Hotel St. George

The hotel can look quite nice , clean and with a touch of history. But the service is very bad. And far away from 5 stars. During my staying there I mentioned several time my disappointment due to different reason -spa in a five star hotel close at 6 and you can joint 30 minutes per person ( 20 minutes of sauna , 10 in pool ) like you were in army and not there to relax,but to get stress looking at the time. No pragmatism : at six one lady turned off the light in the sauna without inform . Then start screaming “olemme kiinni “ good example Of elegance and courtesy. They say it’s due to coronavirus, but that’s just and excuse ! Because the virus can circulate even before 6 pm. - the room quite nice and clean , but has no coffee machine with capsule as 5* they offer the boiler like when you are in camping and to prepare a filter coffee it’s quite annoying for two reason: the cup are not enough big and practical to contains “the special “ filter they offer. And the boiler was leaking water, so our pc had risked to be damaged . - the service at the breakfast was quick and lovely made by one greek man and his colleague.but the breakfast still not at the level of five stars . Sausages cold, no good choice in sweets and very poor. Eggs should be at least made fresh in a hotel who pretend to have standard but those cold as well .to compensate the cold food , air conditioned temperature set like we were in africa. So we started sneezing because the chill. But the worst thing can happen in a 5 * stars Hotel is : -THE MANAGER WAS ABSENT ALL SUNDAY AND MONDAY MORNING! ?and no one to replace him/her . Can you imagine something like that in a Five stars hotel ? And when I asked to talked to him, one woman at the reception invited me to follow her in a different room to discuss about my disappointment and noting my feedback on paper. - like a school - once got all my disappointments she didn’t compensate in anything, the only thing she could say was “I’m sorry , thanks for the feedback “ In conclusion : perfect hotel for Finns who come from the countryside and they believe to live the experience of a five stars hotel because they didn’t see anything else . If you are staying in Helsinki I suggest to all the visitors to go to Clarion Hotel in jatkasaari , 10 minutes by walk from the centre, very good breakfast, very cozy room with view, spa with swimming pool on the rooftop and sauna . (110 breakfast included) Nothing to envy to a hotel like st George who pretend to be example of service and standards . I also suggest the manager to go sometimes abroad in a five stars hotel and learn something about “hotellerie”. Shame on st George Hotel . 235 € to be not happy .

Originally, we booked the least expensive Church Park Suite from a flash sale -50% for 275 euros. As a Nordic Choice platinum member, we got an upgrade to Poetry Suite. That suite has a normal price of 700-800 euros. Poetry Suite has the smallest interior 37m2 of the five suites but its 20m2 terrace compensates that, at least in the summertime. This suite is located on the 5th floor above the 4th-floor Finlandia Suite. Poetry and Finlandia Suites have the same price but Finlandia Suite has a more spacious interior 58m2 and a huge 50m2 terrace. So if I should make the booking, I would choose Finlandia Suite from these two. Although Poetry Suite is located one floor higher, the views are not better. If you want to have great views from the balcony, you have to book one of the two most expensive suites: Coupole and St George. Now we have seen all other suites than the most expensive St George Suite. There have never been any good sales for this suite. The normal price of 2500 euros is too much, at least for our travel budget. Suites have complimentary minibars and room-service breakfasts that lift their value compared to the next category downwards which is Atelier rooms. Everything else was perfect on our stay except the living room table that was small and sloping like the Tower of Pisa. This 'missing for a good table' problem has been at every room we have stayed at this hotel. The quite small writing desk is always filled with stuff. The staff was very friendly.

In my opinion this hotel mixes classic & contemporary perfectly. I especially loved to see how the sleek, completely renovated building still preserves original architecture e.g. in the staircase lobby. I felt I had been introduced to a fresh definition of luxury. Everything top-notch yet with simplicity and an understated elegance, no bling or excess. Besides the tons of artwork including names like Ai WeiWei, it's unique how attention to quality has been dedicated equally to both public areas and rooms. Outstanding soundproofing, rain shower, finnish/nordic design fills the room - from drinking glasses to lamps and furniture. I found the spa a bit lacking in comparison to other experiences, it could have more loungers and better use the space around the pool. I was staying with a 3mo baby, a crib was quickly delivered to our room and the best quality I've had in a hotel so far; elevators and corridors fit a stroller well, and there were no restrictions taking the baby to the restaurant for dinner and breakfast. I did go alone to the spa though. Staff was friendly, professional and helpful, truly above average for Helsinki, standards. Massage in the spa was easily top 5 I've had.

The St. George is one of those hotels that stand out. Being a Lifetime Bonvoy Titanium member, and having stayed at many good hotels, I would rank this hotel one of the top three in the world. The hotel was so quiet, so clean, and so perfect. The staff were so friendly and helpful. Always having a suggestion of where to get take out meals to bring back to the room (as there were no restaurants in Helsinki open during this pandemic lockdown). Knowing we would like variety, the first night was one of the best Thai restaurants in Scandinavia, located on the first floor of the hotel. The second night, a wonderful Italian restaurant at a neighboring hotel. What amazed me was when we walked back into St. George with our Italian take-out food that the staff prepared cutlery for us. Saying so gracefully that the other hotel had called over to let them know that they did not have cutlery, so this was prepared by the St. George. A fantastic experience in Helsinki, the whole city seemed to want to keep the visitors safe and happy. I Will definitely plan to visit again in the summer with the family for a vacation, when hopefully the snow and pandemic have been left behind. I would definitely recommend this hotel to anyone who enjoys good service, while staying in a fantastically beautiful and peaceful hotel.

What an experience! First class service, first class food, first class room. Even breakfast was good thus far take away because of the restrictions. Didn’t miss a thing. We also got to experience the gym, Wintergarden and the Spa. Everything was extraordinaire - in a positive way :) thank you!