Hotel Haven

Generally a very good visit during a trying time. Staff courteous, and acting responsibly. The room is very nice and quite spacious. Had a tiny hiccup with the HDMI port on my TV, but it was sorted very quickly and in a very satisfactory manner. My only real issue with the room, a very minor one at that, is that there are no towel racks in the bathroom. The breakfast is also just so-so.

There was a slight wait at check-in with several people queuing to the front desk. The receptionist was probably somewhat new as she was not sure about some of the questions we asked. The service was ok but nothing extortionary. Our room was a superior room on the 8th floor. The size was adequate for a superior, but the furniture of the room was surprisingly inadequate and simple. There was only 1 sofa, sofa table and 1 chair (1 chair only!) plus the bed even though there would have been room for a much ample and decorative furnishing. The sofa table was worn out and dirty with crumbs (see photo). The WC was good size and nicely designed. Water flow for the bathtub was slow with restricted hot water flow and it took ages to fill the bath with sufficient warm water. The bath being something we looked forward to as the hotel does not have sauna facilities. The air-conditioning unit in the ceiling was somewhat noisy and only provided cold air. Turned it off as it was winter. There was no in-room dining or room service which was a bit surprising for this class of a hotel. Maybe due to COVID – not sure. On the positives breakfast was served late until 12:00 noon. However, due to COVID you had to choose a breakfast slot in advance which felt bothersome as you wanted to relax and unwind and go for breakfast without pre-made schedules. Breakfast itself was the best part of the hotel experience. Set in the old (ex) Sundman’s restaurant the setting was refined and the breakfast assortment good and sufficient despite special orders (such as waffles) costing extra. The downstairs bar and lounge area is also great and refined with a wide range of drinks and whiskey assortments. All in all, a slight value-for-money (220€+ for a night) disappointment especially compared to expectations for a 4+ star design hotel. Biggest disappointments being the room furnishing and having no room service. Overall service was ok and friendly but didn’t stand out as this class of hotels should.

Haven is a beautiful hotel in Helsinki - my absolute favorite! I have both lived in this hotel and used it for work purposes, and it works perfectly for both. Haven's atmosphere is unique - when you step in, you step step in another world and forget your sorrows. Haven's rooms are beautiful and unique (there are also special rooms with very high sealings, glass paintings and curved windows), their spa products are the luxorious (the best in town, if you'd ask from me) and their furniture is colorful and unique. Their staff is very accommodating and Haven's breakfast is just lovely. Value for money is also much better than in other 5 star hotels in Helsinki. I highly recommend this hotel for anyone looking for a safe haven, a beautiful place to work or a unique stay in beautiful surroundings.

My wife and I popped in for some champagne before dinner a few minutes away. A very good champagne menu at decent prices, along with one of the best (if not the best) whisky and rum selections I have seen in Helsinki. The bar is cosy and polished and we enjoyed the seats near the large (gas) fireplace, particularly given it was a chilly December night.

Finally we booked a table for Friday afternoon Tea at Haven Hotel. The dining room of the restaurant is a very fine space, altough the setting looked more like a hotel breakfast rather than afternoon tea, which was a pity, as it affected the overall atmosphere of the evening. There are three options for the afternoon tea: the basic one, with a glass of champagne and the variety of cocktails designed to pair with the food. We went with the cocktail menu (60€) and found the cocktails very interesting and rather tasty. Menus (both food and cocktails) change weekly if I understood correctly. The afternoon tea setting was for two hours (4.15 pm to 6.15 pm) and we were a bit surprised as it took the whole two hours for us to finish the tea: the setting wasn't fully booked, there were several tables vacant in the dining room that evening. Still the service was a bit slow because we had to wait for the cocktails to arrive as they didn't serve them all at once (for obvious reasons). Nevertheless the food was excellent and that's worth the 4 stars I've given for the evening. The tray was full of tasty, high-quality bites that combined beautifully with the cocktails and the tea. Especially loved the orange-cranberry scones served to us that day. Sometimes these afternoon tea menus can leave one a bit hungry (or not entirely stuffed, more likely) but this one had certainly enough on it's plate! So I can definitely recommend to try Hotel Haven's Afternoon Tea, I'll also come again myself!