Hotel Leikari

The beds are still one of Leikari’s best points, and breakfast has stayed among my favorite hotel breakfasts. I was back recently and could see they’ve kept working on the service and quality. Check-in is flexible, and the service was absolutely perfect. A few months ago I wrote that it was good value, welcomed pets, and had owners who seemed genuinely committed to improving the hotel. It’s such a friendly, convenient place to stay. 5/5.

I remember the Santa decoration outside the restaurant, and as a smoker at the time I appreciated being able to buy cigarettes at reception if I hadn’t picked any up on the way back. The car park was easy to get out of even on mornings around minus 10 degrees. We were there just before Christmas 2014 while working for 8 Solutions at a local Data Center at Hamina. It’s a small hotel close to the motorway, with friendly staff who speak great English. They even hold English classes here for younger people in town. We stayed B&B and had evening meals too. Breakfast was a generous all-you-can-eat spread, though it leaned toward Finnish tastes. I loved it, while my more English colleagues didn’t make much of the menu. The toasted sausage sandwich I tried was unusual but lovely. I’d considered the reindeer steak, but it was very expensive.

The beds were surprisingly comfortable, and the place was clean enough to sleep in, despite feeling dingy and old. There’s a sauna, and it was a fun enough spot to afterparty after a festival like Dark River. The breakfasts were pretty terrible, though, and those messages on the bathroom doors are ludicrous. It’s a little dive motel, nothing fancy or special, and I didn’t have other bad experiences at first. Edit: I’ve dropped the service rating to 1 star and the overall rating to 2. Someone in our crew got locked out of their room, and the on-call night number just went to the front desk. Nobody works there after 6 p.m. Terrible service.

The price seemed fair for a one-night stop before catching the ferry. I had a single room with a balcony and found it comfortable enough. There was one small annoyance with the bathroom light switch, which takes some force to turn on, but it wasn’t a major issue. I didn’t get to try the sauna this time, though I definitely will next time.