliaen.wikipedia.org

  After the end of his lease from his father, Carl Jacobsen founded a neighboring brewery named Ny Carlsberg, while the original brewery became known as Gammel Carlsberg.

• 1870

  Expansion of the Carlsberg brewery

  [1]Hotel Ottiliaen.wikipedia.org

  J. C. Jacobsen's Carlsberg Brewery was expanded with an annexed brewery, establishing part of the industrial setting later associated with Hotel Ottilia.

Design-led boutique hospitality centered on adaptive reuse of protected Carlsberg brewery architecture, with accommodation, dining, rooftop space, and meeting facilities in Copenhagen.

• Hotel accommodation · 2019

  Guest rooms

  Hotel Ottilia provides 155 rooms within two former brewery buildings. The accommodation combines contemporary guest facilities with the retained industrial character and protected architectural fabric of the Malt Chamber and Storage Cellar 3.

• Suites · 2019

  Corner tower suites

  Four suites are located in the corner tower of the historic Malt Chamber. Their placement makes use of one of the most distinctive elements of the older brewery building and connects the lodging experience with the site's historic architecture.

• Food and beverage · 2019

  Dining and bars

  The hotel includes two bars, a ground-floor café, and a rooftop restaurant and terrace. These venues extend the brand beyond room accommodation and make use of the property's historic industrial setting and views over Copenhagen.

• Meetings and events · 2019

  Conference facilities

  Conference facilities support meetings and events within the converted brewery complex. The offering complements the hotel's leisure and dining functions and uses the large-scale spaces created through the adaptive-reuse project.

1. 1Hotel Ottiliaen.wikipedia.org