Visit Helsinki : Clarion airport hotel

How grandiose can be an airport hotel? I have always avoided staying at the airport hotels, unless that was the only option due to my flights either taking off too early or being canceled. Even with that, I have stayed at the airport hotels maybe 3 or 4 times. When I do travel abroad, I’m not your super cool “Airbnb” gal which scores big time some super cool place for the fraction of the price you’d pay for staying at 4 or 5 star hotels. When I travel, I do want to have everything ” top notch ” and feel like I’m treating myself every moment of the trip. Great hotel with the high standard services and policies is one of the major links of making the most of my trip and being 100% satisfied with the money spent on, as I like to say, pure hedonism.

I must say that I was hesitant when offered to stay at Clarion airport hotel in Vantaa, which is about 25-30 minutes car ride from the Helsinki city centre. Last year, a Norwegian chain – Nordic choice hotels, Clarion opened up 2 hotels in Helsinki, one of them being a “sky scraper” for Finnish standards, located 5 minutes away from the city centre with a beautiful sights over the city from it’s 16th floor’s Sky bar.

I don’t think that many people were that interested about the airport hotel, until it broke the news by being top rated hotel in Helsinki according to TripAdvisor! Say what?

Now, that got me very interested to pursue this collaboration and find out what made Clarion “the airport hotel” everything but an ordinary airport hotel.

Upon entering the hotel and facing the reception and lobby, I was already positively shocked. The looks, design, massive chandeliers, marble floors, big windows, upbeat vibe… It was something I have never expected to find here.

Check in was easy by the help of the genuinely cheerful staff which has accommodated me like a royalty. I got a suite which is one of their top rooms out of 250 in total. Clarion encourages “green stay” meaning that they care about the environment, recycling and being as community aware as possible. On a random day you can find these hard working people taking care of every little corner inside and outside of the hotel. That’s when it hit me! These people really want to give a whole new value to staying at the airport hotel. I must say that I forgot about the fact that I was staying at one.

After the quick check in, I got to my suite and that’s when I felt most welcomed guest ever! CLARION LOVES YOU! That’s what the balloons on my bed had written on them. Living room area was also a nice surprise as there was a handwritten note to me in Russian ( I’m half Russian ) and with a drawing of 3 flags caring about my Croatian roots and Finnish ties. To top off the whole experience, bottle of champagne, chocolate and candy treats were more than appreciated by me and my little travel companion, my daughter.

Before going downstairs for the dinner, we got a guided tour through the hotel by one of the most professional and fun guest relations managers I have ever encountered. Thank you Mr. Jad for showing us all of the beauty, from the President suite, family rooms, meeting rooms to the gym, relaxing zone and sauna. Everything was just impeccable and left me in awe!

Clarion airport hotel has 12 meeting rooms and for all of the business travellers who need to work in a quiet but super cool place or needs to have a meeting, those are the most stylish and cozy meeting rooms I’ve ever seen.

Our dinner was waiting at Kitchen and Table, concept restaurant by a famous Swedish chef Marcus Samuelsson, serving us an international cuisine, strongly influenced by America with Nordic ingredients. We had a tasty dinner of 3 courses and have liked it! It wasn’t the fine dining experience or one of my favourite dishes which I ever ate, but the comfort food feeling and tastiness were there. 🙂

We did love the dessert and the virgin cocktails the most! 😉 Restaurant is very kid friendly, design is very industrial but intimate and the service was quick and accommodating.

Clarion hotels promote healthy lifestyle, therefore their breakfast buffet was full of healthy options and enough of them for even the pickiest or most sensitive eaters ( gluten, lactose, etc. intolerant ). After a good breakfast, we have decided to test Clarion’s sauna and get ready to leave our unforgettable “airport hotel” experience.

*Thank you Clarion airport hotel Vantaa for partnering up with me on this post!

*Thank you to Jad Lian and wonderful staff at the front desk for making my stay as amazing as it was!

*Photography by: Natali K. photography