Hotel St. George

A massive white dragon sculpture by Ai Weiwei hangs from the ceiling the moment you walk into Hotel St. George. It is a distinctly contemporary introduction to an 1890 Renaissance Revival building that once housed the Finnish Literature Society and a national printing press. Today, the seven-story property facing Old Church Park holds 148 rooms and a permanent collection of over 400 artworks. The interior relies on solid, heavy materials – wood, thick glass, and marble – with herringbone floors running through the guest rooms and public spaces. The color palette stays quiet and muted, leaving the visual weight to the art and the architecture. Past the lobby, the ground floor opens into the Wintergarden. This glass-roofed conservatory holds a fireplace, a cocktail lounge, and another large-scale sculpture suspended overhead. Right next door, the in-house St. George Bakery turns out fresh bread and pastries. It brings in a steady stream of people off the street for coffee alongside hotel guests picking up a quick snack. Downstairs, the spa is built around a swimming pool and two saunas, with an attached gym. The rooms upstairs are large for Helsinki and fitted with soda-stream machines. In the mornings, you find most of the hotel downstairs for the breakfast buffet, which fills up early and takes over the main dining room.