Pleasantly surprised- a review of Hotel Indigo, Helsinki Boulevard
I struggled finding somewhere suitable when looking for somewhere to stay in Helsinki. Initially I planned on staying in an Airbnb as I had done in most visits to cities across Europe but the properties were either:
- too far from the city
- too expensive
- or just a bit drab...
Some might say I'm just being too picky, which might be true... however Helsinki didn't have the same selection of places to stay on Airbnb as say Budapest or Prague. Upon further inspection, it seems Finnish authorities are not particularly keen on the new Airbnb sharing economy - which makes sense, considering the poor selection (Source: YLE - Finnish State Broadcaster).
So it was back to the drawing board and likely a bog-standard chain hotel option. Again, this being in the Nordic region (Finland is not in Scandinavia, confusingly!), rooms can get pricey so I advise looking at hotel rooms before purchasing a cheap flight to the city. There are 110 hotels to choose from within the city (Source: MyHelsinki.fi) with hotels from international chains like IHG and Hilton or region chains like Nordic Choice and Scandic. I eventually settled on an IHG property - Hotel Indigo, Helsinki Boulevard, at around GBP 100 per night for a twin room.
Finding our way from the drop off point of the Finnair City Bus was simple and took a 15 minute walk - easy for almost everybody to accomplish. My initial impressions of Helsinki upon stepping off the bus were clean, quiet and just very, very nice with a definite feeling of safety (which I also felt in Stockholm, Sweden). Arriving at the hotel, you are greeted with an ugly, pseudo-brutalist style building that is far from welcoming although upon further investigation the former office building itself is actually older than the modern Republic of Finland (late 1800s versus 1917) - so the style is not necessarily the most modern (Source: ArchDaily).
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Hotel Indigo front (Source: IHG.com) -
Hotel Indigo entrance (Source: IHG.com)
Once inside the lobby, the hotel becomes a beacon of Nordic minimalism that many of us have come to love from frequenting fancy coffee shops and "hipster" venues. This time, unlike the down-market Ikea that is Heathrow Terminal 3, it was well crafted, carefully arranged and a comfortable environment to work or relax in.
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Welcome card from the Hotel staff
Check in at the hotel was a breeze. Quick, simple and since we had arrived around the check-in time we were able to access the room straight away. I did present my IHG Rewards Club Gold card - which doesn't particularly entitle you to much however my Father did appreciate the free drink it entitled me to. Something I had not mentioned yet was that this trip was a birthday present to my Father who had celebrated a "special birthday" earlier that year. A week or so prior to arriving at the Hotel, I had sent the front desk a quick email to say it was my Dad's birthday and to see if they could arrange something for him on our arrival - as well as stressing the need for twin beds (!) which can sometimes be difficult to guarantee. No acknowledgment was made of this when we checked in, however upon arrival to the room we was greeted to a small gift & card.
I've never tried this before and please do not take advantage of people's good nature - but I was pleasantly surprised at them taking the time and effort to do this. The welcome gift included a small cake, selection of premium Fazer dark chocolate, small bottles of sparkling wine and Twining Tea varieties I'd never seen before. This certainly impressed me & this was before I'd properly even explored the room.
Once in the room, I could not believe quite how big it was and how much space there was in the room for a hotel that was in the middle of the city. The penny then dropped that we had been upgraded to a better room with much more space than I had originally paid for. A decent surprise for a hotel I did not have many expectations of! The room itself features:
- A Nespresso machine with a set of capsules (perfect for coffee snobs like myself)
- Large double beds for a twin room
- A reasonably sized desk with a comfortable amount of space for up to a 15" laptop and documents
- Chairs for relaxation - although I preferred to sit on the bed and watch television
- And a television that can be turned round 360 degrees to face either the beds or chairs - a very neat solution
- Fast and free in-room WiFi
It was immaculately clean, which is not always the case at some hotel chains, and the beds themselves were conducive to an extremely comfortable sleep. In the bathroom, Hotel Indigo provided AVEDA products for use by guests which I had not noticed in any of their other properties before. The bathroom itself is very standard and not particularly outstanding in any way.
Around the rest of the property, there is a number of amenities including:
- on-site gym and "wellness" centre
- a very Finnish sauna
- Bröd Punavuori restaurant
- café turned bar area next to the ground floor lobby area
During my visit, I did not decide to go for the hotel breakfast - packages are more expensive and if you wanted to add on during your stay it is EUR 29 per person per day. It seemed to be a very standard continental breakfast affair and not worth the added expense. Instead, I would advise nipping into one of the local cafes nearby or, if you are in a rush, head into any local supermarket such as Kesko (the logo is a big K) and Lidl for a pastry. If you are looking for something special, keep an eye out for my future review of Fazer café in the coming weeks.
I came expecting a mediocre experience that was similar to any other chain hotel like a Holiday Inn but it was unexpectedly better. All in all, after a three night stay at the Hotel Indigo - Helsinki Boulevard, would I recommend it? Most definitely, if you are looking for a mid-range, central and comfortable hotel at a reasonable price.
Have you stayed at the Hotel Indigo - Helsinki Boulevard? If so, what are your thoughts?