Where is it?
Clarion Hotel Helsinki Airport is located in Aviapolis, a new business park located around 2 km from the terminals at Helsinki Vantaa airport. The hotel opened in October 2016 and hence has just been open for just over a year.
The hotel can be reached by train from the airport, just one station on the new Ring Line. The station is called Aviapolis and the station exit is next to the hotel, a 30 seconds walk. The journey from the airport takes no more than two minutes. There are also several local buses from the airport passing near the hotel but there is no dedicated shuttle bus.
For guests who would like some fresh air and only have hand luggage it is possible to walk from the airport terminals to the hotel. The walk takes around 20 minutes and although there are no signs along the way it is not particularly difficult with a printed map and there are proper walkways all the way.
The arrival experience
The train from the airport only leaves every 30 minutes in the late evening and as I knew I would miss the next train and would have to wait 25 minutes for the following one I decided to try to get to the hotel by foot. At least to get some fresh air and to see what the walk was like. I had printed a map beforehand, the weather was fine and I only had light hand luggage. The walk was fairly straight-forward on some local roads and there was very little traffic in the area.
As the hotel is located at an airport many guests obviously arrive late in the evening on evening flights and there were several people queueing to check in when I arrived and it took a few minutes before it was my turn. My check-in process was fairly quick by a friendly young man. Apparently a reservation had been made for a room with twin beds so he asked me if I wanted a room with a king or queen-sized double bed instead, which I happily accepted. He replied he would fix that and eventually gave me my key card with a smile “I got a nice room for you” without saying much more.
As a Nordic Choice Member I also got a voucher for the bar and the restaurant and I was informed breakfast was included and would be served from 7 am the next morning.
The room
The hotel has 258 rooms divided into standard rooms, superior rooms, deluxe rooms and suites.
I had been assigned a corner room on the third floor and I immediately noticed I had been given some kind of upgrade as the room was significantly larger than the other rooms on the same floor, both by looking at the evacuation map and by using some common sense. There were also other amenities such as a Nespresso machine, which are usually only available in premium rooms.
I later found out I had been given a Deluxe Room, so that would mean a a two-step upgrade as there are superior rooms as well. The room was very nicely decorated and the upgrade, of course, was much appreciated. The rooms at the Clarion hotels are usually not luxurious in a traditional sense but rather stylish and elegant in a Nordic minimalistic kind of way.
The Deluxe Room had a large bed 200 cm wide double bed with no less than four pillows and cushions in a nice and attractive design.
The room also had a desk, an armchair, a widescreen TV, a wardrobe, a Nespresso machine and a kettle. According to the Clarion website some Deluxe Rooms are slightly larger and also have a sofa.
The bathroom was very spacious with both a bathtub and a very spacious walk-in shower. The standard rooms and superior rooms in the hotel have either or, but never both.
Bathrobes and slippers were also included and by the bathtub a small black seal was waiting.
Food and drinks
The hotel has a bar and a restaurant located on the ground floor next to the lobby with the signature Clarion restaurant concept ‘Kitchen & Table’ by the famous Swedish chef Marcus Samuelsson. I arrived after 10 pm so the restaurant was just about to close and I was not planning on having dinner at the hotel anyway.
There is also bar at the hotel called ‘Bar Kitchen & Table’ located next to the restaurant in the lobby area which is open until midnight. I passed it for a quick beer before going to bed.
Just like the lobby and the restaurant the bar was also very stylish with colourful and comfortable sofas and armchairs and there was even a white DJ-table with “Clarion Loves Music” printed, so most likely there is a DJ playing music at the bar some days of the week.
Other facilities
There is a gym and a sauna on the first floor. The gym is open 24 hours while the sauna is open in the morning from 6 to 10 am and again in the evening from 6 until 10 pm.
There is also a conference centre with meeting rooms.
Service
The service was fine with no problems during the stay. All hotel staff were friendly and delivered a prompt and attentive service and of course the upgrade was a very nice touch. But there should have been more staff working at the reception in the evening as it took a fair bit of time for all newly-arrived guests to be checked in. Especially when arriving late at 11 pm you really just want to get to your room.
Breakfast
The breakfast was served in the ‘Kitchen & Table’ restaurant on the ground floor. Breakfast starts at 6 am on weekdays and 7 am on weekends, which is fairly late for an airport hotel. The hotel also offers an early bird breakfast from 4.30 until the regular breakfast starts, probably with a smaller selection of food.
The breakfast seemed to be included in all rates as there was no one checking the room number at the restaurant. The breakfast was buffet-style with all kinds of hot dishes such as scrambled eggs, sausages and pancakes and continental breakfast with yoghurt and cereals, bread rolls and pastries.
Final impression
This is a new, modern and very stylish hotel with a nice interior in both the guests rooms and in the public areas. Although not located close to the terminals the airport train takes only two minutes to the hotel. Friendly service, nice bar and a good breakfast.
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