I visited here for a couple of nights at the height of winter, February 2012. The hotel is close to the city centre, but if it's cold and you haven't been before, it might be worth getting a taxi to find it. The Helka is spartan with a pine forest theme, but underneath the IKEA-type styling it provides a decent stay. I was up on the sixth floor, which was nice and quiet, and the same floor as the sauna (which, being a repressed Brit, I didn't use). The room was fine, the bathroom quite small, and, as in other Finnish hotels, they don't believe in leaving a plug for the sink. What I liked about this hotel was that the computer facilities were excellent: free WIFI in the room (with a password on the hotel's instruction card), a keyboard and TV with free internet access, and even a terminal downstairs. They're all handy because, unless you want to go to a restaurant or bar (I'd recommend Ilves a couple of blocks away) or pay 12 Euros to see a mainstream film at the cinema over the road, there's not an awful lot to do in the immediate area of an evening. While there are a few leaflets at the hotel detailing tourist attractions, if you check in the DVD shop over the road, they sometimes have a free English-language magazine which has an events listing - useful if you want to find a gig, play or independent film screening in town.

The Helka has nice staff and a luggage room. If you can brave the weather, the city centre is only a ten minute walk. As for breakfast, there was a decent range of food with a slight Scandinavian twist. The stand-out for me was the scrambled egg, which tasted more like a wonderful savory egg-custard. Also, do a little scouting around and you'll find that the Helka is just a block or two away from the Temppeliaukio Church: a nifty tourist attraction which is a large chappel cut into the rocks - it looks like a set from a sci-fi movie! Finland in February is extremely cold outside - so bring a beeny to keep your ears from falling off - and it is expensive: my friend payed over 9 Euros for one pint of import cider down town, though we didn't drink at the Helka. All in all, though, the Helka itself has a friendly staff and a fresh, quiet feel. It's a gem in a small, but interesting capital city.