Let there be light

I’ve developed a fondness for staycations. VALO Hotel in western Helsinki (https://valo.fi/) turned out to be an excellent spot for them. It has very cosy and soundproof rooms, a lovely bistro, and probably the best spa in Helsinki on a rooftop. The interior is as Nordic as it gets (Valo is Finnish for light).

This hotel is also destined for people who wish to work in an inspiring environment. It has various kinds of workspaces and meeting facilities. I understand many people who can afford it stay here for weeks.

It takes about 20 minutes to reach this hotel from the city centre by bus. There is a nice bay south of this hotel and a huge park to the north. If the hotel had special facilities for small kids it might attract more customers like myself. 

Escapology

As I have pointed out in previous posts, travel in Covid times presupposes careful planning. Here is another tip: the Rantapuisto hotel in Eastern Helsinki. 

It used to be a private getaway for a bank. Now it looks like a beautifully forgotten conference center in the woods by the seaside. Very David Lynch. The spirit of the past (especially the ‘80s) is preserved. The hotel is large, and it is very easy to avoid close proximity with other humans.

The hotel is a stone’s throw away from one of the most beautiful places in Helsinki: Kallahti (picture). It is a small bay, next to a peninsula, perfect for a Sunday walk.

Special mention for the friendly staff, a wonderful restaurant, and the authentic saunas. The best rooms are spacious and they have a view over the bay.

Bored to life

This pandemic is terrible for a traveler. You desperately look for safe ways to travel. In the middle of the summer, it occurred to me that staying in an immobile boat might be one way in which you can travel and respect the rules.

The Bore hostel in my hometown, Turku, is a place where you can pretty much go as you please. Almost everything can be done online. You are placed in a cabin, and the only time you’ll meet other travelers is over breakfast that is very generous. They might have changed the rules now that the pandemic is getting worse. The bar was closed already in July.

The prices are a bit steep for a hostel but being at the northwestern riverside bears specific significance for me, since it’s close to where my parents lived before they had me.

htpps://www.turku.fi/ss-bore

Camp pleasure

For obvious reasons, this travel blog has been very quiet lately. I decided to fight boredom by going back to my early days as a traveler. Since I was totally broke back then, I spent a lot of time in various camping sites in Scandinavia and the UK.

Strangely enough, my heimat in Eastern Helsinki (the upper side of the attached picture) is just across the bay from a wonderful camping site, Rastila Camping. It is a five-star site with all the amenities you can think of, a great restaurant, a beach, and five fabulous saunas that you can rent even if you’re not staying at the site.

For anyone interested in city life, there is a also a metro stop that takes you to central Helsinki in about 10 minutes. Very fond memories from Bredäng Camping Stockholm sprang to mind.

Hôtel de détente

Organising a relaxing hotel is not difficult. All you need is a gym and a spa/sauna.

Here are a few tips for anyone interested:
1. Make sure the facilities are open and functional as long as possible throughout the day.
2. Ensure cleanliness and sufficient supplies of towels, snacks, fruit and water at all times.
3. Make sure that someone can turn on the sauna at the opening times if it is not on. This can be done at a distance.
4. Preferably have a hamam and sauna separately. People usually like the one or the other. If there is a sauna, make sure people can make it as hot as possible.
5. Ensure the availability of cold showers.

Melia Luxembourg (pictures) has pulled all of this off in a very small space. Hats off!

Heat it up

A travel blog is not worth its name if it does not advocate something. So here is my take on travel: we need more saunas.

Of course, you would expect that from a Finn. But here is my take on the best sauna areas in the world:

1. Rauhaniemen kansankylpylä, Tampere (rauhaniemi.net) (photo)

Their website sucks but they do have the best sauna in the world. It’s large, and you can choose from cool to steaming hot since the sauna has four levels of seating. Perfect with kids. Swimming available in a beautiful lake.

2. Mondorf Domaine Thermal (mondorf.lu), Luxembourg

This place has about a dozen saunas with Finnish names (it wasn’t me...). The perfect place to explore what we Finns call German sauna culture (swimming suits are not allowed but anything else goes). Swimming in an apparently natural warm and salty source available.

3. Uimastadion, Helsinki

A public swimming paradise built in the ‘40s for the Olympics that only took place in 1952. This is how saunas should be for a real enthusiast: small and tight. They have a website organised by the city but let’s not get into that.

Park life

As I’ve said earlier, I don’t particularly like boutique hotels. But whenever I find a smaller independent hotel that pleases me, I’m more than happy to spread the word. I found one in my own hometown.

Park Hotel in Turku, Finland is a very strange but profoundly entertaining hotel. The building itself is a jugend-style villa in the western centre of this beautiful small town. The hotel is a stone’s throw away from the main railway station, which is a big plus. The central market square can be reached in 15 minutes by foot.

The rooms are all unique. I advise to book early and to go for one of the more expensive rooms. They come with full-blown last century kitsch furniture with a lot of detail and a balcony opening up to a beautiful park. The only thing you'll hear are the the birds singing.

There is a small and cosy breakfast and an excellent sauna that you’ll have to reserve beforehand. The reception houses a well-stocked bar and no-nonsense staff that will cater for your strangest desires without blinking.

I also like the social media advertising of this hotel. They emphasise that conductor Leif Segerstam is one of their regulars. He is known for his regal behaviour in Helsinki restaurants. If they can house him, they can house anyone.