Holiday Inn Helsinki - Vantaa Airport by IHG — Hotel in Helsinki sub-region

I've stayed here a few times - usually when I have a late flight into Helsinki and an early morning one out. I don't need much - a comfy bed and a good shower is normally quite adequate. The hotel isn't walking distance from the airport - it's a (FREE!) shuttle bus which goes from stand 42 at the airport bus station and runs every twenty minutes from pretty early through to gone midnight.||I got to the bus stand having just missed the previous one, quite late in the evening (well after 11) and I had a 6:30 flight out. All I wanted was sleep.||The next bus duly turned up, and the journey to the hotel was uneventful. It was concerning though on arrival still to see something of a queue of people checking in from the previous bus... It took me nearly twenty minutes of queuing (which would have been twenty more minutes of that precious sleep). The poor lady on reception was not only covering reception on her own, but also having to cover the bar - this and on the evening of St. Patrick's day which may have made a difference to the number of people wanting alcohol served - but it wasn't that busy.||Come on management. You are an airport hotel. You know what people want and need, and efficiency is essential in this business. You are leaving your poor front-line staff in a pretty unenviable situation.||Anyway - check in was very friendly - and apologetic. My IHG status was recognised, my booking was in order and all was good. I went upstairs to the (very small, and definitely only a single) room but the bed was good and I slept until my alarm reminded me to go to HEL.||Excellent shower (tick), and downstairs to check out (same staff member who recognised me and asked if I had had any sleep) and waiting outside (the chilly air helping to wake me up). She confirmed as well the bus timetable would have the bus arriving at 5am - I was ten minutes early.||I waited ...|and waited ...||The 5am bus NEVER ARRIVED. One did arrive just in time to do the 5:20 service.||That cut it a bit fine to make my flight (thankfully I did make it otherwise I would have been rather more angry).||But sadly, the Holiday Inn Helsinki Vantaa airport is not somewhere I will choose to stay again. The management need to support their staff - and frankly if it's not walking distance a RELIABLE shuttle service is another thing that is an absolute necessity for an airport hotel.||It's not a fancy hotel, it really doesn't meet the general Holiday Inn levels - but I knew that before I booked it. It would be good value for money if it delivered on what an airport hotel needs to deliver. Sadly (at least this...

Booked this hotel for an overnight stay for the convenience to fly in and out of Helsinki Vantaa Airport within a 24 hour period.||The hotel rooms decor is a little dated but the room was clean and comfortable.||A free hotel shuttle operates to and from the airport to the hotel during certain hours and I used the service on the return trip to the airport. The bus was on time and stops at several other hotels in the vicinity before dropping off in the airport car parking area.||The breakfast at the hotel the following morning was good.||The only negative aspect of my stay was the amount of time it took in the late evening to check-in. One staff member only on duty and having to checkin customers who arrived by shuttle bus or taxis or other private transportation.||The staff member was pleasant and apologetic when checking in and I enquired if any other staff or a manager was on duty. She advised the manager would be in the next morning and I asked if she could have the manager contact me regarding the checkin experience. Not surprising I received no contact from the manager the next morning. I also wonder how they manage the expectations of higher level IHG members who are meant to receive priority check-in.||The room has comfortable bedding , a reasonable size TV on the wall with several English news channels , a sitting area, separate chair and desk. Tea and coffee making facilities are in the room with a small bar fridge. An open wardrobe with some coat hangers. An ironing board is also located in the wardrobe area. The iron is situated on the wall near the door.||The bathroom has toilet, shower with rainfall shower head and a separate hand held shower head and bathroom sink with a shelf underneath where the clean towels and bathmat were located. A bag with a hairdryer inside is also located in the bathroom.||The room has its own air conditioning unit with a control system on the wall.||I would consider staying here again but only overnight for easy access to the...

Had a late (11pm) check-in after out flight arrived for an overnight stay prior to catching a flight the next day. Initially had problems finding the bus or bus stop before we knew to follow the in-terminal signs for the Scandic hotel. We ended up on the taxi stand side of the terminal and the taxi drivers were less than helpful advising where the shuttle would be. The hotel is a short shuttle ride from the airport, which adds value to the property. The property is nice in the lobby area but a bit tired in the rooms. We found the hallway and room to be uncomfortably warm. The thermostat, like many in Europe, does not seem to be controlable by the guest. We had to ask the front desk to have the temperature lowered but I suppose the "room temperature control worker" got off work before 11pm. Visiting in July, the comforters on the bed would be nice in the winter but not great in the summer. The front desk also lent us a fan which made it less brutal. It seems that the hotel is a frequent overnight guest location as we did not see much for a pedestrian guest to do. The neighborhood appears to be "light industrial" although we heard there is a shopping mall nearby (that we never saw). The breakfast was a commonly found buffet but points are to be added as they had a push button coffee dispenser compared to the machines that makes a cup while you wait as it spits out 2 or 3 ounces of coffee. The employees were so nice and helpfull. We found the shuttle makes its rounds about every 20 minutes and one could almost set their watch to it. The morning we were leaving, I noted it pulled up at 10 minutes after the hour. This is not a property to spend several days there unless one has business nearby and transportation. It seems this property is "old" as it seems to be insulated for the cold periods and not the warm or hot days. I wish I had known that the room windows actually opened, a fact I discovered the...