Noli Studios Katajanokka — Hotel in Helsinki sub-region

On arrival we are greeted with a iPad and log in details, once we have navigated the questions and steps we placed cards on to a device and hey presto one key cad for access to hotel and room. Fairly straight forward for us oldies, but i do miss the human side of check ins but i guess this is the way of the future.|To the right is an independent restaurant but to get to the common area and elevators you need to turn to the left and there is a large security with a swipe pad, keys worked perfectly. The decor is very Finnish, clean, functional and laid out well, in this common area is a free pool table, books, tables and chairs, work stations and the Guest Host office which is only open during the day. On the same level is a good size gym, communal kitchen, male and female saunas plus a shared sauna and a couple of spa baths, we also found a mirror room, I think this is for yoga or dancing.|Well of the lifts, we selected the floor, swiped the card and off we go, again the corridors decor very clean and precise. Arrived at the door and we could not open, our fault the doors open outwards here and we found that in Finland a lot of doors open outwards.|Room size ok and it has some great little features, oven, washing machine, dishwasher very much like a little students studio. We read the manual that comes with eh room and it is a very high tech hotel, outside in the elevator lobby there are irons and ironing boards that you scan your card to get and you place then back, there was even a vacuum cleaner and hairdryer’s. |the bed was a double bed, but strangely the quilt cover was around a foot shorter on the width than the bed, so when we are both in the bed only one person could be covered, luckily i did see a second quilt in the wardrobe, but it was not needed due the heat in the room, no matter what i did with the temp settings it never dropped below 24.7 degrees C, next day i was told it was not a Air Con system more of a controlled centrally air flow system. If like me you are a hot sleeper unfortunate all you can do is lie on the bed and sweat all night.|The temp control was not the only delta, they only allow or supply for a 3 night stay, one tea bag each and one coffee bag each, this is very poor and extremely tight (Scrooge like), nothing worst when you have just woken up, but to put on some clothes and go down the common area , then to the communal kitchen and swipe your credit card for a coffee, hoping no one sees you or thanks to you with your morning breath !!!! Oh by the way the machine malfunctions sometimes it does not put the pod in and all you get is water, so you have to buy another coffee, fingers crossed this time. Great having all this high tech stuff so there is no one to talk to stay hey the machine stole my money.|Overall it was a pretty good stay, close to the main attractions and everything within walking distance, would i go in summer or late summer possibly no, go when you need to turn on the radiator for heat, this you can control, take your own coffee or teabags and you will have great stay...

EDIT: After further review and an extention of communication with the team at Noli Katajanokka, I am happy to share that I changed my rating to 5/5.

Noli Katajanokka took my review seriously, and made an effort to contact me to make things right with a heartfelt apology. I will leave the original content below to show how they reacted to my review through their comment, and that they do care about all their customers.

EDIT EDIT: Google maps review actually delete the owner's comments after an edit. Noli Katajanokka basically apologised and admitted that something went wrong with the mailing system. They also went through the sign internally in a meeting and concluded that it could be more clear for short-term visitors that it only applies for long-term stay residents. This is how you make the most out of a bad review, kudos to you.

Original: On their official website it says that check-in time is between 15:00-23:59, but nowhere does it say that the entrance closes at 22:00. We arrived at the hotel at 22:02, confused by the entrance door not opening. Tried to ring the bell for Noli twice, but nobody answered. Managed to get in by some other guests opening the door for us.

Then came the self check-in. We realized we hadn't received the reference number for the check-in after the purchase by mail, after trying to go through the process with the reference ID (which was obviously too long). There was a clear sign of door opening service, which stated that a security service would assist you after opening hours for the price of €73. This was not an option for us, as €73 is a ridiculous amount to have to pay, even though we already had paid for the 3 nights. Me and my fiancée ended up waiting in the lobby for the night, as we had nowhere else to turn to.

By 08:00, we called the staff for assistance. We were met with ridicule, asking us why we didn't contact the security. I said we refused to pay €73 for having them open the door for us, but Fanny, the hotel clerk told us that it only applies for longstay residents. Nowhere on the sign does it tell you that. She helped us through the check-in process, and told us a third party company had just forgotten to send us the reference number. No compensation was offered, so we asked for a refund for the first night, which was denied immediately. We were told to send an email enquiry with a complaint and let them judge, but I really just can't be bothered by doing that after our horrible experience with the customer service.

I wouldn't recommend this hotel to anyone, they clearly won't take responsibility when...

I decided to stay at Noli Studios because I was moving full time to Helsinki. It was very easy to make the reservation. I choose the flexible stay which means you can predict your stay and the price ranges from 800 € to 1398 €. I choose to have one month and then extend if needed. If you predicted stay is short you will pay the rest amount. If your stay is longer you will be reimbursed for the rest amount. My welcome was really nice, recieved a tour of the place and were explained how it worked. The only thing that was missed was the cleaning days. The room has a lot of storage space and has amenties such as dishwasher and laundry machine. The staff was really kind and helpful in general. This would been a perfect stay however there is one factor that takes down the points. I notified the staff that I was looking for apartment and was wondering if it would be possible to cancel the remain of the stay. ( You have to notify on the 21 of each month if you would like to extend or not. Then you have to pay before the new month starts) The first answer I received was that it would not be a problem since I had not paid. Then they would not have to make a refund. Then it would work to cancel my stay. I talked to 3 different people regarding this matter ( who were really kind and service minded ) who said that they would have to check with their manager. I was under the impression that I would be able to get a refund for the remaining days. I did not receive an answer back. On the 2 of November I went to the office station to see if the had an answer for me. The answer was that it would not be possible to make a refund. At this time I already had an apartment. I understand what the agreements are. I would just wish that it would have been clear from the beginning. I have paid 1294 € for not staying there. They said I could still use all their spaces which is kind. I do not think that sauna, gym and pool is worth 1294 € per month. I also understand that Noli Studios is a new company and that there is a lot of things in the beginning. I also think that they could shorten down their Accommodation Service Contract due to that is 16 pages. The contracts for staying at and hotel is much shorter and same for signing a contract for an apartment. I do still believe Noli Studios is good place stay if you are staying for a longer period. Unfortunately the incident with the refund was a huge fall back and there for...