Accommodation in Helsinki is known for being rather expensive, so we thought we'd try our hand at a relatively novel concept: a self-service hotel.
In Finland there is a chain of self-service hotels called Omena Hotels in Helsinki alone there are three. We decided to stay at the one on Lönnrotinkatu, which ended up being less than a 5 minute walk into the middle of town.
We paid a total of NZ$357.82 for 3 nights, so just slightly less than $60 per person, per night. In Euros, two nights were €69.90 per night and one night was €79.90. We thought that was pretty good value, but note that they charge per room and you can fit up to four people in a room so if we had four people it would have been really cheap.
We booked over the internet as we did for all of our other hotels and hostels, but the only difference was that I needed to provide passport and other details of all the guests (i.e. me and Charlotte). This is because there is no formal check-in procedure later on where the hotel photocopies your passport or notes down the details.
There are no physical keys for Omena, everything is automated by a 5-digit code which they generate at random for you upon booking. There is also the opportunity to change the code to something that may be easier for you to remember, but we didn't want to mess with the system.
24 hours before your booking, they email you your room number but your code won't let you in until 4pm of the day of your booking.
Overall we felt pretty safe because after business hours you also need your code to get in through the main doors to the hotel.
Each room has what they call a double bed, but really it is two singles side by side, so it is a lot bigger than what is referred to as a double bed in New Zealand. Each room also has a fold out couch that can sleep another two people. The nifty thing here is that the decorative cushions on the couch are stuffed with extra sheets, blankets, towels, and pillows.
The rooms are large especially given the amount you are paying - plenty of space to walk around, plus they provide you with a reasonably sized table and a large flat screen tv (I'm pretty sure ours was bigger than 32").
I forgot to take a photo of the inside, but all of the rooms are essentially identical so ours looked just like the one on their website
The bathroom is inside the red cubicle in the middle of the room. Cubicle might be the wrong word here as there definitely was enough space in there to do bathroom related things without feeling cramped. We only had one issue with the place and that is that the drain in the shower wouldn't drain properly - not a biggie as I am a girl with copious amounts of hair so I'm used to it.
There are no checkout formalities - you simply hang a sign on your door that says that you have checked out.
It's a pretty cool concept and it worked seamlessly for us. There was a microwave in the room plus a large supply of coffee and tea, so I would definitely recommend Omena for anyone wanting to base themselves in Helsinki for a few days. It's a reasonable price, especially if you value space and privacy.
In Finland there is a chain of self-service hotels called Omena Hotels in Helsinki alone there are three. We decided to stay at the one on Lönnrotinkatu, which ended up being less than a 5 minute walk into the middle of town.
We paid a total of NZ$357.82 for 3 nights, so just slightly less than $60 per person, per night. In Euros, two nights were €69.90 per night and one night was €79.90. We thought that was pretty good value, but note that they charge per room and you can fit up to four people in a room so if we had four people it would have been really cheap.
We booked over the internet as we did for all of our other hotels and hostels, but the only difference was that I needed to provide passport and other details of all the guests (i.e. me and Charlotte). This is because there is no formal check-in procedure later on where the hotel photocopies your passport or notes down the details.
There are no physical keys for Omena, everything is automated by a 5-digit code which they generate at random for you upon booking. There is also the opportunity to change the code to something that may be easier for you to remember, but we didn't want to mess with the system.
24 hours before your booking, they email you your room number but your code won't let you in until 4pm of the day of your booking.
Overall we felt pretty safe because after business hours you also need your code to get in through the main doors to the hotel.
Each room has what they call a double bed, but really it is two singles side by side, so it is a lot bigger than what is referred to as a double bed in New Zealand. Each room also has a fold out couch that can sleep another two people. The nifty thing here is that the decorative cushions on the couch are stuffed with extra sheets, blankets, towels, and pillows.
The rooms are large especially given the amount you are paying - plenty of space to walk around, plus they provide you with a reasonably sized table and a large flat screen tv (I'm pretty sure ours was bigger than 32").
I forgot to take a photo of the inside, but all of the rooms are essentially identical so ours looked just like the one on their website
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| Photo credit: omenahotels.com |
The bathroom is inside the red cubicle in the middle of the room. Cubicle might be the wrong word here as there definitely was enough space in there to do bathroom related things without feeling cramped. We only had one issue with the place and that is that the drain in the shower wouldn't drain properly - not a biggie as I am a girl with copious amounts of hair so I'm used to it.
There are no checkout formalities - you simply hang a sign on your door that says that you have checked out.
It's a pretty cool concept and it worked seamlessly for us. There was a microwave in the room plus a large supply of coffee and tea, so I would definitely recommend Omena for anyone wanting to base themselves in Helsinki for a few days. It's a reasonable price, especially if you value space and privacy.
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