Crowne Plaza, Helsinki
Doing it for the Tier Points
- And once again, welcome to the Tier Point Enrichment Centre
- What can you do with about three hours and a bit of sleep? (Coach, Heathrow Airport and Lounge)
- Finnair AY1332 London Heathrow to Helsinki (Business Class/A350)
- Planes, Trains, Boats and Trams – Into Helsinki and slightly beyond
- Crowne Plaza Helsinki
- A Morning walk around Helsinki
- Back to Vantaa, Finnair Non-Schengen Lounge
- Finnair AY1337 Helsinki to London Heathrow (Business Class/A350)
- Heathrow wows, Euston moans, and Rugby looks pretty
- 320 Tier Points, Done
I arrived at the hotel after my walk and checked in.
Yes. It’s a recycled photo.
Once again, I was offered a choice of a drink at the bar, or points as a welcome amenity.
Welcome
Reception
We all know what I went for. Because my point balances are never high enough.
I was in a Junior Suite this time – with no club room access. That was fine for a one-night stay. I did select having breakfast at my rate, so I wouldn’t be hungry in the morning.
With all that done, a key card was issued and away I went.
Let’s take a look at this room – whilst not as large as the Club Room I had previously, it was well sized, to put it mildly.
The junior suite
The outside view.
As expected, the room had all the usual amenities – even a Nespresso machine with proper pods (an easy way for a hotel to save money).
Nespresso compatblile machine
Glasses
Safe, Minibar, Kettle and all the drinks.
I’ll be honest at this point. I was going to cheat like hell and return to S-Market to get some late-evening food after a little doze.
My body had other ideas, with me out cold for a good 10 hours plus. Oh well, I didn’t fancy painting the town red at least. I’ll take a good night’s sleep on the bed that was there in the room.
4 am and I am friends enough as it is.
Thankfully, I brought the laptop to keep me entertained, as well as to push out a few things that had been queuing on the blog.
Believe it or not, it can be cathartic writing this blog sometimes. I also took the opportunity to shower too.
The bathroom in this room… is a little odd, as you have to get to it via the left-hand side of the room and past the bed.
The positioning of the door to the bed is … unusual.
Please excuse the idiot in the mirror.
An odd design for sure, and one way to wake someone up if they’re in bed.
With 7:30 am coming along, I decided to make my way downstairs for breakfast. Well, I had been up a fair bit at that point, and further sleep was not happening for love or money.
Arriving at the restaurant, I was checked in and found a seat with a window. A server kindly asked if I wanted coffee or tea to go along with breakfast.
Regular readers of this blog will know exactly what I went for.
With that in, I headed into the main food area to scout out breakfast. I was in the mood for hot stuff. I was not disappointed(as this hotel hasn’t done), with its full spread.
The breakfast area
Continental Items
Hot items
Pancakes
Jam
Waffles and chocolate-dipped croissants
All the gluten in the world
Whilst it hasn’t changed from last time – that’s not a bad thing in this case, as the spread covers both continental and hot options, as well as items for those on special diets.
Superfood bar
Special diets bar.
What was nice was that when I sat down, I was offered coffee or tea straight away – this came in a hot coffee jug – something to help the day get off to a good start I thought.
I’m a fan of this buffet breakfast (least of all there are options for all), so this was a win-win for me, especially with a detail to service that is always welcome to see.
With breakfast done and dusted, I went back upstairs to relax and ponder what to do. The fact is – I had no plans.,
I’ll be honest here – I sometimes don’t plan a thing when travelling. It has helped sometimes when I just want to wander and not worry about things – with the only deadline me being at the gate at an airport.
Sometimes, letting go of the rush and going with the flow helps a bit in life. Well, it’s sometimes needed as a safety valve occasionally.
With the clock hitting 10 am, I decided to make something of the day. I headed downstairs to check out.
As I had paid for the room the day before, and there was no further paperwork to be completed, I headed off for a morning walk.
Overall: A continuous delivery of service is a welcome thing to see. The room itself was more than adequate for a medium-term stay (even if I was just night-stopping) and continues to be one of the better-priced chain hotels in Helsinki.
Combined with friendly service and an excellent breakfast buffet, it’s one hotel I can recommend without hesitation.
Next: A Moring Walk around Central Helsinki
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