Hotels | A journalist from Brittilehti visited a luxury hotel in Helsinki and immediately came across “understated Finnish humor”

Helsinki native Hotel Maria gets a rather favorable review in a British newspaper in the Financial Times.

Supplier Richard Milnen’s assessment, the hotel located in Kruununhaa offers luxury and a cool Nordic atmosphere.

Milne also praises the hotel’s Lilja restaurant, whose meal he thinks is close to the level of a Michelin star restaurant.

However, Milne especially seemed to enjoy himself in the hotel’s spa department, where he relaxed so much that he didn’t have time to test the gym.

“If there’s one thing that Finland knows better than anywhere else, it’s the sauna,” he writes.

To which describes in his assessment that Hotel Maria’s staff was warmer than the cold Nordic interior, but still efficient.

According to him, the check-in was quick and included “even restrained Finnish humor”. However, he does not reveal in more detail what was joked at the reception.

Milne gives background to the hotel’s story by telling about its owner Sampa from Lajusewho is a three-time Olympic champion in combined skiing.

Finns may normally be a humble people, but Lajusen’s three gold medals are in the hotel’s place of honor in a display case, Milne states.

The price of the Imperial suite at the Hotel Maria luxury hotel is almost 6,000 euros per night. Picture: Aleksi Jalava / IS

Hotel Maria has reportedly run into trouble, even though it only opened its doors last December. The hotel announced in August that it would start change negotiations.

Hotel representative told HS in the summer, that the number of customers has not been as expected. A hotel offering hyperluxury into one problem the lack of Russian and Asian tourists has been raised.

Milne also writes the same in the Financial Times, according to which the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine has robbed the hotel of Asian customers who cannot fly to Finland via the fastest route via Russia.

According to Milne’s observations, the hotel has mostly European and American business travelers and wealthy tourists.