We stayed at Hotel F6 in Helsinki for three nights to kick off a longer trip around Finland and Norway. In this post, we’ll review this hotel and our specific room type. We’ll explain why we chose this hotel, highlight some important features of the room, and share how this hotel’s location impacted our experience. Keep reading to learn more about Hotel F6 and whether we’d recommend it for future stay.
About Hotel F6
Hotel F6 is a boutique hotel in central Helsinki. It is family owned and operated, and it is not associated with any major hotel brand or chain. The hotel has 76 rooms across three different room categories. There is a bar/restaurant on property, as well as an outdoor courtyard and a fitness center.
Hotel F6 is stylish, but in an authentic Finnish way — or at least that’s how I’m led to feel, not being a native Finn myself. (That said, the hallways did have a circus theme, which did not quite track with the rest of the theme.) The entire hotel was cozy and inviting, with a healthy does of practical touches — not to mention impeccably clean.
As far as hotels in the area go, Hotel F6 falls on the nicer side. Google Maps categorizes it as a 4-star hotel, which I would agree with. It is a nice, high-quality hotel with a good offering of services, without being a doting, luxury experience. There are of course nicer hotels in area — such as Hotel Kämp and Hotel St. George — but you can also find plenty of cheaper options not too far away.
Why We Chose Hotel F6
We didn’t originally choose Hotel F6 for our stay in Helsinki. We were actually pretty excited to stay at The Yard Hostel, which would have been a much different experience.
As much as we love nice hotels, we also love hostels! There aren’t a lot hostels that offer private rooms that are good for a toddler, so we try to book them when we find a good one. Our last family hostel experience was KEX Hostel in Reykjavik, which we loved. The Yard Hostel looked like it could be just as good.
We changed our booking at the last minute for two reasons. First, was the gym. My husband is actively training for a 50k, and really wanted to run during our visit. We weren’t sure what the weather or conditions would be like for a run outside, so having gym access was important.
The second reason was sleep. Since Helsinki was our first stop after a 6 hour time change, we really wanted all of us to adjust to the jet lag as quickly as possible. The thought of a private, quiet and dark hotel room was just too tempting. A noisy neighbor or a poorly placed room assignment could easily have thrown sleep out the window.
After we ditched the hostel, we had a few different hotels to choose from. We chose Hotel F6 because the location was pretty similar to the hostel, where we’d already planned our days and activities from. The hotel also provided a free breakfast, which we’ve come to appreciate with a toddler. We also really liked that this hotel offered a deluxe room with a separate area for our toddler to sleep. It was definitely more expensive (not quite double, but close), but we were also getting about that much more value out of it.
Booking Hotel F6
Prices for Hotel F6 are usually around the the €200 per night mark for a standard room, but they climb to the €300-400 range during high season and holidays. Superior (sleeps 2) and Deluxe (sleeps 4) rooms are then a bit more. Prices also tend to be much higher the closer you book to your travel date.
You can book Hotel F6 on some third-party sites, such as Booking. We chose to book direct, because it offered a flexible cancellation policy, free breakfast, and clear visibility into our room category. Some third party sites do offer slightly better pricing, plus their own points and rewards programs, which may be appealing to some travelers.
We booked our stay at Hotel F6 in January for a February stay. We booked the best available (refundable) rate for a Deluxe room for three (2 adults, 1 child age 3), which was €254 per night. The total bill for our 3-night stay came out to €763.
Room Review
We booked a Deluxe room. This room category sleeps up to four, but our exact room configuration was set up for the three people we booked for (two adults, one child.)
The first thing I noticed about the room was its size. It was listed as 35-42 square meters (375-450 square feet for my fellow Americans) and I’d peg it on the larger end of that range. It was only one room, but there were room dividers that broke up the room into three semi-private areas.
There were several things in this room that just made sense. The first was the table right inside the doorway. We were visiting in the winter, so this was the perfect place to store our cold and soggy outerwear without dragging it through the hotel room.
To the right of the entrance was the closet and minibar. The closet was equipped with standard hangers, iron and ironing board, slippers and robes (2 sets), and a safe. The coffee bar was also inside. It included a Nespresso coffee maker with regular and decaf pods, as well as a tea and condiments.
The minibar included a variety of alcoholic (liquor, wine, beer) and non-alcoholic beverages, as well as a few snack options. A price list was included. We drank one thing from the minibar, and it was not automatically replaced with housekeeping, which was disappointing.
To the left of the entrance was the living space. There was a bench and chair just beside the door, which we used for storing our luggage. Beyond that was a table with two chairs, sofa, lounge chair, TV and a few end tables. This area was separated from the rest of the room by a partial room divider.
Also along this side of the room was a full wall of windows that looked out over the hotel courtyard. The entire wall of windows were covered by adjustable, blackout curtains which worked like a charm as we battled the jet lag. (They even had tracks to overlap each other so there was no gap letting the light in.)
When we arrived, the rollaway bed for our toddler was also in this area. That did make sense given the arrangement of the room, but it didn’t work for us. Our toddler can’t quite stay on the bed on their own. In this spot, the bed couldn’t go against the wall, because the radiators were behind the curtain. We had two bed rails, but there wasn’t room on the small bed for both bedrails and the child. We ended up moving the rollaway bed to the other side of the room. It blocked the closet, but it was the safest and most comfortable option.
Read More: If you are traveling with a toddler, be sure to check out our post with 10 Things to Know About Hotel Stays with Toddlers, our Sample Hotel Bedtime Routine with a Toddler, and our Tried & True Toddler Travel Tips.
The primary bed was located right in front of the main entrance, behind another partial room divider. On the backside of the divider was a second TV, visible from the bed. We had a King bed which was perfectly comfortable. It was one bed, there was separate bedding for two. Personally, we loved this.
There was a nightstand beside each bed, as well as an easily accessible outlet and light switch. I prefer a USB port, but I was happy with the two outlets. (There is nothing I hate more than a hotel that doesn’t have at least one outlet easily accessible from each side of the bed.)
That leaves us with the bathroom. Most notably, the bathroom floors were heated. This seemed to be pretty common in Finland, but important no less. The bathroom had a large mirror (including a magnifying mirror), good lighting and a rain shower. It was fully stocked with mini bottles of shampoo, conditioner, body wash and body soap, as well as hand soap, shower caps, and a good stash of towels.
The room included free wifi, which worked great. We had no problem connecting or streaming across multiple devices.
In terms of room quality, design and comfort, the room was amazing. It had everything we needed, everything was comfortable, and it was so incredibly spacious. It had the comforts of home, but also the conveniences you want and need as a traveler.
Hotel F6 Location
Hotel F6 is located in the Kaartinkaupunki neighborhood of Helsinki. That is basically the area immediately south of the Esplanade, between Tähtitorninvuori (city park) and St. John’s Church. It’s basically the perfect location for a tourist in Helsinki.
The neighborhood itself is touristy, but vibrant. There are lots of shops, parks and walking streets in the area. It felt very safe (though all of Finland is safe), well lit, and lively without feeling too busy. I would note that some places in the area were closed on Sundays and/or Mondays, including shops, restaurants and museums.
First, the hotel is a 15-minute walk from Helsinki Central Station, which is the closest stop on the train from the airport. In good weather, it’s a beautiful walk! In the cold rain, it was a bit less fun, but totally doable.
Read More: We have a guide to How to Take Public Transit in Helsinki, which includes an entire section on how to take the train from the airport to the city center.
The hotel is conveniently located near many of Helsinki’s most popular city sites. Helsinki Cathedral, Helsinki City Museum, Uspenski Cathedral, SkyWheel and Allas Sea Pool are all just 10-15 minutes away on foot. If you head the other direction, Punavuori and the Design District is also within walking distance.
If you want to venture a bit further out, Hotel F6 also has some great public transit options nearby. The ferry terminal to the ever popular Suomenlinna Sea Fortress is a short 10-minute walk away. There are also several different tram stops less than 10 minutes away, which will get you most anywhere else. You can take the tram to further attractions like Temppeliaukio Church, the Finnish Museum of Natural History or sunset at Cafe Regatta.
And finally, the hotel is surrounded by restaurant and bar options. The hotel website claims that there are 218 Restaurants within 0.3 miles! As a vegetarian, I can tell you that our options weren’t quite as endless as that, but there were lots of options within walking distance. My personal favorites included Fafa’s (quick-service), Pizzeria Via Tribunali (pizza, duh) and the Old Market Hall (variety of options).
Services & Amenities
Hotel F6 offered a lineup of helpful and practical services and amenities.
Let’s start at the lobby. It’s a small, but beautiful lobby that felt like a living room. There were a few seats, artful chess set, small library, and a restroom. There was also a small bar cart with brandy service for purchase. When it started to rain, they provided umbrellas. (I know a lot of hotels do this, but it was my first time needing to use one. Man, did I appreciate it!)
The front desk is staffed 24/7, which offers both convenience and added security. They also stored our luggage before check-in and after check-out for no extra fee.
Across from the lobby was the hotel restaurant and bar. We’ll cover move on that in the next section. Straight past both the lobby and the bar was an open, outdoor courtyard. It was much too cold in February to get much use out of it, but it looks lovely in the summer. Similarly, Hotel F6 offers complimentary city bikes, which we also didn’t a chance to use during our winter stay.
Housekeeping services were offered daily. In our experience, they didn’t get to our room until pretty late in the afternoon (around 2-3 PM). That’s right when our toddler usually takes a nap, so we had to decline housekeeping twice.
We did get housekeeping on our last full day, and it was pretty good. They replaced our towels and made up all the beds nicely, which was great. My only complaint was that they didn’t restock the mini bar. However, in their defense, we did move a bed in front of the closet that stored the fridge. I can’t entirely blame them for not going out of their way to get back there.
Lastly, the hotel has a 24-hour gym, which is complimentary for guests. Despite being one of the main reasons we booked this hotel, we did not end up using it. As it turned out, we caught a warm front and my husband ended up running outside.
Food & Beverages
Our booking at Hotel F6 included complimentary breakfast. (Most bookings do include complimentary breakfast, but not all, so be sure to check your reservation.) Do not sleep on this breakfast — it was truly one of the highlights of our stay!
Breakfast was served in the hotel restaurant, Runar, which was right across from the lobby. There was a lot of seating, including high chairs, but it did fill up during peak breakfast hours. They cook the breakfast right in the serving space, so it really does feel like you’re in a family kitchen. You can watch the croissants baking in the oven and see the oatmeal bubbling on the stove. It was nice!
The food spread was a pretty traditional European breakfast with cold cuts, breads, cheeses and warm hard-boiled eggs. (We typically serve hardboiled eggs cold in the States.) There was Finnish specialties as well, such as Karelian Pies, which are a light pastry filled with a savory rice/cheese filling. The spread also included breakfast staples like yogurt, fruit, and cereals. American drip coffee was available, as well as a self-service espresso bar, juice bar and yogurt smoothies.
Breakfast was available from 7 – 10 AM on weekdays, and 7:30 – 11:30 on weekends.
The breakfast restaurant converted to a bar in the evening, and had a totally different vibe. Dim the lights and add some music and the kitchen totally transformed to a casual pub. We didn’t have the chance to get a drink there, but it seemed popular with guests and locals every night we passed it.
Hotel F6 doesn’t have room service exactly, but they do offer in-room dining. Basically, you can order food from a variety of restaurants and have it sent to your room. The front desk can help with this, or there’s a tablet in the room with more info. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this, given all the great food options nearby, but it is an option.
The hotel also offers laundry service. It was the start of our trip, so we didn’t end up needed that.
Closing Thoughts
We absolutely loved our stay at Hotel F6.
The rooms were spacious, comfortable and clean. The location was perfect, and we could easily get around to everything we wanted to see and do in Helsinki. There were several smart touches — like easily accessible outlets, heated bathroom floors and abundant tables and storage locations — that made the clunky parts of travel feel comfortable. Complimentary wifi, breakfast and gym access made us feel right at home. The hallways were quiet and the curtains blocked all the light, which helped us all get some much needed sleep.
There were very few downsides to this hotel. If we had to pick nits, we’d complain about the late housekeeping service and the mini bar that didn’t get restocked.
Overall, this hotel was wonderful. It was more expensive than comparable options, but we felt like we got great value out of it. If you’re visiting Helsinki, definitely consider staying at Hotel F6.
