Scandic Meilahti

My husband had a medical emergency in Helsinki, and I came over from America. I picked this hotel because it was close to the hospital. The staff understood what was going on and were consistently accommodating.

I had a great stay at Meilahti. Martta at reception was especially kind and attentive. She quickly got an extra heater arranged for my room and set up a full stayover cleaning. Her professional manner and friendly communication made things much more comfortable. Thank you, Martta, for the excellent service!

I’ve stayed here for about 30 weeks, more than half a year, and I’ll be back for more weeks, so I feel I can give a fair review. The rooms are good and the employees are kind, from reception to the bistro food service. Room cleaning is inconsistent: in the same week, service can be good or bad, with glasses left unchanged and tables or sinks dirty. It depends on the worker, but the quality has been slipping over time. A few things from my experience could make the hotel a lot better: 1. The gym is a major issue. This is probably the only hotel in the city without one. There’s an arrangement with the nearby Fressi, but it costs 8€ per session. A personal Fressi subscription is 25€ a month, less than 1€ per session, so paying through the hotel is no advantage at all. It’s expensive, and I think gym access should be free at this level of hotel. I hope they change it, because that would be a big improvement. 2. Please check the forks, knives, spoons and mugs after they come out of the dishwasher. They’re still dirty about half the time, and eating with dirty items isn’t pleasant. 3. Breakfast is average and stays the same throughout the year. They added pancakes last year, which are very good. I’d like to see more seasonal food and fresh fruit. Watermelon all year in Finland isn’t very typical. I hope the manager considers this before my next visit. Have a nice workday and summer! Update, September 2025: I came back, and the gym still costs 8€ a day. I booked another five weeks, bringing my total to 35 weeks and more than 30.000 euros, and they still charge 8€ daily for the gym. Room cleaning now happens at 18:30. It’s been four days in a row, and by then I’m already in the room. When the cleaners do come, it doesn’t feel like a proper cleaning. In the pictures the room is already made, dated 08/09/2025. Maybe it’s time to look for another place to stay.

The hotel is nice and the breakfast is great, but my experience with the booking left me disappointed. My mum was in hospital with no clear discharge date, so I had to book another stay when she wasn’t allowed to leave. I booked again the same day I checked out, but they still wouldn’t let me into the room before 1pm unless I paid an early fee. The person at the desk knew my situation. To me, that was poor customer service and showed little understanding, given how many guests must be there for the same reason.