What it is

A modern 148-room gem housed in an 1871 former printing house, with a gleaming pool and spa plus three toothsome restaurants (including one of the city’s best bakeries).

What it isn't

Just a hotel. They keep guest wellbeing top-of-mind here: while you sleep on Swedish Dux mattresses, you can ask to have your zzz’s tracked with Finnish sleep monitors for a consultation with their in-house expert.

What we think

The hallmarks of Nordic style—blonde woods, grays galore, and an emphasis on natural materials and sleek furniture—are everywhere here. Even the most “basic” guest room, Atelier with Balcony, is anything but, thanks to its Mexican-marble lined bathrooms complete with a rain shower and tub, Finnish artwork hung on the walls, and chairs made in Germany by Chair Münich. (High tech amenities, like digitally adjustable mood lighting and even a SodaStream, bring an added dose of pampering). Or, get the full “I live here” experience by booking the third floor St. George Suite; the 1,011-square-foot space has parquet wood floors, a gratis mini bar (cue the champagne!), a separate living and dining room and its own sauna in the spa-like bathroom.

You're here because

The property is a Design Hotels member, so you know every single thing you see—from the coffee mug to the pool—will be ready for its Instagram closeup.

The Moment

There may be no finer place in Finland for afternoon tea than here, under the atrium glass ceiling of the hotel’s Wintergarden courtyard. Sipping a Sicilian Orange tea, you can’t help but smile at the thoroughly Nordic spread before you: leek quiche; salmon roe mousse on rye; even oat cookies. What’s Finnish for “Yum”?

Restaurants & Bars

Andrea - Anatolian and Nordic flavor combinations brought to Helsinki by world acclaimed Finnish-Turkish chef Mehmet Gürs

Wintergarden - Tasty bowls for lunch or dinner, and enjoy artisan cocktails at the bar

St. George Bakery - Freshly baked bread, sweet pastries, sandwiches, smoothies, lunch bowls - and of course fantastic coffee

Wintergarden - Zero Waste Cocktails and wine tastings

Location

Adjacent to Vanha Kirkkopuisto, or Old Church Park, in downtown Helsinki. An eight minute drive away: Sibelius Monument, a famed 1967 al fresco sculpture made of 600 steel pipes by Eila Hiltunen.