Hotel Indigo Helsinki - Boulevard

Detailed review with lots of pictures posted over in the Hotel Indigo Helsinki - Boulevard master thread!

What is your IHG One Rewards status?
Platinum Ambassador

Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?
2 Twin Premium, received 2 Twin Premium (this is the only room category which offers twin beds so wasn't expecting any upgrades)

How are the rooms?
Great. Our room was in a corner of the property and quite large, more rectangular-shaped than squareish. Beds were large and comfy, there was also a small desk, coffee table and lounge chair, ample storage space, large TV with local and international channels and a bright, functional bathroom with the brand-standard Biology toiletries. Only small flaws with the room were a shower which had the potential to leak into the bathroom a little if you weren't careful and some issues with the safe; it wasn't working on arrival and the hotel engineer came by early the next morning to fix it, however it broke again and we decided to just leave it as is after that. Neither were deal breakers for us so we were very happy with the room overall.

How is the exec. lounge?
N/A

What was good and what was bad?
The Good

• Arrival experience - we arrived around 10:45pm and must have been the last guests scheduled to arrive for the day as the receptionist correctly guessed my name. Despite the late hour he quickly went through all the hotel features such as the gym, evening sauna, breakfast offering (including recommendations for places nearby) and even the bikes they had available to borrow. He also noted that although I have a high-floor preference on my IHG profile, all the twin rooms were located on lower floors. He was able to offer a King room on a higher floor but we were perfectly fine with what we had booked.
• The "Premium" room type includes a complimentary minibar, the receptionist confirmed this at check in and said it would be replenished daily. I was expecting it to be pretty basic but to my surprise it had sparkling water, 7 Up, local beer (Lapin Kulta), imported beer (Heineken), a small bottle of prosecco, a small bottle of French red wine, a bag of lollies, a local Fazer chocolate and finally, a can of salted peanuts! Definitely made use of all the snacks and drinks - all room types also receive a complimentary bottle of water left on the coffee table and replenished daily.
• Welcome drink vouchers could be used for a wide variety of drinks including a quintessential Finnish lonkeroor long drink, a gin with grapefruit soda. The long drink was very nice.
• Didn't get a chance to try the sauna or gym, but we did visit the gym and it looked pretty good. Both sauna and gym are in the basement.
• Location - great spot on Boulevard/Bulevardi, one of the primary east-west thoroughfares in the city centre. Less than ten minutes walk to Esplanadi and around twenty minutes to Senate Square and the waterfront. We mostly walked but there is also a great tram system and metro, taxis/Uber are also readily available at all hours. Some highlights for us were a day trip by ferry to Tallinn, the Oodi library, the Kiasma museum, the beautifully designed churches/chapels around the city and even just walking around, especially on Esplanadi, Bulevardi and the shopping area on Mannerheimintie.
• Great dining nearby - Ravintolla Nolla behind the hotel is an absolute must, it has won multiple awards and was our favourite meal of the entire trip. Other good options include Ekburg 1852 for breakfast/lunch and Lappi Ravintola for Lappish cuisine, lots of salmon and reindeer!
• Staff were fantastic throughout - very personable, welcoming and service-focused. Even when checking out at 5:15am the receptionist offered us a free coffee to go from the bar.

The Bad

• Nothing

Value for $ or IHG One Rewards Points? Would you return?
€169/night for four nights which was great value. Easily the best of the five IHG properties visited on this trip to Europe, it was also my second stay at an Indigo and both have been great so I'm quite liking this brand. Would absolutely return, although perhaps in a warmer month next time