Ilola Inn — Hotel in Lahti sub-region

We reserved this remote location by the lake based on internet advertisement and how wrong could we go. ||||We were looking for the location for our 20th wedding anniversary. We contacted the Inn and asked about reserving private sauna and tub just for us to relax and after that 3-course dinner to end the evening with fun and good time. I asked about the dinner choices and the reply was that they could not tell me yet, but that there is always fish and beef choices.||||I made the reservation in 2-month advance so this would not come as a surprise for Ilola Inn. The reason why we chose this location was because we could get everything from same location. No need to use car or taxi. The location by lake seemed wonderful and the suite seemed good. Everything seemed fine “in paper”.||||We arrived at the reserved day and everything seemed to be ok. The first customer service person was friendly and even been on a hurry, she helped us to check-in. The room and reserved sauna were in different part of building, so she decided to give us few seconds of her time and led us to our room. We also asked about the reserved dinner and this point things started to move worse.||||This person did not know the dinner situation which is understandable. It is possible that everyone does not know everything in big place. ||||While on our way to our room we met the supervisor (the person who was emailing me about the reservation and confirming that everything was ok). First thing she said to lady number one that “was this the reservation that was booked sometime in the winter?”. At this point I didn’t remember when I booked the reservation. It was early enough that this shouldn’t be a surprise. I checked the reservation date in our room. It was 19.5. and our arrival was 17.7. Not in the winter.||||She responded to the question about dinner that there were no 3-courses dinners in July. It was impossible for some reason. The replacement for 3-course dinner was open barbeque buffet. At this point I was bit upset because we were here for our wedding anniversary and open barbeque buffet didn’t sound the thing I ordered. At this point our reserved sauna time was already started so I decided that we can get dinner somewhere else then and let it go.||||We arrived to our room and everything seemed ok (if we don’t count the surprise sock under the couch). I closed my eyes about that too and we prepared to go to sauna. ||||The sauna was basic sauna and it was ok. It was warm and clean. I order some strawberries and grapes to sauna for nimble and there where fine too.||||Problems about sauna where in the promised view to lake and the tub that where ordered (and paid extra) separately. We expected the tub to be heated because of the text on the internet pages. web page tells the tub to be "saunapalju" which in Finland means heated tub. The tub was “swimming pool warm” water (as we were told by this supervisor) that was heated by carrying the boiling water from sauna next door. ||||At this point the “heated water” was nothing but heated. I went to ask about the water temperature from check-in (because the receptions 24/7 phone didn’t answer). The same supervisor told me that the pool was heated and everything was normal. They didn’t use the tub normally at July because it was so difficult to maintain. This was told to me now, even I reserved this tub 2-months earlier and everything was fine about it then. No one told me that there is something mysterious about July. ||||I was told that they can’t do anything about it now, because the sauna next door was also reserved and there didn’t seems to have hot water anywhere else. I replied pretty straight forward that “well what would we need that then?” and marched back to sauna. At this point I didn’t feel relaxed or any festive mood. I have to admit that I was pretty pissed off. We where prepared and waited for this day for a long time.||||I returned to sauna “to enjoy the lake view”, which was a 2 floor boat with some youngster partying. Between our sauna and lake was also a deck where people was walking from and to the boat at the dock. So we enjoyed this relaxing sauna experience about 45-50 minutes of our 2 hours reservation. Decided that we have sauna at home also. We didn’t come here for this kind of experience.||||At this point we went to reception to give customer feedback. I had good manner, even that I was about the explode. Again, the same lady that checked us in helped as and listened the feedback. She apologized the situation and said that she asks the supervisor to talk to us. This was wrong move.||||The supervisor had to come from her office to reception and started to talk to us very condescending and said that “we seemed to have everything wrong today”. I was about to go full mental to her at this point, but I didn’t. ||||I told her that we reserved this location because we wanted to relax in tub and sauna, get some fine dinner and have fun and relaxed evening and we where not getting what we reserved. At this point my wife was with me and she has very upset for the situation and told her experience about everything. She told the supervisor that “you can’t use this kind of advertising for your services, because it is not what customers are receiving for their money”. ||||The supervisor started to ARGUE with us that everything was fine and it is what it is and this was their way to do this. The tub was heated and there where open barbeque buffet for us. I tried to argue back for a while and decided that this is pointless. There was no customer service professional to listen to me. There was bad mannered supervisor who didn’t understand that the customer experience has been failed totally and started to argue with the customer about it. Total rock bottom moment to this location’s customer service.||||At this point I didn’t care that the dinner was cancelled, and the tub was not hot. I was pissed off to the customer services state at this location. I have to say that if the lady number one would have handled the situation, everything probably would have been saved (even from this situation), but the condescending and bad mannered supervisor was the issue that ruined all.||||We end up driving to Lahti (over 2 hours of driving to and back) to have 20th anniversary dinner at El Toros. There everything was perfect. We got our 3-course dinner.||||The evening was not like anything we were hoping for. We couldn’t shake the days extra bad service even with El Toros excellent service and the evening was almost full of comments and conversations about the service state and that we don’t want to go back this place. I had already paid the night so back we went.||||The suite was nice. For the price, we would expect air conditioning, but in Finland it’s not always necessary. We end up sleeping with windows open because our room was in second floor.||||The breakfast was ok. Nothing special, but enough to keed the hunger away.||||When I checked out from Inn, there was a new person who served me nicely. She also removed those 2 3-course meals from my checkout bill (and 11 open barbeque buffets, that we didn’t eat either). The room was paid before, the sauna (plus all the extra) was paid on out departure. This fun cost me about 450 €. ||||In the end I have to say, that this place has potential, but at the moment the service grade is not anything like you expect from place that advertises itself on the internet as;|| ||“Ilola Inn is the perfect choice when you want a different atmosphere for your celebration! A wonderful setting, hospitable service and a peaceful environment in the embrace of Päijänne will make your party an unforgettable experience – whether it is a celebration, a party, a graduation or a wedding ceremony.||The celebration starts with a welcome bowl and continues with a wonderfully prepared meal. With the help of our partners, we can arrange treatments or e.g. musical performances for your happening.||Your celebration will be a matter of heart also for us!”||||Well, I must admit, the experience was unforgettable.|| ||This place is basically for quick stop, but not to stay. There were not welcoming feeling and when we left, I send the confirmation about the room payment with email (because why would it found from their billing system) and apologized that we were there as their nuisance. That was the customer experience that we got from this place. We were not welcomed here.||||If you are on a boat or motorcycling cross the country side, this might be the great stop for you, but don’t expect it to be anything else. Sadly, because the place is beautiful and has so much potential to be so much more. At the moment, this is just a guest marina for travelers....

We arrived at 5:00 PM, full of anticipation, expecting a luxurious and peaceful experience as promised by the advertisement. The image of a serene infinity pool overlooking a tranquil lake set the expectation for a relaxing, upscale getaway.

What We Expected:

• A stylish, peaceful environment where we could unwind. • A spacious room with comfortable amenities. • A heated infinity pool perfect for a relaxing swim. • A serene atmosphere, ideal for couples looking for a romantic escape. • Quiet, idyllic surroundings with nature as the backdrop.

What We Actually Got:

• A very small room with an equally tiny bed. We had to constantly maneuver around each other to avoid bumping into the ceiling. • We ate our own food in the room while standing, and it was cold. • The heated infinity pool was too cold, which led to catching a cold instead of relaxing. • The atmosphere was far from peaceful. During our swim, there was loud noise, and we had to endure two guests shouting on the phone in the hallway for about an hour. • Our visit to the pier was cut short by a local, intoxicated man fishing there all evening, insisting on showing off his catch.

The lounge, advertised with images of fruit on the window sill, was misleading. Instead, it housed a large printer, with a coffee maker and kettle in the corner.

Given all this, €180 per night is far too much. For that price, you can find much better options. A more fitting price for this place would be a maximum of €120. Had we known the reality beforehand, we would not have chosen this location. We aimed to enjoy an evening in a stylish setting, but the experience was a significant disappointment.

If you are a couple seeking a peaceful, romantic getaway, this might not be the place for you. During our stay, there were loud guests, and the atmosphere was anything but serene. Instead of the quiet escape we envisioned, we encountered a lively, almost chaotic environment, which was far from what was advertised.

This is not an idyllic retreat in nature but more of a summer spot with a party atmosphere, where people rent saunas and celebrate late into the night. Couples looking for tranquility should think twice before booking here to avoid being disappointed by the lively and sometimes noisy surroundings.

Sauna was closed in the morning, so we had to ask for it to be opened. No jacuzzi. Empty. Sauna was dirty, apperently they never wash it so the smell is very bad. Bring your own slippers to walk around.

Breakfast was good quality except that the worker was sitting in the same room with laptop doing office job and it felt absolutely awkward, the most intimidating breakfast ever.

Not book again for sure and will...

Feedback on the accommodation:||The sofa was placed under the roof and was practically unapproachable; there were only a few meters where we could stand, and we had to crawl in between to access it.||The advertised kitchen does not exist; it has been converted into a room, and this change has not been updated in the information provided. As a result, we had to eat cold food in the room, straight from containers, using our own utensils.||The room was also very small, and so was the bed. We constantly had to maneuver around each other and be careful not to hit the ceiling while moving through the room.||The heated infinity pool was too cold, which resulted in us catching a cold.||The atmosphere was not peaceful: during swimming, there was a lot of noise, and we had to listen to two Italian guests loudly talking on the phone in the central room for about an hour. Our visit to the pier ended early because a local, intoxicated man was fishing there all evening and insisted on showing off his catch.||In the lounge area, where the pictures showed fruit on the windowsill, there was instead a large printer, and in the corner, there was a coffee maker and a kettle. This was misleadingly advertised. Additionally, we had to go back to our room and get water from the bathroom to make tea.||The sauna was closed in the morning, and we had to specifically request to have it opened (we were outside in the cold for 15 minutes in our bathrobes). The sauna was dirty and smelled bad, and the jacuzzi was empty.||At breakfast, the atmosphere was uncomfortable because the staff member was sitting in the breakfast area with a computer, doing office work. The space is small, with only three tables. While we were eating, the staff member took my plates away, touching me in the process, and started washing the dishes. Then, their work phone rang at the next table while they were washing dishes.||Considering all this, €180 per night feels unreasonable. Had I known the reality beforehand, I wouldn’t have chosen this place. The intention was to enjoy an evening in a stylish setting, but the experience was...