‘My Favourite Hotel’ review – Swissotel Tallinn, Estonia

Today, our ‘My Favourite Hotel’ review is the Swissotel Tallinn in Estonia.

We are currently running this reader-written feature to provide some positivity and inspiration to Head for Points.  You can find all of the ‘My Favourite Hotel’ reviews so far by clicking here.  This was scheduled to be a series of about 25 hotels, but a good response from readers means that we have commissioned another batch and are continuing the series.

Today’s hotel is the Swissotel Tallinn, close to the gorgeous old town of Estonia’s capital.  It is reader Theo’s favourite hotel and here is his review:

Overview

Opened in 2007, and one of the tallest hotels in the Baltics and the tallest building in Tallinn, the Swissotel stands at 117m tall, spanning 30 floors. It’s positioned a short walk to the old town and the city’s main shopping area, and within a short (10 minute) taxi ride of the airport.

The Swissotel in Tallinn holds a very fond place in the hearts of everyone who has ever worked for Skype as it was the ‘only’ place to stay for any visiting Skype colleagues.  Having racked up close to 100 nights during my nine years with the company it remains one of my favourite hotels in the world.

Until recently, initiation on your first business trip to Tallinn involved being taken to the Valli Bar in the old town and coaxed into drinking ‘Millimallikas’ – a spicy shot of Sambuca and Tequila with a drizzle of Tabasco that creates orange tentacles down into the glass (hence the name which means Jellyfish in Estontian).

Skype was such a source of pride for Tallinn, that you could jump into any taxi and ask to be taken to ‘Skype’ – despite the office being a good 20 minute journey from the centre.

The rooms

Each of the 238 rooms at Swissotel Tallinn is spacious and modern with floor-to-ceiling windows offering fabulous views over the old town or harbour from many of the rooms. You’ll want to bring the entire bathroom home, each having a large walk-in rain shower and a luxurious free standing bathtubs.

Rooms are available in standard (Swiss Avantage) or luxury (Swiss Executive) configuration, with the latter being higher up the tower and offering improved views. The Swiss Executive rooms also include access to the hotel’s executive lounge which offers a comfortable work space with drinks and snacks available.

If you’re travelling on a tight budget however, you won’t be disappointed with the standard rooms.

For those travelling with kids, the hotel also offers the option of a separate adjoining kids room which your children with love. An infant room is also available offering a cot, baby bath, nappy changing table, feeding chair and bottle warmer.

Drinking and dining

On the 30th floor the hotel has a bar and the Horisont restaurant, both of which get very busy most evenings. It’s a perfect place to enjoy a few G&Ts whilst watching the late Baltic daylight fade into night. The restaurant is one of the top-rated places to dine out in Tallinn, and deservedly so. The food, wine and service are all exquisite (although I must confess my expenses budget didn’t extend to eating there often except on very special occasions).

For more affordable eats, there’s a second restaurant (The Quarter) on the 8th floor, which also offers excellent food at expense-friendly prices. This 8th floor restaurant is also where breakfast is served.

Breakfast at the Swissotel is genuinely worth fasting for. It’s an impressive self-serve buffet with a a wide range of hot and cold plates. Everything about this breakfast is quality and will not fail to impress you.

I always maintain you can judge a hotel by the quality of the scrambled eggs it serves. For those alone, this hotel gets my full star rating. The black pudding and cinnamon-stewed prunes are also both very worth reserving space for.

The No.3 lounge and bar on the ground floor serves drinks and light snacks throughout the day into the evening.

Pürovel Spa

If you’re craving some rest and relaxation or need to work off some of the excess calories from breakfast, the Pürovel Spa & Sport rates amongst the best facilities I’ve ever come across. The gym is superbly equipped and the swimming pool is a tranquil oasis.

Of course being in Estonia, you’ll also find a large sauna and an aromatic steam room. A comprehensive menu of spa treatments is also available which are all much more reasonably priced than elsewhere in Western Europe.

Earn Accor Live Limitless points too ….

Since 2016 Swisshotel has been part of the Accor group, and the chain’s own loyalty scheme was replaced with the wider ‘Accor Live Limitless’ (ALL) programme in 2017.  Membership gives you a 4%-5% discount on the room rates when booked via Accor’s own website, and of course you can earn and redeem ‘ALL’ points when staying at the Swissotel in Tallinn.

Conclusion

Like a favourite restaurant, it’s not easy to pinpoint what exactly about the Swissotel in Tallinn makes me long to return there. This hotel has found the rare balance of style and service, without it feeling forced or stuffy. The rooms are large and superbly equipped, and the breakfast is a must. The Pürovel Spa is a wonderful space to de-stress. This is a place where you can genuinely feel comfortable and at home.

Prices start from €99 per night per room without breakfast, so it won’t break the bank either.

If you want to find out more, the hotel’s website is here.

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Accor Live Limitless update – April 2024:

Earn bonus Accor points: Accor is not currently running a global promotion

New to Accor Live Limitless?  Read our review of Accor Live Limitless here and our article on points expiry rules here. Our analysis of what Accor Live Limitless points are worth is here.

Want to earn more hotel points?  Click here to see our complete list of promotions from Accor and the other major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.