When Hotel Maria is completed in June, 159 chandeliers will hang from the ceilings of its 79 rooms, 38 suites and public areas. Its bar will serve 31 types of champagne. And renovations to its four buildings – two of which opened in December – will include restoring 42 kilometers (26 miles) of original mouldings.
These are just some of the things that will distinguish the Maria as a “real five-star city hotel”, according to Heli Mende, its commercial director.
The Finnish capital is no stranger to luxury. It already has several high-end hotels, such as Hotel Kamp and St. George. There are luxury boutiques and department stores. the Palace restaurant, which has two Michelin stars. and a handful of other one-star spots. (In May, the city is scheduled to host the 2024 Michelin Guide ceremony for the Nordic region.)
And to the north, in Lapland, the country has a strong tourism business that includes luxury services and accommodations, such as clear glass igloos to protect visitors as they sip champagne and gaze up at the night sky, waiting for a glimpse of the Northern Lights.
But this country of about five and a half million, sandwiched between Sweden to the west and Russia to the east, has historically lacked the elaborate luxury infrastructure found in other European cities or global hubs like Singapore. Dubai, United Arab Emirates? and New York City.
“Partly this is because Finland is not very hierarchical as a culture and, for example, income differences have traditionally been small,” said Juri Maki, managing director of Helsinki-based research firm Red Note, which in 2018 did a extensive study on the travel industry’s perceptions of Finland and its luxury offerings. “Because of that, this style of culture is not very typical of Finland.”
Among international travelers, he said, Finland’s greatest strength “definitely lies not in outwardly visible, classic luxury,” but in the unusual experiences available in its pristine outdoors – like evenings in glass igloos.
Finns themselves love solitude and are famous for avoiding small talk with strangers. “The ultimate compliment is to offer luxury and leave people alone to enjoy it,” wrote Stephen Lee, an American who has lived in the country for 24 years and works with luxury brands in communications and marketing. “Where Americans expect high amounts of service, conversation and even humor, Finns find that annoying.”
And they don’t reward what others might call routine attention — in restaurants, for example — because tipping is almost nonexistent in a country where luxury jobs have historically paid a respectable wage.
Sampa Lajunen, a Finnish athlete turned real estate investor, understood the different perspectives, but research by Samla Capital Oy, the property investment company he founded, showed that Helsinki lacked hotels for tourists looking for “world class luxury”. wrote to an EMAIL ADDRESS.
“Finland and Helsinki are interesting travel destinations,” said Mr Lajunen, a three-time Olympic gold medalist in Nordic combined, an event that includes cross-country skiing and ski jumping. “So I didn’t see the real reason for it.”
To create the hotel, Mr. Lajunen assembled a team of designers and hospitality experts and added his own experience as an athlete who has stayed in luxury hotels around the world. He also did some of what he called “secret shopping” in hotels in Paris and London. “We compared brands like the Ritz, Peninsula, Four Seasons and La Reserve for inspiration.”
The renovations, which began in 2020, joined three 19th-century buildings and one built in the 1930s, structures that had previously been used as barracks for high-ranking military personnel and, for a time, part of the Ministry of Agriculture. The rooms have ceilings up to four meters. Some have king-size beds with thick mattresses and box springs (Finns are used to sleeping on thin mattresses). And many of the en-suite bathrooms include sunbeds, saunas and steam rooms. (Rooms start at 25 square meters and 402 euros, or $435, per night. Top class suites can go for up to €6,004 a night.)
And the hotel was named after Empress Maria Feodorovna of Russia, who was born Princess Dagmar of Denmark in 1847. As the young, elegant wife of Alexander III, she often visited the Finnish capital to escape the Russian court and was Dear. People.
The decor features neutral tones and white marble, accented by modern lighting. Finnish art, including the work of visual artist Pia Feinik. and interior green. There are two restaurants — Lilja, which the hotel’s website describes as French-inspired but with Finnish cuisine at its heart, and the Garden Terrace, a brasserie-style offering — as well as a spa where guests can explore options treatment with a wellness concierge.
Ms Mende, the commercial manager, said the hotel’s initial guests included some wedding parties and neighbors from nearby Kruununhaka neighborhood, the oldest residential district of the city. “They’ve been watching the construction for so many years,” he said. “I think they were all curious to come and see.”
He said the first flow of international tourists, mostly from elsewhere in Europe and the United States, had started arriving in February, when the city was still covered in snow and ice.
Soon Hotel Maria won’t be the only new luxury offering in town. About a kilometer away, Hotel Kamp, long considered Helsinki’s best hotel, is undergoing a €100 million renovation that is expected to be completed in 2026. The work, which is taking place while the hotel continues to accept guests, includes upgrading the of its technological infrastructure and redesigning its 179 rooms.
And an hour’s drive north, Villa Stenberg, a restored lakeside farmhouse, recently beat a castle near Cannes, France, and a villa nestled in an olive grove in Bari, Italy, to be named Europe’s top Airbnb wedding venue.
Could Finland become a destination for international luxury seekers?
That would be unlikely, said Mr Makis, the researcher, but the country is seeing a lot of growth in its network of luxury providers, which stretches from the capital to Lapland. “This network is really important as we are able to maintain a level of luxury across the country.”
Since moving to Finland from Uganda in 2003, furniture and homewares designer Lincoln Kayiwa said he has seen luxury offerings in Helsinki evolve to include tasting menus, celebrity chefs and international cuisine.
“Finns are not obnoxious when it comes to wealth,” he said. “But having, for example, gold leaf in your ice cream is something that is no longer out of reach or considered excessive here.”
Eager to take a look at Hotel Maria’s extensive collection of chandeliers by British designer Timothy Oulton, Mr Kayiwa eagerly met friends for drinks when the hotel first opened in December.
“It was somewhere you could lose yourself,” he said. “It definitely felt like you were somewhere else — maybe in a big city like Hong Kong, but not Helsinki.”
