enviroian

I'm going to be there for a weekend late November. I want to stay as close as possible to restaurants, bars, attractions.

The three properties Marriott has there are below. Can anyone recommend what hotel will satisfy these requirements? Being near a doner kebab place is important too.

!. St George Hotel
2. Hotel U14, Autograph Collection
3. Hotel Katajanokka, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel

r2d2

Katajanokka is a suburb (although very close to downtown), so you can forget about it.

St. George and U14 are both in downtown. St. George is located a bit closer to the area locals tend to go and that has the highest concentration of restaurants, whereas U14 is a bit to side, but slightly closer to the Market Square, around which most of the tourist attractions and upscale restaurants are. However the distance between these two is quite marginal (about 10 minutes by foot).

Eerikin Pippuri at Eerikinkatu 17 is considered by many the best kebab establishment in downtown Helsinki. It's 7 minutes away by foot from St. George. (But there are other kebab stalls closer)

enviroian

Thank you for the advice!

Phrastus

While I am quite fond of the prison hotel on Katajanokka (especially the junior suite with in-room sauna) I can muster no argument in favor of it if you are looking for a place in immediate proximity to sights and food. The hotel does have a nice restaurant and there's a cake shop like a block away but anything else is further afield and the island is indeed a bit sleepy. St. George has a very nice cafe in the basement that serves huge pastries. I stayed in the basic points redemption room there for a couple of days and while the room was small it was nicely furnished and peaceful. Haven't stayed at U14 but I imagine there's no reason not to recommend it. In short, I am ashamed to admit I have nothing to add to this conversation... but have a great time in Helsinki!

NotDuncan

If I can piggyback on this thread…
im flying DFW-HEL-BKK in a couple weeks. Outbound is no problem, just a 5 hour layover in HEL. On the return tho, I have an overnight transit, where I land in HEL at 6:00PM, and leave at 12:20PM the next day? Would it be worth it to go into the city, or should I just forgo Bonvoy and book an airport hotel?

I will have spent 3 weeks traveling around Thailand and Vietnam, so not sure if I’ll have the energy for any more adventures. On the other hand, when will I ever be in HEL again?

cactus584

I'd be pretty torn on this one and think it probably depends on your energy level. You certainly can go into the city and do some stuff. The day of the week will likely determine the activity levels. Things stay open till 9-10ish and stores close starting around 8. I don't think the airport is a bad option if you just want to relax - there's plenty there landside like a grocery store, some OK restaurants, and the Plaza Premium arrivals lounge if you have access to that. The Hilton is a good option at the airport. I've stayed there and thought it was perfectly serviceable.

Going in to the city center will take you about 30-45 minutes each way. The train is quite easy to ride. I'd do the St George or U14 depending on budget, and you'd probably have time for a dinner and a light breakfast. Cafe Bar No 9 is a good later-night dinner option near those if you want to venture out, and I'd also recommend Green Hippo (more options) or We Got This (better coffee) for breakfast.

NotDuncan

That's very helpful, thanks!

pinniped

How inconvenient is the Katajanokka compared to the U14?

We will be there one or two nights max. Just want to see the highlights of the city. The catch is that we have 5 adults, and the St George has no options for a 3-person room. We would need 3 rooms at the St George which seems like overkill.

Katajanokka has a family suite for 24k points + 30 euro. (1 King plus sofabed)
U14 has regular rooms (single king or two twin) for 34k points, but are bookable with 3 adults (1 rollaway).

So Katajanokka sounds more comfortable but with that short a time in Helsinki I'd rather not spend a ton of time getting from our hotel to the things we want to see. If Katajanokka has super easy public transit access, that's fine.

The 10k/room points difference isn't a big issue. I have lots of Marriott points. Biggest concern is time/convenience.

r2d2

The difference is not big. Hotel Katajanokka is about half a mile from the Market Square, so it's walkable. There's also a streetcar stop right in front of the hotel.

The main difference is that U14 is in an area with a lot of restaurants, whereas Katajanokka is more of a residential area.

TechnoTourist

Katajanokka is walkable to the market square, but not much directly around it. It's a former prison and definitely has some character which I enjoyed.

pinniped

LOL...okay, that's kind of cool. Can't wait to see what our cells are like.

TechnoTourist

Thick walls and some recognizable features. The yard is fully surrounded with a brick wall too.

mclain

Which property is easiest to get to from the airport using train,etc., and nearest the Tallinn ferry? And do any have a good executive lounge?

drseagrass

I can't speak for the other Marriott hotels mentioned but we stayed at the Katajanokka in 2022 and it was easy to get there from the airport via train and then tram number 4 to the hotel. There is a ~3 block walk from the train station to the tram stop. As mentioned above the tram stops at the hotel. There are different ferries to Tallinn, so I think it depends upon the ship you book, but it is just a five or 10 minute walk to the Viking Line dock that we used from the Katajanokka.

pinniped

I think I posted in the Katajanokka-specific thread, but we had a really good stay there in June. It's close to everything...even though we were briefly concerned prior to the stay that it wouldn't be. (It does not have an executive lounge but Titaniums get the restaurant breakfast which was quite good.)