In October I visited Helsinki, Finland for a couple days, splitting my two nights in the Finnish capital between the Klaus K Hotel Helsinki, a Design Hotel property in the Marriott portfolio, and a stay at one of the World of Hyatt participating Small Luxury Hotels. Both were very nice stays, and it is hard to me to pick which I enjoyed more. As I stayed at the Klaus K Hotel Hotel Helsinki first, I figured I’d review it first.
The hotel is part of Marriott’s Design Hotels portfolio which consists of curated selection of boutique, one-off properties around the globe. There are over 120 properties within the portfolio, a good percentage of which are in Europe. Design Hotels was formerly part of Starwood Preferred Guest, where I thought the brand fit well. Before my stay at the Klaus K Hotel Helsinki, I’d never stayed at any of the properties within the portfolio.
Booking
I booked the Klaus K Hotel initially using a Category 1-5 Marriott free night certificate. However, rates dropped as we got within a couple months of the stay, and I ended up cancelling the award booking and using cash. Rates were down to €105 for a standard room. The property is an award category 5, requiring 30,000 to 40,000 points per night.
Rates do get extremely high at the Klaus K Hotel, well over 200 euros. I’d happily burn points for that value. The standard room that can be booked as an award is a “Passion Mini”, which offers a single bed and is meant for one person. So do note that this isn’t exactly a good hotel for family travel. I was adventuring solo this trip.
Arriving at the Klaus K Hotel Helsinki
It was easy to get to the city center from Helsinki Vantaa airport using the train. I arrived at the Central Railway Station and then walked the few blocks to the Klaus K Hotel. Alternatively, you can take a streetcar, but the walk is less than 10 minutes.
The staff at the front desk asked me if this was my first time in Helsinki, to which I obviously had to say yes. He followed with asking if this was my first time in Finland. Also yes. He warmly welcomed me to the country and hoped I’d have a pleasant visit in Helsinki. I decided not to share with him that I’d sadly be there just two days.
He informed me that I’d been upgraded me to a Sky Loft room on account of my Marriott Titanium status, which I will have for just a few more months. I’ve decided to ditch Bonvoy, but I was happy that the Klaus K Hotel Helsinki really came through with the upgrade benefit in this case. The Sky Loft is a big step up from what I’d booked.
The hallway on the top floor is rather unique. At night, these “curtains” of chains of metal beads are pulled across the hall every 20-30 feet.
Klaus K Sky Loft Room Review
The first thing I noticed stepping into the room was the mood music. It is a solid part of the ambiance of the stylish Sky Loft accommodations. Much of the furniture is back-lit, which provides plenty of light, but also helps the room feel relaxing.
The living area is small, but inviting. Klaus K Hotel Sky Loft rooms offer at least 330 square feet of space, so they are a reasonable size, but still not overly large. I liked the layout with the work desk near the entrance, and nicely separated living and bed areas.
The king bed is in a raised section a few steps up from the rest of the room. I found the bed to be quite firm, which was fine by me. My only warning is regarding the stairs. When you’re jet-lagged and not sure where you are stumbling out of bed at 2:00 AM, they are a bit of a hazard. I’m lucky I caught the rail before I fell into the living room.
Even with no back, the desk chair is comfortable. I spent a couple hours writing in the early morning when I couldn’t sleep.
The desk in the Sky Loft also has an awesome power plug panel with multiple style power outlets and USB ports. An excellent feature for international travelers. Universal outlets, or multiple outlet styles, is something I really appreciate.
Above the desk is a framed note from the loft “owner”. My guess is that this is a guest who frequented the Klaus K and regularly stayed in the room? Or a previous resident if these accommodations were used prior to the property becoming a hotel?
In the living area is a very nice shelf with the coffee and tea, the minibar, and cups and glasses for two for whichever beverages you plan to enjoy.
The in-room coffee is a pod-style machine and is actually pretty good. I hadn’t expected to try it, but there was nothing else to do when wide awake at 4:00 AM except make a cup and write for a while. There’s also a selection of delicious fruit tea.
Klaus K Hotel Helsinki Sky Loft rooms feature mini bars. There is a selection of water, juice, beer, and wine available. Everything is fairly pricey. You can review the prices on the card located on the shelf.
The wine is branded specifically for the Klaus K Hotel Helsinki. The wine is very pricey, even for in-room wine.
Room service menus for both breakfast and dinner are attached. The lunch and dinner restaurant, Toscanini, is for the accessible from the lobby of the hotel.
The Klaus K Hotel Sky Lofts have their own private outdoor terrace area that faces the street. It was wet in the evening and overnight, so I didn’t spend any time out here aside from briefly enjoying the view of the street.
The room has a view of the intersection beyond the hotel. You can see a couple of the churches in the distance, including the one in Kallio (in distance in photo). From the shared Sky Terrace, you have views of the Helsinki Cathedral. Looking the other direction, you can pretty much only see the tops of the trees along the street.
My Sky Loft room featured a double rain shower. Water pressure and temperature were glorious. After taking a look around the room, a shower was the first thing on the agenda after my long Finnair A350-900 business class flight from Los Angeles.
The bath amenities are all full-size bottles mounted to the wall of the shower and next to the sink. Marriott has moved to eliminate travel-size toiletries globally.
The only complaint I might make about the bathroom is that the sink area is rather small. It’s a nice sink, but there’s not a whole lot of area if you travel with a lot of toiletries. As mine fit into a single Cathay Pacific business class amenity kit bag, not a problem for me. 🙂
About 10 minutes after I arrived, a bottle of water and another paper explaining the hotel benefits were delivered. The most helpful item on the list is regarding the switch for the music. It was nice at first, but I couldn’t figure out how to turn it off.
Overall, the room was fantastic. The style, lighting, and comfort of the accommodations combine to make the Klaus K Sky Lofts a relaxing and enjoyable sanctuary. I was extremely pleased that the hotel had offered such an excellent upgrade.
Jet lag hit me with a fury. I fell asleep around 11:00 PM, feeling tired after heading out for dinner and a bit of exploration. But sleep lasted about 3 hours, after which I couldn’t manage to drift off again. The pillows are also the small square kind, which I’m not used to and don’t care for all that much. But my sleeplessness was more due to the fact that it was 4:00 PM back in California.
Breakfast
As the Marriott breakfast benefits are ridiculously difficult to remember due to the brand variation, I’d forgotten that Design Hotels do not offer any breakfast benefit. The man at the front desk had mentioned this at check-in. The hotel serves breakfast in the restaurant located adjacent to the lobby.
The Klaus K Hotel Helsinki offers a breakfast buffet for €25, which is rather expensive in my book. But they also have a limited a la carte menu. I settled on an omelet, just to give the hotel restaurant a try, as it was a much more reasonable €8.
The omelet was excellent. It was packed full of fillings and the egg was light and fluffy. Super tasty, and the presentation top-notch.
The buffet didn’t appear to have a huge selection of items, but things were nicely presented.
Klaus K Hotel Helsinki Facilities
The upgrade to a Sky Loft came with access to the Sky Terrace, which is also on the seventh floor. It was just down the hall from my room. When I arrived, the front desk informed me that it was currently being used for a private event, but I thought I’d poke my head in the following morning. There is coffee, water, and tea available. The Sky Terrace is only available to Sky Loft guests.
What the Sky Terrace offers is excellent views of Helsinki. Since it is at the corner of the hotel, you can look out over a good portion of the city. It also provides nice views of the Helsinki Cathedral. The morning was very foggy, so the views weren’t the best when I stayed.
All the way downstairs is the fitness room. It’s quite small, but offers a variety of equipment.
At the front of the Klaus K Hotel Helsinki is the Ravintola Toscanini. Ravintola is restaurant in Finnish, one word you should easily be able to pick up. It’s not open in the mornings, as the hotel operates their breakfast restaurant separately. Lunch hours are 11:00 AM to 2:30 PM, and then the restaurant opens again for dinner from 5:00 to 11:00 PM.
As the name implies, Ravintola Toscanini offers Italian fare. From the room service menus, it’s a bit pricey. Dinner will probably run you €30-40.
Conclusion
The Klaus K Hotel Helsinki really puts the ‘design’ in Design Hotels. It has an excellent atmosphere, very comfortable rooms, and I was thrilled with how well they came through with a room upgrade for my last stay as a Marriott Titanium. The location in Helsinki is also excellent, as you’re sandwiched between the central part of the city and the Design District. I’m very glad I picked the hotel and would happily stay again. The only drawback I can really mention is that it isn’t an ideal hotel for families. Aside from that, it’s an excellent property.
