Airport Hotel Bonus Inn, Finland

In the middle of August ’06, I found myself in Helsinki, FINLAND — one of the world’s “Top Ten Most Expensive” cities — without a hotel room! So I logged onto the Internet (imagine travel today without the Net?) and within minutes had a room at the independently owned Airport Hotel Bonus Inn (Elannotie 9, 01510 Vantaa, Finland; phone + 358 [0] 9-825-511or e-mail hotel@bonusinn.fi).

The rack rate for a double room was €213 ($276). I found an Internet rate of €130 ($168) for a double.

The room price included a free hotel shuttle to the airport, an evening sauna, a gym straight out of “Rocky,” a play area for my son, all taxes and fees (rooms include 22% VAT) and a Finnish breakfast.

Now a word about breakfast! After traveling around Finland for 24 days, I sampled many breakfasts, and I believe I can safely say that a Finn’s breakfast is a beautiful thing: hard-boiled eggs, cheeses, sliced cucumbers and tomatoes, breads, yogurt, muesli, juices and excellent strong coffee. This is your basic buffet.

Some hotels then go on to include smoked meats, salmon, fruits, pastries, cereals and even fruit soup. The Bonus Inn is no exception to the rule that breakfast is the most important meal of the Nordic day.

My hotel room was big and clean, but it was really stuffy. It’s my only complaint. I could not open the window more than a few inches.

The shuttle was clean and timely, and the ride from hotel to the airport took only five minutes.

For the price and amenities, the Airport Hotel Bonus Inn lives up to its name.

JENNIFER M. EISENLAU

Boulder, CO