The hotel: The Swissôtel Tallinn, Estonia on the ground floor and 12-30th floors of a 30-storey building. It’s a five-star standard hotel and the city’s first international group luxury property.
The location: Just eight minutes by road from the airport and a pleasant ten-minute walk, via a modern shopping centre, to Tallinn’s beautiful medieval old town.
The check-in: Highly efficient, friendly and well staffed. Arriving after 23.00 as part of a small group, the receptionists had all our key cards ready and waiting. The cards are also required to access the lift.
The room: The hotel’s 238 rooms (including 11 suites) offer bright, modern Scandinavian décor and include LCD screens, Lavazza coffee machine, complimentary wifi, large showers and underfloor heated bathrooms. UK sockets negate the need for adaptors.
The business: Guests staying in Executive rooms and Suites have access to the Execu-tive Club Lounge. The Swissôffice Business Centre on the first floor has two workstations with printer, scanner and high-speed internet. There are seven meeting rooms on the sixth floor as well as Estonia’s largest ballroom.
The restaurant: There are two. The Horisont Restaurant & Bar on the 30th floor offers superb fine dining cuisine topped out with stunning panoramic views (close to 360°) over Tallinn and beyond (even Helsinki, 80km away, on a very clear day). There’s also the excellent eighth floor Café Swiss that serves international dishes, traditional Swiss specialities and outstanding breakfast, lunch and dinner buffets.
The facilities: The Amrita Spa & Wellness comes with a large swimming pool, fitness room, sauna, steam bath and two treatment rooms on the 11th floor. Other hotel facilities include a lobby area bar, separate deli-lounge bar and a cigar lounge off the Horisont.
The CHECKOUT: Again well staffed and just as speedy and efficient as the check-in.
The verdict: An outstanding addition to the expanding Swissôtel portfolio. Probably the best hotel in Tallinn for business travellers; close enough to the old town for evenings out but far enough away not to be overwhelmed by crowds of tourists.
The details: Tornimäe 3, 10145 Tallinn, Estonia. Rates for a Swiss Advantage Room are €299 with breakfast supplement of €15pp; Swiss Executive Single €339; Swiss Executive Double €359; Suite €479. Executive rates include breakfast, lunch, dinner and afternoon tea plus. See: www.swissotel.com Alan Orbell
