St George is very good hotel, one of the best hotels in Finland. Service is polite. Rooms are nicely decorated and tasteful. Hotel spa is very relaxing and it includes to many room categories. Breakfast is plentiful and you have a vast selection of almost everything available.
This was my first time at the St. George, but I have stayed at over a dozen hotels in Helsinki in the past. This hotel is unique - the designer aspect, quiet vibe, and outstanding location make it a strong pick. All staff interactions were positive. They seem to hire really good people to work in customer-facing roles. Room was available for early check-in as requested, and requests were generally addressed promptly. The Winter Garden bar is a wonderful space for drinks or getting some work done on the computer, and the bakery was a huge hit (also among locals). It was nice to have specialty coffee drinks included in the breakfast. The Atelier room type was spacious and quiet - we enjoyed using the SodaStream machine there a couple of times. A huge plus worth mentioning is good security at this hotel - a key card is required to not only access the elevator but to also enter the hallways. Many cameras were visible. Marriott Bonvoy status was recognized, and you will earn points here. As for areas of improvement: - The curtains are not true blackout curtains, which is a problem in the summer. It was hard to get the room dark enough at night. - In trying to figure out the curtains, a huge pile of dust blew up from underneath. It was clear the area near windows had not been vacuumed for a very long time. This should not happen in a 5-star hotel. Some surfaces were also dusty, and we cleaned the SodaStream machine ourselves as it had been left half full of old liquid. Despite daily housekeeping, toilet paper was not replenished, so we ran out and had to go look for a roll. - You have to make a reservation for breakfast here, which makes mornings less leisurely than I’d like. No rolling in during breakfast hours as you’d like. Once at breakfast, we were informed 45 minutes into it that our time would be up in 15 - so dining time was restricted to 60 minutes. This is generally adequate for most, so it was odd that it had to be announced. Breakfast was good but very limited in selection. Menu repeated itself day after day. Fat-free milk was not available upon request. 1% and 2% milk also were not available (only oat milk and whole milk). We inquired about whipped cream one morning and it was not available. - I personally think the large shared bottles in the bathroom do not represent luxury image. I don’t like having bottles that are 1/3 or 1/2 full. This is the one hotel category that should continue with mini bottles of high end toiletries, or at least provide that option upon request. Having some hand lotion left over from a vacation is one of my favorite things to bring home, as using it takes me right back to my vacation (and makes me want to rebook). - The oddest thing at this place is that not all guests are treated equal. There is a studio room type that does not include access to spa/ pool. Then youngsters under 16 are banned from the spa, pool and gym - always, not just during specific hours. Gym is called the playground (even more confusing for children). We were well aware of this restriction when booking, but I could not help but think there must be a better way (perhaps just open up a daily window of time to allow pool access for school-age children). Kids also deserve to be treated like VIPs on their vacation! All in all, this is a lovely and upscale place to stay, but more rule oriented than other high-end hotels in Helsinki.…
This was my third time taking a staycation at this hotel, which has been one of my favourites since it opened. Once again the experience was more on the positive side, but the hotel is not in pristine condition any more, which is starting to show. If I had to mention one thing that's great about St George, it is their breakfast. It is not extravagant but the moderate selection that is available is impeccable. The service is also top notch. No wonder the breakfast is also very popular (often fully booked in the weekends) among Helsinki natives that are not hotel patrons. Yet again the breakfast did not disappoint: the staff was super friendly and everything was delicious and of high quality. The rooms are, in my opinion, beautifully designed in a simple elegant way. The bed is flawless. The bathroom has a luxurious feel to it. The shower has both a normal shower head and a rain shower option. Instead of the regular Finnish bidet shower handle, the bathroom has a Japanese toilet seat. I always ask for a peaceful room. Especially on a staycation, this is a must for unwinding, as I tend to spend more time in my hotel room than abroad. For me staycations are about peace and calm, sometimes doing very little for some hours, just to get the work stress out of my head. It seems to be a challenge for the hotels to deliver this ask, and St George did not make an exception this time. The second afternoon they put a family with a baby next door and, unfortunately, the baby cried for two hours straight. I don't blame the baby, it is natural at that age, but could there be a floor or at least a corridor reserved for people asking for (or seeming to provide) peace and quiet? The air conditioning vent at the ceiling level made a whistling sound every few minutes - not loud enough for me to ask for a change of room, as that would be an annoying hassle in its own way, but forcing me to wear ear plugs to get sleep. Another unfortunate flaw was that my Japanese toilet seat was out of order. It is luxury when it works, but if it is not maintained well, then the traditional bidet shower option would be better - it always works. I reported the matter to the reception, and apparently they tried to fix it when I was away, with no success however. When checking out I asked instructions concerning the validation of the parking discount when paying the parking through the mobile app. Unfortunately the instructions I got were wrong (NB: you need to contact the parking facility staff before you drive out, not at the gate as the reception instructed). The hotel gym, even if somewhat small, is very well equipped and comfortable. The first day I got to exercise alone and the other day with another hotel patron with no issues. After the gym, it is natural to continue to the hotel spa, which is quite elegant. The spa itself is perhaps a bit small to visit just for itself, but after a workout or in combination with a spa treatment it is very nice. All in all, many things were great (breakfast, gym, spa, bed in the room), others perhaps show that the hotel, if still relatively new, is not newly opened any more. What bugs me the most is that this was already a second visit that I had a complaint about the room (the previous time we asked for a quiet room and ended up directly above the cafe hearing its music and sounds clearly until late evening), and the reception staff have both times been quite unapologetic and helpless facing the issues. Some small symbolic gesture would go far even if they are unable to provide a room upgrade or some other more substantial compensation. "I understand that it would be nice if it worked" is hardly the response you expect at a hotel of this level.…
The hotel itself is very nice. The rooms are comfortable but the curtains aren’t fit for purpose and let loads of light in. Don’t try sleeping here outside of winter time without an eye mask. I woke up at 4am because of the light. It would haven’t been useful if we were advised to use an eye mask or even better if the hotel had proper black out curtains like other hotels in city
Top notch hotel: the rooms are gorgeousand very clean, the restaurant is great, the staff are really friendly and nice. Usama from the room service was particularly attentive to our order, and delivered everything we requested very accurately. All in all an excellent experience. Will definitely return to Hotel St. George when back in Helsinki.
Just stayed her for 2 nights in a jr suite with church view. The comfort was very high. Room, bath, lights, furniture, bed and pillows was exellent. The staff was friendly and helpfull. The only thing I was unhappy about was a minor thing at the bar. They had a wide selection of drinks and coctails. But when I said I was gonna use the «complimentary» drink, they came with a very short meny. Mostly vines. They had a Gin Tonic with the poor gin Beerfeater. When I said I wanted to replace the beerfeater with Hendricks, they charged me 17 Euros extra. As a guest at. a 5 star hotel you would not expect that.
First time here and I’ll never go anywhere else again. Fantastic staff (Espen, Sara and many others!) who were so helpful with logistics and restaurant bookings. The best team I have ever come across. Delightful rooms, great bar, lovely breakfast set up etc etc. And central for everything. Great job!
Design Hotels are often questionable value for Marriott Ambassador Elites but considering the general lack of competition from major hotel chains in Helsinki, based on my recent stay Hotel St.George must be considered near the top of the list in my opinion. I had a comfortable stay recently and can recommend this hotel to both Bonvoy elites or non-members free agents simply looking for a solid hotel. Room upgrades at the Design Hotel brand are more difficult than at the core Marriott brands but historically I have had decent success with upgrades at Design, sometimes +1 category upgrade and sometimes even more. While something as basic as a +1 room upgrade might not be worth a lot in some properties, at Hotel St.George I booked the Church Park Suite and +1 meant we stayed in the exquisite Finlandia Suite which was a more valuable upgrade than the multiple category upgrades at many other hotels which break down their room types into too many buckets. The hardware of the Finlandia Suite was excellent and residential style, there was a free minibar including unlimited refills of Billecart Salmon (for people staying in suites), remote controls for both toilets, and a large outdoor terrace which would be particularly enjoyable during the hotter months. Regarding service, surprisingly the reviews I previously read about this hotel were hit and miss, but based on my stay I can say this hotel is solid. It's always relative to local standards: the nordic countries are obviously not Asia – specifically in Finland it's more self-service than elsewhere but once you set your expectations correctly, service at St.George was fine when we were there. For example there were no doormen at the entrance and service in the restaurant was not always the most proactive but it was not to the point of being problematic. Breakfast was above average with quality ingredients throughout and included some non-standard dishes such as the shakshuka which we enjoyed. Finding passion fruits in the buffet was also a nice surprise for that part of the world. There were also some local touches for example the thick Finnish honey. Overall this Design Hotel is probably the best overall that Marriott has to offer in the city and elite benefits are good enough to be worth staying there such that I would consider returning.…
We spent 1 night in Serenity Studio room. Room was nicely decorated and spacious. Bed was very comfortable. You get a good night sleep. Room included access to St George spa. Spa visit was a nice experience. The spa has one sauna and a steam room and a good size pool. Also small ice pool exist for the brave ones. Breakfast is suberb. You need to reserve time and an empty stomach in order to be able to enjoy it properly. Hotel staff is most professional and polite. You feel very wellcome through out your visit.
The only thing I liked about this hotel was how well located it is. In the middle of Helsinki. However, the rooms are beyond basic and gave me hostel vibes. I felt I was staying at a 3-star hotel. The restaurant is small and it’s open at odd hours. The sauna and swimming pool close at 6pm which is ridiculous because that’s the time I returned to the hotel and felt like spending some time at the sauna after a long day of sightseeing. There is an extra charge of 10€ for room Service. I came back to Helsinki and stayed at a different hotel that was supposedly only 4-stars and it was way better. The rooms were more elegant and well designed. I’m not sure why is this hotel 5-stars because it’s not.
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