“Will gladly stay at this hotel for my next trip to/from Finland”
The hotel lobby was very clean, spacious, with staff who spoke fluent English.
The food for dinner was excellent and graciously served. Had many wines from which to choose. I asked the waiter what he would recommend for an after dinner drink, and what he suggested was superb.
Since I had to leave for a flight at 6:30 am, the Hilton had a special early morning buffet consisting of fruits, meats, and cheeses to make sandwiches, and some good coffee, as well as orange juice.
The room was very clean, spacious bathroom, comfortable desk chair, and a good supply of pillows on the bed. They also had a wide choice of movies, plus TV stations. I enjoyed the room's layout especially the lighting choices near and over the bed for reading. I did not hear the sounds of any airplanes either.
All in all, a very great place.
Area recommendations
Helsinki, and taking a ferry to the surrounding islands.
Taking the ferry to also see Tallinn, Estonia
Taking car rides to see the various smaller towns around Finland, with their various museums, and beaches. Going to see the Iittala glass works, and museum.
Enjoying the various restaurants and shops wherever they may be.
Explore the other big cities as well, even though they may be a few hours apart--the trains are clean and comfortable.
Getting there
JFK's customs area when coming back to USA in on Delta and/or KLM, needs to be improved. Many people and I found the lines to be unusually long. People were frustrated standing in the slow moving lines, especially if they had another plane to catch within the hour. The air conditioning did not work with hundreds of people in that confined basement area. No regard was given to the elderly who could have used some benches to sit for a while before standing once again.
If I have a choice, I would not use JFK's airport as my departing or arriving city for Europe again.
Other
I would recommend learning about the various public transportation means: the trains, busses, and the ferries and then using them. Some of the information is not readily explained in English for a non-native. as to the right train to catch and how to pay for the ride and where.
Sometimes the directions are only in Finnish and/or Swedish and you have to search for any English translation. Most Finns do speak English---the ones who are over 70 years old may not.
