GLO Hotel Kluuvi Helsinki Review
Over three years ago I did a status match to GHA Discovery Black elite status. Somehow I have kept my status since then; I am assuming due to extensions from COVID. The GHA Discovery Loyalty program has gone through some changes and now their top tier status is Titanium.
I had a night night stay in Helsinki. Originally I was to arrive late and fly out early so I planned on staying near the airport. But my flight from Amsterdam ended up getting switched to a much earlier time, so I figured I’d stay in the city to get to explore a bit. There are no Hyatts in Helsinki, and I had tried the Hotel Indigo on my past visit, so I decided to try out one of the GHA hotels.
I booked a room at the GLO Hotel Kluuvi as it is more central than the other GLO property. I booked a Comfort Double room for €108 total. I had 50 Discovery Dollars that I was able to use so my total for the one night was just €59.
Location
The GLO Hotel Kluuvi is very central. The Helsinki Cathedral is just two blocks away.
There are plenty of shops and restaurants on the same street as the hotel. The Esplanadi; a park that runs from the harbor, is half a block south.
I took the train from the airport which took about 30 minutes and cost €4.10 one way. The train station is a short 5 minute walk to the hotel.
Check In
I arrived at the hotel around 4pm. There was no wait to get checked in. I asked about an upgrade as a Titanium elite; I was told I had been given an upgrade to a Glo Studio room. It ended up being one of their GLO Studio – Marimekko theme rooms. I wish more info was included about what this meant; as I didn’t realize I had a special suite until reading up on the hotel for this post.
The hotel has limited amenities; it feels like it may have been an office building at some point before becoming a hotel. Breakfast is included. There is no pool. A gym is accessible for a fee; I believe it is at a neighboring health club and not actually in the building.
The lobby is small with just the check in desks and then a bar/restaurant to the side of it.
Elevators take you to the guest floors. Key cards are not needed to get up the elevator, but to access the guest floor, you must use your key to open a door off of the elevator lobby.
Room
I was assigned to room 538, the “Aino” GLO Studio – Marimekko theme-room.
You enter in to the living room area with a small office/desk area to the immediate left.
The living room is themed with a Finnish flare. In addition to the seating, there is a TV and coffee set up. There is only one window in the room and it is at an angle view of the courtyard.
The bedroom is just behind the wall behind the seating area. There is no door to close off the bedroom from the living room. Like many beds in Scandinavia, you are provided with two individual duvets instead of one that cover the entire bed. The stuffed animal can be purchased and money goes to wildlife conservation.
A handwritten note and a bar of local chocolate were in the room for me along with a coupon for a free drink at the bar.
Bathroom
The bathroom can be entered directly from the bathroom or from a door just off the main entry door. The large single sink and tub/shower combo is nearest the bedroom. The shower is only a handheld wand. There is no shower curtain; only a glass divider.
The toilet is in a separate area with a second, smaller sink.
All the bath products are in refillable containers. No bar soap is provided.
Breakfast
I believe breakfast is included for all guests. At check in the asked what time I would like to have breakfast; they hand out little tickets to reduce crowding during busy times. The breakfast is a buffet served on the second floor. There are no made to order options but they did have a good number of vegan and gluten free options.
Overall
I was impressed with the GLO Hotel Kluuvi. The location is fantastic. The building itself is older and a strange design but they have done a good job of updating the rooms. The breakfast which is included has many options. The staff were relatively new but when I told them I wanted to use some of my Discovery Dollars to pay for the room, they were willing to figure out how to make it happen and did so with a good attitude.
Helsinki does not have a lot of international chain hotels. GLO is a chain, but with only four properties it feels local. That they are part of a larger loyalty program drove my stay to them and hopefully will drive others to try them as well.