Hotel Fabian

TL;DR

• Small-scale boutique: Rare under-100-room Helsinki hotel with suitably friendly service.
• Chic design: Modern eco-friendly hotel with bold colours and Art Deco touches.
• Great location: Super-central base near harbour, markets, museums and major sights.
• Low on facilities :But access to sister hotel, Lilla Roberts’, restaurant dining and gym.
• Check prices here

In a city like Helsinki where boutique hotels mostly house over 100 rooms, Hotel Fabian is a rare find.

It’s a small place with a small crew, and offers the kind of warm and attentive service that larger hotels can’t match.

We’re not talking cosy, family-run guesthouse vibes, though. Hotel Fabian is a chic, modern (and eco-friendly) boutique hotel.

The lobby is full of bright colours and curvy furniture. Some of the other spaces have an Art Deco-esque commitment to good geometrics, with black and white colourscapes being popular.

What are the rooms like?

• 58 rooms: Boutique-scale property with cosy accommodation options.
• Three categories: Comfort, Style and Lux rooms ranging from simple stays to long-stay setups.
• Good amenities: Smart TVs with Chromecast, Tivoli radios, minibars and plush linens included.
• Design choices: Bold monochrome accents and colourful blankets give rooms personality.
• See each room in detail here

We’re not fully sold on some of the room decor. Some of the black-and-white candy-striped mirrors feel like something Wednesday Addams bought off Instagram at 3 am.

We do, though, love the printed blankets, and we’re generally big fans of the colour powerclash, even when it has the colour scheme of The Lighthouse.

Rooms have three categories, which determine how fancy things get, and maybe how long you’ll want to stay (‘We don’t mind if you stay longer’ is the hotel’s slogan).

Comfort rooms are for the relaxed. They’re fairly standard spaces, done up in grayscale with plenty of zhuzh.

Style rooms are larger, essentially nice and spacious hotel rooms with extra amenities.

It’s the Lux options that feel different. Designed for longer stays, they feature kitchenettes, dining areas, and plenty of space so you can live out a couple of weeks or months in comfort and style.

They’re great for someone who values space and independence, but we’ll be clear that all Hotel Fabian’s room types are relatively cosy.

Basic amenities include some super-soft linens, including bathrobes and slippers.

Rooms also feature mini bars, coffee & tea makers, Tivoli radios, and smart TVs with Chromecast.

What are prices like?

• Check prices here

And what’s the food like? Any facilities we should know about?

• Breakfast only: Solid morning spread served on the first floor.
• Lobby Bar: Cosy social space with cocktails, beers and organic wines.
• Sister perks: Nearby Lilla Roberts offers restaurant dining and fitness facilities.
• Summer terrace: Internal outdoor space opens up during warmer months.

Each morning, you’ll find breakfast on the first floor, and it’s a solid spread, though the breakfast room itself is maybe a bit small and unbecoming of the day’s most important meal.

Hotel Fabian’s cosy Lobby Bar is a welcoming spot for drinking and/or just hanging out. It does a range of beers, cocktails and organic wines.

In the summer, it opens up to the internal terrace space outside.

No food at Fabian though, beyond breakfast, but their, just round the corner, sister hotel, the Lilla Roberts, (both part of the, fabulously named, Kämp Hotels Collection) does.

It’s called Krog Roba and is a very highly rated restaurant in its own right, doing what they term Casual Nordic Cuisine.

There’s no fitness centre either at Fabian, but again, there’s Lilla to the rescue.

How is the neighbourhood? Anything interesting nearby?

• Super-central: Walking distance to harbour, markets and major Helsinki sights.
• Nearby museums: Media Museum, Fire Department Museum and Architecture & Design Museum close by.
• Easy transport: Excellent public transit, flat terrain and bike-friendly streets.
• Outdoor options: Beaches, botanic gardens and waterside walks within easy reach.

Fabian’s neighbourhood is super-central, close to almost every tourist-friendly spot in Helsinki, including the harbour.

Kauppatori Market and the grandiose Senate Square are within walking distance, 10 minutes max.

You’ll also find lots of little museums, such as the Media Museum or even the Fire Department Museum.

A larger Architecture & Design Museum is just down the street.

For a more comprehensive view of the city, you’ll have to go to other neighbourhoods. Luckily, it’s super easy.

Public transport is excellent, the city is super bikeable, and if you like walking, it’s quite flat.

This is a blessing and a curse, as it doesn’t have the mysterious charm of many old Gothic European cities, but it’s certainly easy to get where you want to go.

Oodi library and the nearby Kaisaniemi botanic garden are within easy distance, either a 20-minute walk or a 10-minute bicycle jaunt.

Go a little further, and you’ll run into Töölö, an inner neighbourhood with plenty of waterside walks.

If you prefer to flop down on a beach, head towards Hietaniemi.

And what about the reviews? What did other guests think?

Some things guests liked:

“A unique boutique hotel where the staff makes sure that you have a great stay….”

“So happy we stayed at Hotel Fabian. Would highly recommend. Location was great. Staff were extremely helpful.
Breakfast was amazing….”

Some things guests didn’t like:

”The breakfast area is a bit small but the food is good….”

”Check-in took a lot of time as the receptionist was also a bartender. Breakfast was good, while the breakfast room was really small and mismatched to the hotel size….”

Read all the reviews right here