Radisson goldpoints plus - Review - Radisson SAS Plaza Helsinki

Review of the Radisson SAS Plaza Hotel Helsinki

Booked a 4 for2 stay that is only available for Gold Elite members of the GoldpointsPlus program and is probably the best benefit you can have.

Upon Check-In we were upgraded to a Business Class room. Unfortunately the suites were all occupied.

The room itself was on the 7th floor, facing the back, so it was very quiet, and features a large and very comfortable bed, a working desk which also features a big mirror and a hair dryer, TV, Nespresso machine, small safe, medium sized arm chair and a spacious wardrobe.
The bathroom has a bathtub, very nice scented shower gel and soap two bathrobes.
The only negative thing about the room is that there is no way to open the windows for fresh air. Only air conditioning, which caused a very dry and a bit bleedy nose.

The restaurant serves various dishes and has been mentioned in the Michelin guide. The breakfast buffet has a decent choice with lots of fresh and tasty fruits. It can be crowded if having breakfast late.

The bar is existent but nothing special at all.

The hotel features free Internet access and free use of a business centre to print stuff like boarding passes. It has two saunas, one for each gender and a gym.
There are ice machines on each floor. This is very convenient if you like to have some drinks in your room.
The majority of guests were Russians who have holidays right now but there were also Germany, Americans and other nationalities’ present.

The location of the hotel is very convenient as everything is in walking distance. There is a nearby park at which we were lucky to encounter a huge owl hunting some food at night.
The Finnair bus leaves / arrives about 300m away right at the train station.


A trip report on Helsinki will follow shortly.

.. It has two saunas, one for each gender ..

I really hate when they do this! Sauna is a recreational activity for me, why separate genders? I lose most of the enjoyment if we have to go to different saunas with my SO. Maybe have separate seating areas for men and women in the restaurant, too?

Sorry for the rant...

Well, we figured that out when some guy complaint about my SO being in there with me. The sign wasn`t that clear and we had been there twice already wirth no one complaining at all.

I really hate when they do this! Sauna is a recreational activity for me, why separate genders? I lose most of the enjoyment if we have to go to different saunas with my SO. Maybe have separate seating areas for men and women in the restaurant, too?

Sorry for the rant...

Well, a bit of topic but I think we can claim that the original sauna 'culture' comes from nordic countries and we traditionally only use the same sauna between separate genders among family and in some cases with really good friends. So you can have your recreational family activity in the sauna at home and in public saunas we have separate saunas for genders. It has to do with the fact that in Nordic countries sauna is 'consumed' nude whereas in some parts of the world people use towels to cover themselves.

Thats why we didn`t bother looking for seperate saunas as at home people even share most saunas nude and mixed.

Well, a bit of topic but I think we can claim that the original sauna 'culture' comes from nordic countries and we traditionally only use the same sauna between separate genders among family and in some cases with really good friends. So you can have your recreational family activity in the sauna at home and in public saunas we have separate saunas for genders. It has to do with the fact that in Nordic countries sauna is 'consumed' nude whereas in some parts of the world people use towels to cover themselves.

Is it the language barrier or do you feel a bit offended by my comments? Sorry then!

Anyway the best solution I've seen is in some German hotels where there are 3 saunas (mixed / women / men). I suppose 2 (mixed / women) also are OK for most guests.

Is it the language barrier or do you feel a bit offended by my comments? Sorry then!

Anyway the best solution I've seen is in some German hotels where there are 3 saunas (mixed / women / men). I suppose 2 (mixed / women) also are OK for most guests.

Don't worry, it is the language barrier :) However we Finns take our Sauna seriously (700000 saunas in a country with 5 million people) and we tend to get a bit defensive when comparing Sauna cultures. I know that sauna culture is different in Germany than in Nordic countries (I recall my first visit to a gym in Hannover in 1994 when I didn't know about mixed sauna and thought I must have entered a wrong sauna) but then again it is different in the U.S. too where you see people in swimsuits or wrapped in towels in one-gender saunas in the gym and hotel saunas. What I truly hate :mad: are the crazy rules in some countries which ban throwing water on the stove. Simply crazy and takes away at least 50% of the pleasure.

To make everyone happy your three saunas concept sounds good.