Hilton HHonors - Hilton Helsinki-Vantaa Airport

The brand new Hilton at HEL opened yesterday. Exec lounge on fifth (top) floor, covered walkway to the terminal. Sauna and gym (gym still not quite ready) in basement.

I left HEL the week it opened. Is the Scandic still open?

Is the Scandic still open?Yes, the "bunker" remains open. It has a certain legacy as well, since I think they still offer rooms also airside.

Yes, the "bunker" remains open. It has a certain legacy as well, since I think they still offer rooms also airside.

Bunker is right. I stayed once - must say it was a unique experience :p

The bunker is faster and easier to reach. To get to this Hilton from the taxi yard of Terminal 2, turn to right, walk a couple hundreds of yards, turn left, be uncertain of where you would actually find the hotel, walk a further 50 yards, take an outdoors lift one level up, walk through a glass corridor with automatic doors, walk yet 100 yards and there you are. Adding a few Hilton logos with direction arrows would not harm. Finding back to the terminals can be equally annoying, which I did not actually try but took off with a cab from the front door.

The hotel itself resembles Scandics except for the service concept. It sounds odd to hear similar type of compliments and small talk in Finnish that you usually hear when checking into a Hilton, say e.g., in London. The exec floor room I sampled was on the fifth floor at the corner facing the non-Schengen terminal and runways. The room was well sound proofed, had a 36 inch Sony LCD, a small private sauna, bath tub, and shower cabin. Lots of sliding glass doors, brick like but warm floors, all the standard Hilton gadgets, and a massive, comfortable bed. The exec lounge was utterly uncongested and it was a pleasure to have the breakfast with no hassle (I was the only customer there at 7.30 AM). With a corporate rate for 200€ per night this is a bargain and regular room could have been obtained for only 130€.

Except for the walking distance from the airport I was very satisfied with the overall experience.

Finding back to the terminals can be equally annoying, which I did not actually try but took off with a cab from the front door.Wow, the taxi driver must have been happy. ;) The last time I did a brisk walk all the way to the domestic terminal and it took all of ten minutes.
The hotel itself resembles Scandics except for the service concept. .Yeah, kind of, if you are talking about the top Scandics, but I would say there are more design elements than even in a top Scandic. The exec floor room I sampled was on the fifth floor at the corner facing the non-Schengen terminal and runways. The room was well sound proofed, had a 36 inch Sony LCD, a small private sauna, bath tub, and shower cabin.That room must have the best view of the apron. Sounds like a nice room, too. I've stayed in two different exec rooms (and one regular room) and none had a sauna. The exec lounge was utterly uncongested and it was a pleasure to have the breakfast with no hassle (I was the only customer there at 7.30 AM).I had the same experience the time I actually had the possibility to have breakfast there as it starts at 7 am in the lounge (6 am downstairs). Some staff mentioned that they are planning to have something small available before 6 am in the future as a lot of customers check out very early.

Wow, the taxi driver must have been happy. ;) OT: He was. He had to drive 60 miles to Haemeenlinna and another cab driver next day was equally happy taking me back to Helsinki-Vantaa domestic terminal. That walk could have easily taken 3 to 4 days;)

OT: He was. He had to drive 60 miles to Haemeenlinna and another cab driver next day was equally happy taking me back to Helsinki-Vantaa domestic terminal. That walk could have easily taken 3 to 4 days;)Ok, in that case he must have been very happy then. :D

Is this hotel no longer in the Hilton family? It doesn't show up in a search on Hilton.com - only the Strand property and the one even further from the airport.

Is this hotel no longer in the Hilton family? It doesn't show up in a search on Hilton.com - only the Strand property and the one even further from the airport.

Oh, it's still in there: http://www1.hilton.com/en_US/hi/hotel/HELAIHI-Hilton-Helsinki-Vantaa-Airport/index.do

But if you were referring to the Kalastajatorppa, it should actually be closer to the airport in drivining time compared to the Strand. About 30 minutes from the terminal as there is no city traffic on this route.

My favourite of the three Hiltons is still the Kalastajatorppa by far.

My favourite of the three Hiltons is still the Kalastajatorppa by far.Same here. Been staying there for years. First it was my favorite Arctia hotel in Finland, then my favorite Scandic and now my favorite Hilton.

Thanks for the link and tips. For some reason the hotel doesn't show up in a Hilton web page search using Helsinki or HEL airport.

I Googled "Hilton Helsinki Vantaa" and the first link up was this (http://www1.hilton.com/en_US/hi/hotel/HELAIHI-Hilton-Helsinki-Vantaa-Airport/index.do), as well as a Google map of the location.

Hilton Helsinki-Vantaa Airport hotel (http://www1.hilton.com/en_US/hi/hotel/HELAIHI-Hilton-Helsinki-Vantaa-Airport/index.do)
Lentajankuja 1, Vantaa, Finland 1530
Tel: 358-9-73220 Fax: 358-9-732- 22211
e-mail: helsinkivantaa.airport@hilton.com

I have no idea of the directions, but it says:

"Only a 3 minute walk from the airport, the contemporary Hilton Helsinki Vantaa Airport hotel can be reached directly from the terminal via a covered walkway." I'm sure it's longer via Haemeenlinna. :D

I stayed there in February and got my points. Very nice hotel.

I Googled "Hilton Helsinki Vantaa"

Yeah, that's how I found it too in addition to the link supplied above, however you'd think it would show up when you enter Helsinki under city or HEL under airport on the Hilton website. It doesn't.

I stayed there in February and got my points. Very nice hotel.

How's the weather there in February? :D That's exactly when I need my one-night stopover. Do you have to go outside to get from the terminal to the hotel? (The implication is you don't.) Any other details much appreciated.

you'd think it would show up when you enter Helsinki under city or HEL under airport on the Hilton website. It doesn't.Hmm... Works for me. The covered walkway is open in front of the terminal, don't know if there is an alternative route.

<snip>

"Only a 3 minute walk from the airport, the contemporary Hilton Helsinki Vantaa Airport hotel can be reached directly from the terminal via a covered walkway." <snip>

How's the weather there in February? :D That's exactly when I need my one-night stopover. Do you have to go outside to get from the terminal to the hotel? (The implication is you don't.) Any other details much appreciated.

How's the weather there in February? :D That's exactly when I need my one-night stopover. Do you have to go outside to get from the terminal to the hotel? (The implication is you don't.) Any other details much appreciated.

You have to get outside, a "covered walkway" is not the best expression for the actual arrangement. The walk is short though. Weatherwise expect about the same as in YYZ that time of the year.

How's the weather there in February? :D That's exactly when I need my one-night stopover. Do you have to go outside to get from the terminal to the hotel? (The implication is you don't.) Any other details much appreciated.

As mentioned above there is always the Scandic "bunker" if you don't want to leave the terminal...

I would take the ~ 2 minute walk for a hotel with much more to offer- although there are some aspects of the design of this brand new hotel that echo (loudly) of the 1970s- maybe it is Finnish design? :p

Stayed here last week for an early morning flight out. Short walk to the terminal. I got upgraded to an Executive Plus room. It actually had a nice suana in the bathroom ^

I've stayed here within the last year and liked it for catching an early morning flight. I was upgraded to the Executive Floor and the lounge was quite nice--free computer use if I recall correctly.

A couple of stays here, as again, and very good impression. Today had a pre paid king executive room booked. Was upgraded to executive plus with private sauna. Also the lounge is quite sufficient after 6 PM - contrary to what I read from many other Hilton lounges nowadays. The minibar and restaurant prices are quite remarkable 10€ for a glass of wine or €9 for 5 cl of vodka are quite steep. But tough competition is to follow, heading for Conrad Tokyo next...

If you arrive late at the hotel, after the lounge closes upstairs (around 10PM, I think), they will give you a coupon (you may need to ask) for a free drink from the downstairs bar.