Hotel Urkin Piilopirtti

Very difficult to review this place as it is so different. If you are looking for a four or five star hotel like a Scania or Raddison this is not for you but if you can look past the shortcomings of the facilities you will really enjoy it. The surrounding Finnish countryside is fantastic and the lake is wonderful. To get up in the morning and take a swim in the lake is unforgettable and just for that alone I will return next year. The hotel has many artistic features with paintings,sculptures and other pieces of interest everywhere.The hotel part itself is very tired, though clean and the rooms are extremely small apart from the family rooms. The buffet breakfast is quite basic and not replenished often, when I was there people had to ask for more juice, more coffee and water. There was no evening service not even a vending machine though you could use the kitchen to make tea or coffee. The owner and his one assistant seemed very overworked and tired, though he was a very pleasant and interesting person.He also explained that they had some very exciting plans for future development.The place is good value however especially in Finland in July! I certainly will be back and I will try to book a larger room. If you are in this area I would say it's an experience you would be sorry to miss.