Eco Family Inspiral — Hotel in Helsinki sub-region

To put it short: I guess this place is polarizing. Some people will just love it, and others gonna hate it. I am somewhere in between. Why?||||Eco Hostel Inspiral is a real Hippie Place. The decoration is creative, there's really a lot of hippie art in the sleeping and common rooms. This is makes this place certainly unique. In addition, the staff (Mikko) is really friendly and extremly helpful. The beds are comfortable and the place has even a sauna everyone can use. Sounds like five stars, doesn't it? ||||Unfortunately, there are a number of shortcomings that make this place worse than it needs to be: First, there is tons of rubbish lying around. The hostel seems to have been converted from a shared house (hippie community) into hostel, with all people just leaving a lot of stuff. For example, there were lots of boxes with video cassettes under my bed. Drawers and cupboards in rooms and common spaces are mostly filled with (former?) belongings of people once living there. Second, there is four cats living in the house, eventually visiting dorm rooms also at night. I didn't mind that, but if you're allergic against cats, that is a hazzle. Thirdly, I did not get what makes this place eco friendly except for separating trash. Finally, there are not many bathrooms, and they're okay, but a little bit filthy. ||||If you don't mind these things and look for a really cheap place, you can safely visit the hostel. If I was the owner, I would once remove all the random rubbish from the hostel and invest more into cleaning. This would easily make this one of the coolest hostels I have...

The hostel is set in a lovely wooden house, the kind that would normally be a Helsinki family home, which gives it an exceptionally cosy vibe. There is a lovely (if overgrown and wild) garden and a sauna for guests to use. The interior could be cleaner, but it does feel a bit like staying at a hippyish friend's house. The main guy who runs the place is friendly, helpful and flexible. I have however on couple of occasions called the reservation mobile phone number listed on the hostel website and the phone seems to have been with someone else as I found myself listening to a woman who presumably also works for the hostel ranting in a bizarre and very unprofessional manner about her personal life and complaining aggressively about the questions or requests I've had (such as late arrival, which by the way is listed as being ok on their website). On one occasion I felt so uncomfortable I hung up, only to find the woman calling me back to continue! This experience made the whole hostel seem a bit dodgy and unprofessionally run, so I would not use them again for anything more than a quick one night stay when travelling...

The place is basically a good-sized family house transformed into a small hostel and they did a nice job. It definitely does have a hippie feel but it's not pushy. The caretaker was a really nice guy and helpful although he has to run around a lot so upon check-in you might have to wait in the common room for some time until he gets back.||The hostel's location is a bit out of the city, not walkable but the public transportation is simple and clear. There are a few grocery shops and a bar in walking distance from the lace but nothing where you can hang out until late.||There are a few cats so if you're allergic, maybe it's not the best choice for you but as far as I remember they were not allowed in guest rooms and there was no hair anywhere||Since it was the cheapest place in Helsinki when I visited it was definitely an excellent value...