Scandic Helsinki Aviapolis

Update: After I shared my feedback with the hotel and posted this review, they offered me another night. This time my room had a kettle, and there was no diesel smell in the sauna. Maybe the HVAC setting was different, or perhaps more people were using it. Last time I was alone and near the end of the sauna shift. I’m not sure whether you can simply ask for a kettle, but please do, hopefully it’s free. To me, a kettle is a basic requirement for a four-star hotel, and I suspect they want guests to buy one from the kiosk downstairs. I considered raising my rating to three stars, but I’m leaving it at two. The bathroom had orange marks from mould or scum. It looked freshly painted, but the underlying parts of the hotel are old and worn out. The sauna needs replacing, and I can’t tell whether the floor tiles need a proper scrub or are too far gone. The staff are generally excellent, and the team really does want you to have a good stay where they can. My earlier review gave one star because the sauna needed urgent repairs. The floors were slimy and unpleasant, with no way to sweep away standing water. The sauna smelled strongly of sweat and was coming apart in places. The changing room smelled like exhaust from airport service vehicles. That wasn’t surprising given the location, and I even found it nostalgic, but the polluted air in an enclosed space concerned me. I hoped all three problems would be fixed promptly and said I’d update or remove my feedback once I could confirm that myself. The location and price can be convenient and good value, though there are a few other options close to the airport. The rooms are ultra-basic for a four-star hotel. There’s no tea or coffee setup or water boiler in the room. These can be bought at the lobby snack bar, unless I misunderstood and they’re free. Room slippers cost 6eur when I wrote this. The restaurant closes on weekends, so you have to go to the Scandic next door, 300m away. I believe there are only single beds, so couples have to push them together, but sleeping in the middle may mean midnight turbulence. The bathrooms show poor upkeep, with pink stains in the grout. Breakfast time slots must be booked in advance, and early breakfast starts at 4am. I’d only stay here if I needed to and the price was good at the time of booking.

We had to pay for parking even though we stopped for just 15 minutes to unload our cases before returning the car to the airport rental. That’s my only criticism. The hotel is close to the airport, with a regular shuttle, and our room was quiet and suited us. I was impressed that a full breakfast was served at 5am before we headed to the airport.

Would I come back? Yes, absolutely. The hotel was very comfortable, reception was friendly, and breakfast was delicious.

We used the room during a seven-hour wait for medical reasons, and the overnight rate seemed reasonable. The free airport shuttle was straightforward and ran on schedule. The room was comfortable, with a safe and fridge, and I liked having recycling bins to sort rubbish. There were no wasteful bottles, just large dispensers. The TV was good too, and I plugged in our fire-TV to watch our own shows. There weren’t any tea-making facilities, but the staff were very friendly and accommodating and got me a cuppa.