First Look: The Hotel Maria in Helsinki

Bespoke details and wellness amenities permeate The Hotel Maria, one of the newest boutique hotels to open in Helsinki. Located in the Kruununhaka district of Finland’s capital city, this intimate accommodation is owned by Samppa Lajunen, three-time Olympic gold medallist and managing director of Samla Capital.

Named for Empress Maria Feodorovna of Russia, who vacationed in Finland, the hotel is made up of four buildings that date to 1885 and are protected by the Finnish Heritage Agency. The interiors, conceived by the hotel’s head designer Jana Sasko and Finnish design firm Puroplan, combine American-style spacious floor plans, contemporary lighting, and large beds with a traditional Finnish aesthetic in a relaxing palette of white, natural woods, tactile textures, and forged metals.

The 117 spacious rooms and 38 expansive suites feature contemporary decor in calming and elegant shades of grey and cream, feather duvets, smart room amenities, and brass lighting, including chandeliers and sconces. Marble spa-style bathrooms have brass fixtures, walk-in rain showers, extra-large soaking tubs, television, and an electric fireplace.

The stately Maria Imperial Suite is more than 1,700 square feet, with parquet flooring, a king bedroom, two living areas, a library, a dining room with seating for 10, two soaker tubs, a steam room, and a private butler. Suite guests can contact the concierge, dining and wellness services, and the entertainment system via smartphone.

The hotel’s wellness concierge can arrange a custom jet lag treatment, update a nutrition plan, and provide information about the weekly Run Club, options for in-suite spa treatments, and access to the Maria Spa, with coed Finnish sauna, steam room, cold and warm plunge pools, jacuzzi, plant-filled atrium sanctuary, and treatments with Biologique Recherche products. Guests who book one of the 19 Spa Suites with a Finnish sauna or steam room also receive complimentary access to the Maria Spa.

There are two dining options: the Garden Terrace, a brasserie filled with plants, lanterns, and oversized sofas, serves French flavours made with Finnish ingredients. In the cooler months, the terrace’s Winter Garden welcomes diners to its glass-enclosed patio. Head chef Ville Rainio oversees Lilja, the hotel’s fine dining restaurant, a chic Nordic space decorated in white and showcasing clay creations by Finnish artist Hanna Heino. For afternoon champagne and caviar or a nightcap, romantic Bar Maria has a white-marble bar illuminated with chandeliers designed by Timothy Oulton.

Hotel Maria, a member of Preferred Hotels & Resorts’ Legend Collection, will welcome the completion of two side buildings in 2024, featuring meeting space, a ballroom, and The Maria Wellness Club and Wellness Studio.