The most luxurious hotel in Finland: what does the Finnish zest look like and what attracts you?

The luxury hotel Maria has recently opened in Helsinki, offering cozy stays and local cuisine with a distinctive Finnish spa. In 2020, an investment group led by Finnish developer Sampaa Launen bought the site and began transforming it into the most luxurious hotel in Finland.

"We wanted to create American luxury in our own way, combining it with Nordic hospitality and Finnish art and customs," says the investor. Inside, the hotel has a snowy, silver color palette, and the corridors and guest rooms sparkle with mirrors and blazing chandeliers, according to TravelLeisure..

The hotel's interiors are also impressive, as Finnish artist Pia Feinik was commissioned to fill the walls with 200 paintings and graphics: ethereal, shimmering images of birds, reindeer, and bare trees. At the same time, the hotel's 125 employees come from six continents and speak more than 20 languages.

The Maria Hotel offers quite spacious rooms Out of 117 rooms at the Maria Hotel, 38 are suites, and all of them, given the historical nature of the buildings, are slightly different in size and layout. For example, the Imperial Suite is 1722 square feet and will cost you 6600 euros per night. It is worth noting that the hotel's spa suites have either steam baths or Finnish saunas, and many rooms feature distinctive architectural details.

The hotel's main restaurant, Lilja, serves a beautifully decorated classic breakfast buffet in the morning and a gourmet dinner in the evening. Consequently, visitors can choose to order à la carte or enjoy a seven-course tasting menu, including delicious local specialties. The menu also offers caviar, as well as a selection of eight different gins and tonics. For a more casual meal (salads, burgers, reindeer tartare), the hotel's garden terrace has an indoor greenhouse with heated glass in winter and an outdoor patio in the warmer months.

The Maria Hotel offers a spa, and a gym and ballroom are due to open soon. Plans are underway for a variety of wellness programs, including exercise classes and a weekly running club. There is also a small collection of Fabergé next to the boutique featuring works by Finnish masters.

One of the highlights of the Maria Hotel is the sauna. The Maria Spa offers the same invigorating extreme temperatures for a fee, with a steam room, Finnish sauna, cold tub, whirlpool and warm pool. Once filled with enough endorphins, spa visitors can relax by the fountain in the central courtyard and enjoy a revitalizing drink and snacks. A variety of massages, face and body treatments are available by appointment.

The Maria Hotel emphasizes that they are committed to minimizing their environmental impact through energy-efficient lighting, advanced climate control, and renewable energy sources. Also, Maria's restaurants use locally sourced and produced proteins whenever possible and try to minimize the distance that other ingredients need to be shipped for reasons of both carbon footprint and freshness.

However, please note that as the hotel buildings have had to be renovated to meet historic preservation standards, not all rooms or public areas (including the gym) are wheelchair accessible. Those with special accessibility needs should communicate with the reservation team prior to booking to ensure a comfortable stay.

Tourists should remember that Maria Hotel is located a half-hour drive from Helsinki Airport with a single terminal and a 15-minute walk from the central train station. Hotel room rates start at 430 euros, including breakfast, for a standard room. Seasonal and holiday packages are available, and as the hotel is part of the Preferred Hotels and Resorts Legends Collections, I Prefer members can receive discounts on their stays.