While listening to the sexy, trancey c.d. compilation, from Dark to Light, the Musical Journey of Klaus K, it all slowly trickled back through my mind – the sights, sounds and special moments the Klaus K Hotel provided in my short stay in Helsinki, Finland. I felt like a local each time I walked past the marquee, through the glass doors and heard the familiar tram whizzing by behind me. Thoroughly individual, the hotel is a kaleidoscope of original ideas from the dizzying decoration to the carefully laid out Best of Finland breakfast buffet. Add to this a prime location in the heart of Helsinki’s Design District and you have something unique by Finnish standards. As the first Design Hotel in Finland and a totally new category of hotel in Helsinki, the Klaus K brought a new level of luxury and design to the capital city.
The 19th century brick exterior of the former German girl’s school has an old world feel and the entrance is flanked by two trendy restaurants where in summer the neighborhood hangs over endless coffees. While the unassuming façade won’t turn heads, don’t judge a book by its cover. Illusive charm greets travel-weary eyes once past the threshold as the Klaus K’s completely made-over interior spaces are whimsically inspired by the contrasts of Finland’s national Kalevala epic. What does this mean? It means that Finnish folklore is woven into every detail of the design aesthetic embracing the hotel and the owners’ mantra of “style and story” with a soul is evident everywhere.
Climbing a flight of stairs to reception, a sense of Nordic modernism transpires as you approach a galactic oval eggshell front desk, with a hanging installation of cream colored thorn thickets circling above it. The egg and nest reference alludes to the Kalevala’s genesis story, where the world and the universe were created from seven eggs. The hotel plays with the genesis spirit with actual text printed on lobby walls and woven into the hallway carpet on every floor. Regular art installations underscore the hotel’s artistic intentions, not to mention hosting a constant stream of design and arts-related events as well as a fashion brunch in restaurant Il Matar.
The hotel’s 137 cutting edge rooms and suites are impeccably designed with a dramatic flair, expressing emotional themes of mysticism, passion, desire and envy, named after the four themes resonating in the Kalevala. Contrasting colors and textures in the rooms reflect the motif of dualities, as if the vivid red pillows on stark white sheets in the Pleasure themed rooms symbolize the Kalevala’s idea of innocence and lust. Though the decoration refers to an archaic epic, the contemporary furnishings and amenities are from this century, designed and presented in daring and unconventional ways.
The rest of the hotel is a modern mixture of history and refinery. The Helsinki Day Spa on the lower level offers indulgence with holistic body treatments or a Finnish sauna. But if you prefer business to pleasure, there’s a fin-de-siècle ballroom that holds up to 120 people as well as a smaller meeting room. In the lobby restaurant Il Matar, besides serving the Best of Finland® Breakfast buffet, consisting of organic and local ingredients, the Finnish restaurant also serves up some Kalevala references in the form of a large blue pike mosaic that’s encased in a glass table. What the Italian restaurant Toscanini may lack in Kalevala references, it makes up in rustic Tuscany cooking in a cozy, country style atmosphere. Or just ditch the dining experience altogether and head straight for cocktails at Klaus K’s Ahjo Bar & Club. Good music and a young cool crowd are guaranteed on weekend nights.
As an official sponsor of Helsinki World Design Capital 2012, Klaus K stands for creativity, uniqueness and experiences. Its location in the nexus of the Design District means it’s the perfect spot to settle in and catch the action. Perhaps by the end of 2012 it will have become as legendary as the epic it draws inspiration from.