Tampere Hotels with Bars

I arrived at the hotel at 1 pm, and was welcomed by a friendly receptionist who assigned me a room right away and explained the breakfast as well as the sauna department hours. Check-in was quick and easy. The room was small and dated. A definite no-frills hotel room with basically no amenities. There were two 90 cm wide beds, comfortable enough, a small desk as well as an armchair but no coffee table – there was no room for one. There was a folded luggage rack leaning against the wall, which is nice, in theory, but there was no room to actually open it up anywhere inside the cramped room. Overlapping curtains kept the room dark, and there was a sparingly stocked minibar. There were sockets by the bed and desk, so charging your devices was easy. Wifi did not require a password. It was free, fast and reliable. There were no water bottles (tap water is potable), no safe, no air conditioning (the room was incredibly hot during the mid-August heatwave, definitely uncomfortable; opening the window didn’t help much). The cramped bathroom came with a handheld shower. No bathtub. I would have wished for better water pressure. Toiletries consisted of wall-mounted containers of soap, shampoo, and, in theory, shower gel, although my container was empty on arrival and was not filled during my stay. The containers were not tamper-proof and after reading so much about how people amuse themselves filling those containers with whatever stuff, I would hope Scandic would choose to save money somewhere else instead and use hygienic minibottles. I consider Scandic a no-frills budget chain and understand their desire to charge separately for mostly everything, but reading all their signs did make me smile a bit. Borrow a bathrobe for 5 EUR. Late check-out fee 10 EUR/hour… Breakfast was served in the restaurant on the ground floor (6–10 weekdays, 6:30–10:30 Saturdays, 7:30–11 Sundays). It is always included in the room rate. It was a bit above your usual Finnish hotel breakfast buffet with scrambled eggs and a few hot items, good breads (but few cheeses and cold cuts), water melon slices, good smoothies. I liked the mini-sized Karelian pasties with egg butter as well as the berry pie. The restaurant was also open for dinner daily, which was nice as most restaurants in town are closed on Sundays. There is a sauna department and a 4x12 m swimming pool in the basement, open 7–10 am & 4–10 pm. No pool towels, bring one from the room. The pool is nice, albeit a bit cool. There is a separate splash pool for kids, too. A complete renovation is long overdue, but take it as time travel to Finland in the 1980s. The hotel enjoys the best location in town, right next to the main street Hämeenkatu, a minute away from shopping, restaurants and nightlife. There is a tram stop right around the corner. I can’t think of any hotel in Tampere that would have a more central location. Therefore, it is sad to see how neglected the hotel is. It’s 40 years old, and it shows. Some cheap

In Finland, the hotel industry is basically a duopoly offering two star standards at four star prices. Thus, an international chain hotel is a very welcome addition to the market. The Courtyard claims three stars, but deserves at least half a star more. While prices are on par with the duopoly, quality is a lot better. I paid 120 € / night without breakfast, which is decent. The hotel felt pleasant and modern, materials and fabrics were of high quality and staff were friendly. I checked in at 1 pm and was welcomed by a friendly receptionist who had a room ready for me. The room was of good size and in good condition. A fresh fitted carpet, a comfortable double bed with a socket by the bed for charging your phone, a desk, a closet (with a safe and an empty minibar), a large mirror on the wall, a luggage rack. There was even a small coffee table and a chair. The room would nicely fulfill four star criteria. The A/C was efficient, but I didn’t learn how to turn it off for the night. Wifi was free and fast. The standard room here is probably better than at any other hotel in Tampere. No water bottles are provided, but tap water is potable and tastes good. Overlapping curtains kept the room dark in the morning. The bathroom did not feel cramped. It came with a walk-in shower with terrible water pressure from a shower head that provided an awfully narrow stream of water. Not the right place to save money! Unfortunately, there are no bathtubs at this hotel. Sadly, single-use toiletries have been replaced by wall-mounted containers, which are a convenient way for the hotel to save money, but which I don't find hygienic enough. Body lotion was not provided anymore, only shampoo, conditioner and shower gel. There were still small bars of soap available. The toilet paper was of high quality, which shows their attention to detail. Breakfast is available in the lobby restaurant from 7 to 10 (until 11:30 on Sundays) and costs 20 € for hotel guests. I did not have breakfast this time, but the breakfast room did not feel crowded. The restaurant also offers a limited menu of comfort food from 4pm onwards Mon-Sat. The hotel is located next to Tampere Hall, a bit far from the city centre. Keskustori is at least 15 minutes away on foot, Stockmann about 10 minutes. The nearest tram stop is a five-minute walk from the hotel.

On the positive side, the hotel is very nicely designed. The rooms are nice and the scenery is a big plus. I would also commend on the choice of bathroom products. The room insolation is average however, if you have a noisy neighbour (walking heavy for example), you are going to hear it because of the design choices. Beds are comfortable. The parking is also very convenient though not included in the price of the room. On the negative side is mainly one aspect : the breakfast. To make it simple, it is quantity over quality. You have everything you can imagine from porridge to croissants, going through cheeses, ham, sausages... etc... but nothing is good. All is from ready made boxes. The jam are the cheapest imaginable, the croissant are soft as hell and tasteless, pies have this unpleasant aftertaste of preservative... NOTHING is made in house. This is so disappointing. As a result of the huge buffet, the atmosphere is catastrophic with too much queue, staff running around. Overall this was really unpleasant. Smaller buffet and many stations from where to pick would improve the feeling drastically. Because of that, I seriously doubt I will ever come back, unless I get a real good deal on the room price.

The wife and I stayed here as we wanted to try the brand for the first time, and were extremely impressed, they don't make hotels like this any more, high ceilings, grand internal displays, it feels like how luxury travelling would've been like in the 1920s, was a perfect base for want we wanted to do it the city and were sad that we have to leave.

The room is big and nicely decorated! Although I felt a little old, the cleaning was perfect. The sauna was a style where you enter naked by gender. However, the temperature was low and I couldn't bathe in the open air, so I thought it would be suitable for saunas. On the other hand, the attached spa has a pool where children can play, so it might be good for family trips.

Come to the hotel for a business trip, the location is very good, the city center, very close to the restaurant bar, walking distance, walking nearby can go to the shopping center, etc., very convenient. The room facilities are very complete, there is a sauna gym, but the room size is not large. Breakfast is OK, the level of the ordinary buffet breakfast.

This hotel did many things right: clean, comfortable, truly caring about the environment and a wonderful breakfast. My room faced the inner block and had a nice French balcony with both doors opening. The sheets and blackout curtains kept the daylight out during the Finnish summer. With the balcony closed, the room was virtually soundproof. The bathroom was delightfully designed. While the bathroom was seemingly clean, the shower wall grout was moldy. The bed and bedding was traditional Scandinavian and confortable. I only have two non-positive comments. The heat was set to 23C which is was too warm for me. I asked the front desk for help. I tried their suggestions without results. I slept hot and sweaty my entire trip. The floor seemed a bit gritty, but I am not sure why. Perfectly located near the centrum and the train station. Excellent value and very nice property.

Extremely positive customer service at the front desk. Arriving late was no problem, had a very good pizza at the hotel restaurant, even though almost at closing time. Breakfast was nice, fresh and enjoyable. Everything was just perfect for the money spent.

There is a Scandic on each side of the train station, which is easy to go wrong. The department store Stock*** is on the side of the City, and the other side is the Station. The breakfast is the same every day. You can consider bringing some instant noodles.

The is located beside the lake and the views from quite many rooms are beautiful. The hotel has been rebuilt a few years ago, and the rooms are ok. There are nice saunas and a small inside swimming pool. Breakfast is included in the price and is good. It's about two kilometers walk from the hotel to the city center of Tampere.