Hotel NH Collection Helsinki Grand Hansa

The NH Collection Helsinki Grand Hansa officially opened its doors May 2024. Located in the very centre of the Finnish capital, it couldn’t be more convenient. The train from the airport takes 45 minutes to the central rail station. The rail station is literally right across the road from the hotel. A small word of warning though; the bronze sign you see from the station is the hotel’s back entrance. Its front one is a few minutes walk away, through a shopping centre or along Mannerheimintie, Helsinki’s elegant and most popular shopping street.

The site itself is steeped in history and combines two significant heritage buildings: the Art Nouvea-style New Student House, built in 1910, and the Seurahuone, the city’s oldest, continuously operated hotel. The entrance is majestic and bold; above two handfuls of steps, visitors are scrutinised by four historical soapstone sculptures. Tall, almost tomb-ready humans are possessed of sober but watchful faces and each figure represents a classic character trait: melancholy, sanguinity, phlegmatism and cholera.

Guests’ first interior impression of the hotel is its bar; to the right, curved, wooden and behind which glows a selection of special spirits and rarer wines. It’s an unusual positioning but is cheeky and titillating and works well, especially for the parched traveller. A medium-sized table opposite over-flows with fresh flowers and is a constant delight.

A few steps further, to the right, is the hotel’s restaurant after which is its reception. Local pop art interpretations of stags and hunters adorn the tastefully lit area and its furniture boasts enviable contemporary fabric mixing the colourful with the metallic.

The hotel offers 224 guest rooms and suites and one opulent, gigantic 160 square metre presidential suite. The rooms are confident in design, full of strong, sleek lines and bold angles, some of which are finished with bronze cornering. The floor, one assumes, is original; wooden and parquet. The walls are of a beguiling colour which seems to change depending on what light seeps through the windows, how much of it, and at what time of day. Olive green, dark sea blue, and metallic grey all come and go. An impressively sized TV is sunk opposite the bed into the room’s wall so that it offers wide-screen possibilities without destroying its aesthetic.

The bed is super king-size, comfortable and sturdy. In an age of over-abundance of choice, it comes as a pleasant surprise to discover the room’s lighting, with its multitude of sources, is controlled by one of four buttons, each corresponding to a differing level of brightness. Similarly, the room’s heating/aircon, which in lesser hotels can seem like an obtuse IQ test, is refreshingly and unabashedly dummy proof; a couple of buttons to raise or lower temperature and one ‘off’ button. This, as well as a silent fridge/mini bar, means deep sleep is assured.

Breakfast runs until a strict 10.30 am on weekdays and a luxurious 11.30 am on the weekend. Expect a wide and varied selection of foods which span from international to local. As well as an impressive array of pastries, bread, fresh fruit, muesli-style ingredients and fried breakfast, you’ll find pickled cauliflower, sliced celery, beetroot carpaccio and Vendance fish. The standout, however, must be the omelette cooked to order behind the main breakfast bar. The ‘full’ omelette consists of onions, tomatoes, pepper, bacon bits and a melting of cheese. It’s folded over itself, is delectably moist and the eggs are of top quality.

The dining space has a slate grey floor with colourful red and blue chairing for an overall sense of refinement and calm. Ferns and greenery sprout from a central reservation. A glass-framed walk in wine cellar takes centre stage as you enter on the left. Tall, large windows overlook a pedestrian only thoroughfare with constant if not busy footfall which continues throughout the day and into the night for fascinating if tangential people watching.

Classic cocktails are served in delicate, thin-rimmed glasses. Dinner is served from an A La Carte menu which offers French-influenced cuisine with roots steeped in the local. Salmon, for example, is served with ramson mayonnaise, white fish comes from Ahvenanmaa and vanilla ice cream and caramel are given a kick by some Helsinki gin. Service is convivial and knowledgeable throughout and all dishes are fresh and full of flavour. The Shellfish Cocktail, a throwback to the 80s, with its succulent king prawns and nibbles of lobster is super satisfying as is the Beef Tartar, a luscious dissolve of finely chopped meat, small dollops of horseradish mayonnaise and a sprinkling of 36 month aged Parmesan.

The basement is labyrinthine, a series of sandy-coloured, rough, textural walls. Slim and seemingly never-ending corridors lead alternatively to Scandinavia’s largest hotel gym which is full of sleek, jet-black fitness machines or a spa/wellbeing centre. The former is open 24 hours a day, the latter in the early morning and later afternoon, until 10 pm. The gym consists of an impressive choice of bikes, cardiovascular machines, rowing machines and treadmills manufactured by Thor and Teca Fitness. The spa consists of a Finnish sauna (no surprises there), an infra-red sauna and a steam room made up of white penny tiles. There are also two relaxing rooms which play chill-out music against an Amazonian jungle backdrop.

Visiting either or both is a fine way to finish the day in a beautiful and elegant new hotel. The Helsinki Grand Hansa is a fresh and breezy space with helpful and attentive staff. Its mixture of history and tasteful, contemporary design make it a pleasure to stay in, a space you’ll be sad to leave and a worthy addition to the impressive NH Collection brand.

This property is included in our guide to the best hotels in Helsinki