Starwood Hotels Starwood Preferred Guest

Hotel Kämp Helsinki, Starwood Luxury Collection

Hotel Kämp opened in 1887 as one of the premier hotels in Finland. I stayed at Hotel Kämp, a Starwood Hotels Luxury Collection historic property on my one night in Helsinki last week.

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The published rate for this SPG category 5 hotel was 245 EUR or $316 USD. I booked the stay on a Cash & Points award for $90 and 4,800 points before the SPG changes earlier this month increased category 5 Cash & Points to $110 + 6,000 points. I used a SPG suite upgrade for my one night stay. This was one of two suite upgrades provided to me in mid-2012 as part of the SPG Amex Stars blogger campaign I participated in for 2012.

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Hotel Kämp, Starwood Luxury Collection, Helsinki, Finland

Suite 411 is the corner room with the balcony two floors above the café awning.

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Hotel Kämp lobby view to second floor.

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Hotel Kämp lobby sculpture.

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Grand stairways in historic section of hotel.

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Hotel Kämp interior stairways.

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There are elevators for the hotel, but they just do not have the attractiveness of these grand stairways in the historic portion of the hotel. Most of the rooms are in modern wings.

Classic hotels appeal to me more than modern hotels with all their high-tech gadgets. There is so much history here.

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Room 411 double doorway.

The room map looks like the living room is part of the Mannerheim Suite.

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Entry hall between bedroom and living room with an umbrella holder, table and toilet.

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Entry hallway.

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Entry hall bathroom.

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High ceiling living room. The desk had no outlets and I had to run my computer cord across the floor to the wall. A small concession to make for an elegant room.

There was a welcome gift bottle of cabernet sauvignon and Karl Fazer Finnish blueberry pie chocolates in the room when I arrived. I am still working on those well-traveled chocolates a week later.

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The room seemed so 19th century when I arrived on a cold winter’s night with the drapes closed and the bed turned down.

Unfortunately all my pristine room photos taken upon arrival were out of focus.

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Doors to the corner balcony. The doors were locked for winter due to ice on the balcony.

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Hotel Kamp balcony view of Esplanade, the 19th century promenade for Helsinki’s upper class.

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Suite 411 living room.

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One door leads to the Mannerheim Suite. The other door held the CD player.

The room was not all 19th century.

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CD Player in cabinet.

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Living room desk.

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Hotel Kamp bedroom. This was the first hotel I stayed in Europe with a clock in the room.

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Bed décor. The bed was wonderfully comfortable. The room was too hot and I cracked the window open to let the 15 F. cold air cool the room.

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TV was on for about five minutes. In a room like this it is easy to just settle in to the quietness.

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Bedroom chandelier.

The bathroom was luxuriously large.

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The black duck was simply too large to take as a hotel gift.

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Shower on right and bathtub to the left.

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Fresh red rose was a nice touch.

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Molton Brown bath products.

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The pieces in the room seemed unique.

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Bedroom dresser.

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Bedroom clock.

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Interior facing rooms in the modern wing will create a completely different impression of Hotel Kamp. That is the thing about hotels. Room location matters. I had the prime location for Hotel Kamp.

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Hotel fitness room on upper floor near Hotel Kamp spa.

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View from Hotel Kamp fitness room.

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Kamp Spa

The restaurant seemed packed, but I didn’t take the time to eat at the hotel. I grabbed a salad while walking around Helsinki. The hotel let me have a 4pm checkout and I was on the bus back to Helsinki Vantaa Airport by 4:30pm.

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Helsinki Central Railway Station constructed 1907-1914 in Finland National Romantic style made from Finnish granite. This is the same railway station where a runaway train on January 4, 2010 slammed into the Holiday Inn hotel at the station.

That is not the reason I rode the Finnair bus to Vantaa Airport (6.30 EUR one-way; 20 minutes). The Helsinki Vantaa airport rail line is scheduled to open in 2014.

Related Posts:

Europe in 5 cities for 50,000 AAdvantage miles + $168 (March 17, 2013)

Cool Helsinki Warms My Heart (March 14, 2013)

Train Crashes into Holiday Inn Helsinki (Jan 4, 2010)

 

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