Hotel Haven — Restaurant in Helsinki sub-region

Room

Prime superior room 620 had that classical elegance and it reminded us a bit of the room where we stayed in hotel Kamp. Room was really spacious and beautiful. We liked how the bed and couch were positioned in a way that you were able to watch TV from both. We usually love to watch movie before sleeping and in this room watching tv had been made really easy. In some hotels it's such hassle when you need to start moving tv or worst case scenario furniture to just able to watch tv from bed. Tv had chromecast. Room was not clutched of furniture's which made the room feel even more spacious. Everything in the room was well placed and served the purpose. I especially liked huge beautiful white mirror just right side of the door. We loved spacious bathroom which had separate shower and bathtub. They only have few prime superior rooms that has both so remember to request it when booking the room. There was speaker installed in the bathroom so you could stream music or listen news while having a shower or brushing teeths. Fun little curiosity was the rubber whale in bathtub.

Gym

Gym was really small. Smallest I've seen in hotel by far.  It felt something like you could have at your home. Well they had dumbbells, treat mill, and couple others but if you really need all around good work out then better look elsewhere.

Breakfast

Breakfast was served in stunningly beautiful sundman house which is second oldest stone building in Helsinki. Breakfast selection was not the biggest but still good enough to fill your stomach, best I remember the breakfast from was the shrimps and delicious chocolate cake. Still building itself elevated breakfast experience by hundred as the building had so much eye candy to see. You were not only eating by your mouth but by your eyes too. From windows you were able to see market square and orthodox church. No other hotel in Helsinki can compete with the views.

When you get out from the hotel you can see right away perhaps the most prominent sights of Helsinki, white Helsinki cathedral and beautiful orthodox church on the hill. Boat to Suomenlinna is also waiting you just couple steps away. Yes Kämp is more central but Haven is closer to all main sights in Helsinki. Haven don't have spa or even a sauna which is bit strange as Finland is country of million of saunas. Well there is allas sea pool near by which has all the bells and whistles if you want that experience or you can walk kämp and use their spa.

Conclusion

It was all around beautiful boutique hotel. Room had that classical decor and whole hotel oozed personality. Breakfast also did make an impact, not with it's selection but how grand the building itself was. Big points also from the views. Most important sights of Helsinki were just couple steps away. No sauna or pool was bit of a surprise and gym was tiny but otherwise it was a great place to stay. We highly...

This place was a little disappointing to be honest; when reading this review remember we paid almost £400 for 2 nights and it is supposed to be a 5 star hotel.

The room was spacious enough even though there was a massive pillar in the middle. It's likely weight bearing and nothing they can do about it but it totally made the room awkward and broke its flow.

Beds were pretty enormous and comfortable enough, but the sheets had a hole in them.

The toilet door is a sliding door, which felt a little broken like it had come off its rails. It may supposed to be like that, but it felt a bit rubbish. Also awkward to close fully.

On the first morning, we discovered they hadn't supplied hair conditioner nor body gel; we had to wash using a bar of soap the size of a thumbnail (we did get conditioner on the 2nd morning). The shower's pipe is awkward and heavy, meaning in order to get the shower head to spray on you you had to spin it about 60 degrees away from you. It was also a walk in shower/bath and a fairly standard shower head with average pressure; not the most luxurious.

Pretty sure no matter where we left the towels they ended up being taken for washing anyway which isn't great for the environment.

Breakfast was served in an adjacent-ish building which meant braving the Helsinki November cold to get to it, and it wasn't that amazing. It was fine but wasn't blown away by any of it. Little disappointed they had no beans.

There was an odd, consistent noise (maybe air conditioning firing) from outside; might also be out of the hotel's control but it was a little annoying.

Honestly, these are mostly petty, small things and not really 'problems', but for the price we paid and the end result I just felt it all very underwhelming. There's probably better, cheaper options around; we came from Tallinn and stayed at the Centennial (recommended!) and this place actually felt worse, even though it was double the price for less nights.

The best thing about it was...

It was our first time in staying in Haven, and we definitely loved the experience. The location is really nice and convenient for visiting Helsinki for pleasure, you can enjoy nice walks along Esplanadi and in the harbour area.

We had a deluxe room with a harbour view and even though initially we were surprised how small the windows were, we really enjoyed the view (especially from the toilet) and the harbour vibes you are getting from there. Sunrise in the morning was absolutely spectacular! The room itself is rather simple and classic, no drama, nothing special. Yet everything was very nice and clean. Very large and comfy bed, nice lighting.

The highlight of the stay was probably the breakfast, which is located in the old town house next to the hotel building. The old house is really beautiful and the breakfast display is really amazing. There were so many delicacies and we absolutely loved their Karelian pies (probably best ones I have ever had!).

The location of the breakfast is slightly inconvenient if you have mobility issues, the breakfast room does not have any elevators and you have to climb many stairs. It was a bit difficult for my elderly mother-in-law who was traveling with us. If I would have known it in advance, I would have probably picked another hotel for her conveniency.

Yet, we ourselves enjoyed the stay very much and are happy to book Hotel Haven again!

I noticed some other review mentioning that the staff remained distant and cold and I have to agree with them on that. Even though the place is really nice, we didn't really feel welcomed or noticed by the staff. Everyone seemed to be very busy, not really smiling and doing their own thing. For a place like Haven a friendly attitude would give so much extra for...