Scandic Grand Marina

Loved the breakfast here. It’s for guests of the hotel, but you would think it would be a destination place. Great variety, especially the breads — but loved the yogurt bar and the porridge, ikea-​like meatballs, blueberry cake. Really tasty! (Note: I accidentally ate here for free due to a cultural misunderstanding.)

This hotel is decent but the staff will treat younger people like they’re second class citizens. After staying here a few nights it became painfully clear the staff would routinely ignore and mistreat people based on their dress and age.
I felt like a second-​class citizen here, being served after other customers and getting treated like they didn’t want me there because I wasn’t a business traveler or coming off a cruise ship.
If you’re under 40 look somewhere else. Unless you like paying money to be treated like inferior person and having hotel staff constantly eyeing everything you do.

Situated at Helsinki Port, it is only a 10 minute walk to Uspenski Cathedral, Helsinki Lutheran Cathedral and Esplanade, and a few more minutes to the centre of the city. As it is at the port, it is very convenient to board a ferry to Suomenlinna as well as to Tallinn, both of which I did.
As I was traveling solo, the single bed room was adequate for my needs. It wasn’t tiny, but not very spacious. The bathroom was a decent size. A real plus was the free, very fast WiFi, which covers the whole hotel. Also, you can connect your iOS device to the TV if you want to watch something from there instead– a very nice touch. Tip: you can charge your iPhone/​iPod touch from the TV if you have a lightning cable.
The breakfast was excellent and complimentary. A wide selection, plentiful and good opening hours so you don’t have to rush. The only drawback was the orange and tropical juices offered, which tasted weird.
A pleasant surprise was the sauna, which was also included in the price. Very hot, as it is supposed to be, and free towels available. Open from 5:00PM to 10:00PM. An excellent way to end the day.
I didn’t interact much with the staff, which I consider a good thing as everything was self-​explanatory. However, when I did interact with them, they were friendly, attentive and helpful. If I come back to Helsinki, I will definitely be staying here again.
Just one thing, Scandic needs to add Passbook to open the hotel room with my iPhone or Apple Watch.

I stayed at this hotel for a trade show a few years ago. They treated us well and we had a good time but if I ever go back, I hope it isn’t in February! There aren’t a lot of restaurants that are close enough for a sub-​zero evening walk, but the ones we found were good. Bellevue was a terrific nearby Russian restaurant.

I was able to get a great rate and I can say I was extremely pleased with this hotel. The hotel is conveniently located one block from the Number 4 light rail line which you can catch near the central railway station, right across the street from a cruise ship terminal and a mere fifteen minute walk to downtown.
The hotel has but two small negatives: the windows are remarkable small and the rooms are deep but narrow. The positives, however, are plentiful.
The hotel staff was very helpful, the lobby was spacious and nice there is a mini snack shop in the lobby, there are plenty of elevators and just a ten minute walk places you at the bottom entrance of the promenade. The breakfast was pretty good. There was the usual coffee, three juices to choose from and every day they provided scrambled or boiled eggs, bacon, toast and potatoes.
The hotel is extremely well insulated so if you seek privacy, this is the place. Also, notwithstanding the hotel’s size, which is rather large, elevators were always available and unlike the elevators in the other Helsinki hotels, the elevators here were large.
Of the three hotels I have stayed at in Helsinki I would rate this one first, followed by the Arthur and the Finn. I would book a room here again provided I can get a rate of around one hundred U.S. dollars.

Although this hotel appears to be off the hotel «grid» of the city it is a rough jewel. Located near the pier for cruise boats, it is easily accessible from a tram around the block. It is about 10 minutes from Helsinki central station and a nice walk from the hotel … About 25 minutes from the main attractions in the city. Service and staff is great and the morning breakfast will keep you fill to late afternoon.