Review: Holiday Inn Helsinki Airport

@Lucky

Widebodies on HEL-LHR is not unusual at the moment because IAG and Finnair signed a cargo agreement last year. It's due to the higher cargo capacity.

Checked 3 week in Feb, A333 or A340 does the Mon and Fri 8am run every week.

http://aircargoworld.com/iag-cargo-and-finnair-share-london-helsinki-run/

@lucky - Nice report as always. I have a suggestion, could you share your annual yearly stats on Brands / No. of nights or stays / indicate Paid or Award. As you are an elite travel blogger, it will provide some insights to us over how you distribute your actual brand preferences over time. This could work for Airline trips as well.

Ben,

Being that the short dash to the bus was so cold be glad you didn't stay at the Hilton. The last time I was in Helsinki it was not attached to the terminal. You had to go right when you go out the entrance at the Starbucks, walk about 50 yards, go up some steps (or elevator), and then cross a couple of parking lots to get to the Hilton.

That being said.... I have been very satisfied with my several stays at that Hilton. Friendly staff, good restaurant, comfortable rooms, and a club.

Kitos!

I would have tried the reindeer. When in Rome...

Reports like this one aren't exotic, but they're pretty useful. More than once I've had to figure out which airport hotel would be best for a pre-flight or layover stay. Looking at that shower... man. I'm not sure it was worth 45K IHG points.

No, not crazy.
And the shower...I think it's good to have a "basic" shower from time to time, so you can value the luxury more on your next stays.

You were assigned to a standard queen. That sounds about right.

@Thomas_888: Should Lucky hit himself on the head with a hammer? Perhaps he's forgotten how great it feels when that's not happening 🙂

I suggest next time you stay in Helsinki, instead of staying at the Kämp you should try out the Glo Kluuvi which is actually just next door (they even share a spa). It's not quite as luxurious, but significantly more modern.

Ben, I think that's a good choice. One stay will net you 45K, not including the points from the paid stay itself. Not everyone has as generous accelerate promo as yours. Mine is almost the same, except that I don't get the 'Earn More Faster' option, so 3 out of 4 tasks requires me to stay 5 nights at IHG hotels.

Hilton Helsinki Airport is definitely much nicer, but hey, promo!

I think it is your duty to stay in dumpy places sometimes to report back to poor souls such as us.
So inbetween reading about those god-like fancy First Class flights and 6-star-hotels, we could see, that you too, suffer like us, mortals, suffer everyday at places like this dump-ass Holiday Inn.

😀

@ No Name -- Good to know, thanks!

I'll probably be shunned for this... but I actually don't mind Holiday Inns. IHG is actually my go to chain when looking for places to stay with Hilton following if I'm feeling "fancy". I rarely spend anytime in the hotels (nor would I want to) since most of my travelling is always to a new city. Nice to see a review about a "normal man's hotel" though.

For my 1 or 2 night stays (3 if I'm being reaaaaaaly relaxed), IHG properties do the job just fine. I suppose a good example is this past August when I was in Singapore. Countless high-end properties to choose from but I ended up in a HIX near Clarke Quay. Property was brand new, modern, free wifi, a surprisingly excellent breakfast compared to the US and European counterparts and pretty close to the city center. Other than the 8 hours a night of sleeping we spent maybe an additional 5 hours in the hotel (between breakfast and showering, etc).

It looks like from your Accelerate promo, you didn't need the Jan night to unlock the full promo bonus. It just gives you the measly 5K bonus points. Was that worth the trade-off of not staying in the better hotel?

Room OK but bathroom did look pretty rubbish!

You do know of course that you don't catch a cold from cool weather but from a virus? 😉

Surprised they didn't have reindeer carbonara on offer, I remember having it last time I was in Helsinki!

You took one for the team on this one. Better of just walking indoors to the Hilton to avoid turning into an icicle.

Unless they've enclosrd it in the last couple of months you still walk outside to get to the Hilton. It just has a roof now but still otherwise open to the elements.

Hi Lucky,

I left a question on one of Tiffany's posts, and she said you might have the answer, so here it is. Thanks so much!

Here’s something I’ve been wondering, and this probably differs by hotel chain, but maybe you have a general answer. Because most hotels are not owned by the chain, but the loyalty programs are, who covers the cost for elite benefits? Obviously there’s not much extra cost to a hotel for, say, a suite upgrade if it otherwise would be empty, but what about breakfast or the food/drinks from the lounge? Does the loyalty program provide any sort of reimbursement for these costs? Or does the hotel have to cover the cost assuming that the elite will return and “pay them back” in profit? If the latter’s the case, I can understand why some hotels have a VERY conservative definition of continental breakfast.

And same thing with the My Elite Rate discount Hyatt had a few years ago. If a hotel wasn’t reimbursed, it’s not like they knew about having to cover the benefit when they signed their management contract. Almost seems like “taxation without representation.”

Ok, so the bathroom is small. Other than that, what is wrong with it?
So, this is what all the hotels that my company pays for look like. It was nice to see Lucky's perspective to have a ponit of comparison.

Our room was much nicer - we must have gotten lucky with the upgrade. Ours had a nice big bathroom and a second half bath, which I've never seen in a non-suite room. The decoration was very unusual - some sort of 70's style

As in life, standards queens are not very interesting. I'm thinking you're more deluxe queen. Your room seemed more dowager duchess! (Sorry American readers, you probably wouldn't understand any of that!)

The decor of the room with all the wood and plain walls is very Nordic, but it's still cheap-looking. Frankly, it looks like what one might find in a college dormitory or a hostel with private rooms. The coffee was pathetic, especially since Finns love good coffee. This is yet another reason why I don't stay at IHG anymore; the elite-level benefits aren't worth the inconsistency and, frankly inferiority of Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza.

I stayed at this hotel twice last month (overnight connections in and out of Helsinki) and both times was upgraded to a spacious and updated executive room. The bathroom was pretty dank (much like the one you described) but all-in-all a pretty decent place to stay for a night.

There's also a mall with a movie theater, bowling, mini-golf and plenty of restaurants about 1/2 mile walk down the road that made for a pleasant evening.

I'm not sure if your phone is displaying the temperature in Fahrenheit or Celsius but -25 is hardly "unbareable" for 10 seconds either way.

You go to HEL for a night and don't eat Rudolph.

What am I missing?

😉

Awesome that they have wall dispensers. So much better for the environment.

One other thing. You made a comment about slow restaurant staff--overworked in fact. I've found this to be the case across Northern Europe, as the Nordic countries have high taxes, including taxing a business for hiring, on top of high minimum wages. As a result, restaurant staff are very, very expensive. In Oslo and Stockholm, you can find fast-food restaurants where you order through a kiosk because it's so expensive to pay someone to just stand at a cash register and take orders.

My wife and I stayed at the airport Ramada for 1 night and the Hilton downtown for 4 nights in August and found that Finnish hotels are not air conditioned so the rooms can be warm and if you can open the window, if even only a few inches, you hear the traffic.

Myself and my family also chose to stay at this holiday inn whilst waiting for a connection on the ' reindeer route' MAN - BNE. I agree it's pretty basic and we too ate at the hotel and used the little gym ( converted from 2 rooms ) lucky for us it was summer as those temps look terrible. I would also agree that Helsinki airport is the best I have ever transited through , fast, friendly , compact, and convenient when you are on long trip

Have stayed at the HI Helsinki-Vantaa Airport in Oct & in May. The room darkening shades are great (much needed in May). Love the restaurant: for breakfast it has a great spread with many choices. Lunch and dinner are are good with choices changed seasonally. The walk to the Jumbo mall and Flamingo hotel is easy and affords other restaurant choices, not to mention souvenir shopping if needed. The rooms are 70's nordic sparse and not a place you will want to hunker down and hangout in, they are a place to rest.