Experience luxury, style and warmth at Hotel Glo Art in Helsinki.
It was my first time in Helsinki and for every little thing I was looking forward to experiencing – the design legacy of the Finnish capital, the history of the city, the glog and the reindeer (possibly!) – I was admittedly slightly terrified by the prospect of freezing cold temperatures.
It was for this reason that we decided that a hotel would be a safer and potentially warmer bet than our usual travel practice of staying in self-catering accommodation. And so we stayed in the Hotel Glo Art for our Helsinki travel adventures.
Ideally located on the cusp of Helsinki’s Design District – the city was Design Capital 2012 – and only a few hundred metres away from the shopping and historic centres of Helsinki, Hotel Glo Art is the perfect place to pitch up for a weekend’s sight seeing and exploring.
And yes, if you were wondering, the heating works perfectly and the hotel was wonderfully warm and cosy throughout our stay which was just last week when the city streets dipped down to -10 Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit).
With a good pair of snow boots and a thick jacket I was able to walk everywhere I wanted and even down a few streets I didn’t know I wanted to explore, i.e. I got lost. My hat, scarf and gloves also helped keep the cold at bay, that and popping into a few friendly coffee shops along the way.
After admiring two Cathedrals, the National Library, the (completely frozen) harbour and markets held there, the Helsinki City Museum and the City Hall – I returned on foot – though the trams and buses are excellent and relatively cheap if you buy a day pass – to the hotel and stepping through the arched doorways that welcome guests was a warming experience in more ways than one.
There’s something about a building that is built to look like a castle that makes it effortlessly grand and this is precisely the case with the Hotel Glo Art that occupies an old Art Nouveau building, complete with almost over the top arches and fairy tale-like turrets.
Fortunately our room wasn’t locked away at the top of the castle like Rapunzel or Sleeping Beauty, instead we enjoyed a spacious and stylish suite in the slightly newer side of the hotel complete with luxurious seating area, a four poster bed and a tiger. A cuddly toy tiger, that is.
Breakfast was served in the “dungeon” of the castle, i.e. the lower level, and each morning we feasted on breads, pastries, cereals, eggs, meats and cheeses. It was a feast fit for the king of this castle and was precisely the fuel I needed to get me layering up for more exploring.
Now for the serious talk because all Prince and Princess’ know that castles don’t come for free.
While the Hotel Glo Art isn’t the cheapest hotel (nor is it the most expensive) in Helsinki it does have a range of rooms to suit different budgets and there are things about this hotel that sometimes money can’t buy; kind and friendly staff, good music (i.e. no panpipes!) playing in a warmly decorated lobby and a cuddly toy to share your bed with.
Or maybe that last one’s just me…
For more information, or to check dates and prices view Hotel Glo Art on Booking.com.
