When construction on 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 — have included restoring 42 kilometers (26 miles) of original moldings.
Those are just some of the things that will make Maria known as a “true five-star city hotel,” according to Heli Mende, its commercial director.
The Finnish capital is no stranger to luxury. It now has several high-end hotels, including the Hotel Kamp and the St. George. There are upscale boutiques and department stores; the Palace restaurant, with two Michelin stars; and a handful of other single-star spots. (In May, the city is set to host the 2024 Michelin Guide ceremony for the Nordic region.)
And to the north, in Lapland, the country has a strong tourism operation that includes luxury services and accommodations such as clear glass igloos to shelter visitors while they sip Champagne and stare at the night sky, waiting for a glimpse of 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 kind of elaborate luxury infrastructure found in other European cities or global hubs such as Singapore; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; and New York City.
“This is partly due to the fact that Finland is not very hierarchical as a culture and, for example, income differences are traditionally small,” said Juri Maki, the chief executive of the Helsinki research firm Red Note, which when 2018 produced an extensive study on the views of the travel industry in Finland and its luxury offerings. “Because of this, this cultural style is not very characteristic of Finland.”
Among international travelers, he said, Finland’s greatest strength “is certainly not in outwardly visible, classic luxury,” but in the unusual experiences to be had in its pristine outdoors — like nights in glass igloos.
Finns themselves value 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 worked with luxury brands in communications and marketing. “Where Americans expect high value service, chat and even humor, Finns find it intrusive.”
And they don’t reward what others might call regular hospitality — in restaurants, for example — because tipping is almost nonexistent in a country where luxury sector jobs once paid a living wage.
Samppa Lajunen, a Finnish athlete turned real estate investor, understood the different views, but research by Samla Capital Oy, the real estate investment firm he founded, showed that Helsinki lacked hotels for tourists seeking “international levels of luxury,” he wrote in an email.
“Finland and Helsinki are interesting travel destinations,” said Mr. Lajunen, a three-time Olympic gold medalist in combined Nordic, an event that includes cross-country skiing and ski jumping. “So I didn’t see the real reason for that.”
To create the hotel, Mr. Lajunen of a team of designers and hospitality experts and added his own expertise as an athlete who has stayed in luxury hotels around the world. He also did some of what he called “mystery shopping” at hotels in Paris and London. “We benchmarked brands like the Ritz, Peninsula, Four Seasons and La Reserve for inspiration.”
The renovations, which began in 2020, combined three 19th-century buildings and one built in the 1930s, structures once used as barracks for high-ranking military officers and, at one time, part of the ministry agricultural. The guest rooms have ceilings as high as four meters; some have king-size beds with thick mattress pads and box springs (Finns often sleep on thin mattresses). And most suite bathrooms include lounge chairs, saunas, and steam rooms. (Rooms start at 25 square meters and 402 euros, or $435, a night; Top-tier suites can go for €6,004 per night.)
And the hotel is named for Empress Maria Feodorovna of Russia, who was born Princess Dagmar of Denmark in 1847. As the young, fashionable wife of Alexander III, she often visited the Finnish capital to escape life at the Russian court and loved by his people.
The decor features neutral colors and white marble, accentuated by modern lighting; Finnish art, including the work of visual artist Pia Feinik; and indoor plants. There are two restaurants — Lilja, which the hotel website describes as inspired by French cuisine but Finnish at heart, and the Garden Terrace, a brasserie-style offering — as well as a spa where guests can explore the options in treatment with the wellness concierge.
said Ms. Mende, the commercial director, whose first guests of the hotel included several wedding parties and neighbors from the surrounding Kruununhaka neighborhood, the city’s oldest residential district. “They’ve been watching the construction for years,” he said. “I think they are all interested to come and see.”
He said the first trickle of international tourists, mostly from elsewhere in Europe and the United States, began arriving in February, when the city was still covered in snow and ice.
Soon Hotel Maria will not be the only new luxury offer in the city. About a kilometer away, Hotel Kamp, long considered Helsinki’s finest hotel, is undergoing a €100 million renovation expected to be completed by 2026. The work, which is being done as the hotel continues to receive guests, including upgrading its technology infrastructure and redesigning its 179 rooms.
And an hour’s drive north, Villa Stenberg, a converted lakeside farmhouse, recently beat out a château near Cannes, France, and a villa nestled in an olive grove in Bari, Italy. which will be called The top Airbnb wedding venue in Europe.
Could Finland be a destination for international luxury seekers?
That is unlikely, said Mr. Maki, the researcher, but the country is experiencing a lot of growth in the network of luxury providers, which stretches from the capital to Lapland. “This network is really important, because we are able to maintain a level of luxury throughout the country.”
Since he moved to Finland from Uganda in 2003, furniture and home goods designer Lincoln Kayiwa says he’s seen luxury offerings in Helsinki evolve to include tasting menus, celebrity chefs and international cuisine.
“Finns are not disgusting when it comes to wealth,” he said. “But having, say, gold leaf on your ice cream is something that’s out of reach or considered over-the-top here.”
Eager to take a look at Hotel Maria’s vast collection of chandeliers by British designer Timothy Oulton, Mr. Friends came over for drinks when the hotel first opened in December.
“It’s a place you can lose yourself,” he said. “It definitely feels like you’re somewhere else – maybe in a big city like Hong Kong, but not in Helsinki.”
