Bunny Stays at Hotel Mestari in Helsinki
Bunny has written a number of blog posts about her various hotel stays in Helsinki. Her visits to Helsinki tend to be short, owing to being on her way to visit friends and family elsewhere in Finland, or on her way out of the country. She rarely spends any time as a proper tourist in the Finnish capital but she always likes her hotel stays there a bit on the luxurious side.
On her latest visit to Finland, Bunny decided to test the brand new hotel offering in the capital: Hotel Mestari. It had opened its doors just weeks before Bunny’s visit and had a good opening offer, so Bunny grabbed the opportunity. She actually stayed in the hotel twice, both on her way in and out of the country, four weeks apart and for one night each time.
Location
For Bunny, Hotel Mestari is perfectly located in Kamppi. It was very central to all the things she needed to get done in the capital. Kamppi bus station and adjoining shopping mall are practically next door to the hotel and the railway station is only a short walk away.
Many of the popular tourist attractions are also within easy striking distance, not that Bunny ventured to any on her latest visit.
Rooms
Bunny had originally booked Engineer Loft King Room for her first visit at Hotel Mestari. She was intrigued by the new concept. It promised an interesting movie night in the hotel room, where a film could be reflected from the loft of the two-storey room to the opposite wall - and popcorn was on the house.
Alas, a couple of weeks before her visit, the hotel contacted Bunny and informed her that this particular room type was not ready for guests yet. That was a bit of a bummer, but not a disaster, so Bunny was OK to switch to the suggested Bricklayer Executive King room instead.
The room was spacious and bright. Maybe even a bit too large for the furniture and design. It was stylish but felt a bit sparse even for Finland. Mr. Bunny was happy as he hates feeling cramped but Bunny thought it was Finnish austerity taken a bit far.
On the positive side, the hotel bed was very comfortable and the bedding felt luxurious. That’s always a big plus in Bunny’s books. She is just a bit baffled by the new trend of not providing any day covers for hotel beds. It’s not very practical, nor visually attractive.
What the room did have, however, were very handy blackout curtains. Trust Bunny, you’ll need those if you visit Finland in summertime when the sun forgets to set in the evenings.
The best part of the room, for Bunny, was the high quality bathroom. It was very stylish and sophisticated. It had soothing black, white and grey tones, a beautiful stone sink and a spacious shower. Toiletries were in big containers (as they should be!), so no wasteful small plastic bottles here. Towels were plenty and fluffy, bathrobes and slippers at the ready. All good.
The room also had some extra comforts, such as a SodaStream machine. This was a great addition! Finland has some of the best tap water in the world so it was great to be able to make your own soda water in the comfort of the suite. It was yet another eco-friendly touch.
On her second visit, Bunny stayed in a Builder King room. The room was considerably smaller, but still a good size, and tastefully decorated. The bathroom was equally luxurious and the view was actually nicer than from the Bricklayer Executive King room. So Bunny was perfectly happy with her stay in this entry level room too.
Some Hiccups
Bunny’s first stay at Hotel Mestari was not without some minor annoyances. For example, the room’s minibar didn’t work. Not so good if you’re looking forward to a cold beer at the end of the day. Bunny’s visit was short, so she wasn’t too bothered. She only informed the front staff of the shortcoming at the end of her stay. The staff were very apologetic and thanked Bunny for alerting them to the issue.
Another hiccup was the air-conditioning in Bunny’s room - it was very loud and made funny noises. So much so that Bunny decided to switch it off completely. Again, she was not too bothered about this, as she hates air-conditioning in general and it was not very hot in Finland during her visit (surprise, surprise). However, other people could have been majorly annoyed in the same situation, Bunny suspects.
On a positive note, on her second visit to Hotel Mestari four weeks later, Bunny didn’t experience any problems or annoyances at all, so perhaps these issues were just some of the initial growing pains that the hotel had sorted out quickly in its earliest days.
Restaurant
Hotel Mestari has an attractive, industrial style Latin Bistro & Bar Maestro 51 on the ground floor. Bunny could easily imagine stopping by there for a drink or a bite of tapas on her future visits to Helsinki.
The restaurant serves up Basque-style cuisine, including some very vegetarian-friendly pinchos. On her first visit, Bunny had booked the hotel’s opening offer “Taste of Mestari”, which included a welcome drink and some pinchos. The bar staff was very friendly and Bunny enjoyed chatting with them while downing her complimentary drink.
On her second visit, Bunny had dinner with a friend at Hotel Mestari’s restaurant. It was a very pleasant experience, again with friendly and competent staff. The menu included a lot of vegetarian options which is always a huge plus. Bunny’s friend ordered spinach pasta, which she said was excellent, and Bunny munched on some tapas. Sparkling wine was thrown in for free by the hotel as an incentive to dine there. Not bad, not bad, Bunny says.
Breakfast
Hotel Mestari’s breakfast buffet is also served in Latin Bistro & Bar. And the breakfast was great - as it tends to be in quality hotels in Finland (take note US hotels with your pathetic paper plates and cornflake breakfasts). The spread was impressive and there was something for everyone, including even celiacs and vegans. Bunny particularly loved the fact that there were a number of healthy options on offer, including lovely smoothies. And her favorite exotic fruit: passionfruit!
On her second visit, Bunny had an early morning flight and needed to leave the hotel at 5:30am. This was not a problem breakfast-wise, as it is available anytime. So Bunny requested an early breakfast and the reception staff duly produced a small breakfast bag for the Bunnies at 5am. Too bad that Bunny had failed to mention that they were vegetarians so their sandwiches came with big chunks of ham in them. Mr. Bunny removed the ham and ate the sandwich, Bunny couldn’t touch hers. Thankfully, their breakfast bag also included some juice and an apple. As for coffee, it was freely available in the breakfast area but the Bunnies concluded that it was positively undrinkable. And they are not even (that bad) coffee snobs.
Conclusions
Bunny thinks Hotel Mestari is an excellent option in Helsinki with its current competitive prices. It’s a brand new and stylish hotel, with friendly staff and a central location. The two different room types Bunny tried were both good and she was very pleased with her overall stays, as she likes things new and shiny.
Bunny would be more than happy to return to Hotel Mestari on her next visit to Helsinki. Unless she feels compelled to test another hotel, perhaps Hotel Mestari’s sister establishment AX Hotel in Jätkäsaari…
