Review: the impressive Radisson Collection hotel, Tallinn

This is our review of the Radisson Collection hotel in Tallinn.

After spending just one night in Helsinki (far too short!) on our Finnair press trip, we headed to Tallinn. Finnair and Visit Estonia put us up in the recently refurbished Radisson Collection Hotel in Tallinn, which opened this spring.

Radisson Collection is the luxury lifestyle brand from Radisson. There are no brand standards so each hotel is unique. In this case, the hotel was formerly a Radisson Blu before undergoing an extensive €25 million refurbishment.

The hotel website is here.

Where is the Radisson Collection?

Situated in a tall modern building, the Radisson Collection is just on the outskirts of Tallinn Old Town, on Rävala boulevard, about 10 minutes walk from Viru gate.

Tallinn is a tiny city so it’s about 15 minutes drive from the airport, or about 25 minutes on the 4 tram.

Inside the Radisson Collection hotel, Tallinn

Whilst the exterior of the building looks pretty generic it has been impressively refurbished. The interiors are a night and day transformation, with petal chandeliers:

Several reception desks flank the right hand wall whilst the bar and restaurant are to the left, with a semi-see-through decoration:

A bank of three or four lifts are at the rear.

Rooms at the Radisson Collection hotel in Tallinn

I was given a room on the 14th floor, which is towards the top of the building. There are 287 rooms in total, so it’s not a massive hotel but it’s not exactly boutique either.

The refurbishment program included all the rooms so they are brand new and feature a fairly neutral but smart design:

Black wood wardrobes make up the left hand side, with ironing board, robes, a safe and all the other bits you would expect to find. At the end is the mini bar with kettle and Lavazza coffee machine:

The bathroom is on the right, and I was surprised to see the shower over the bath tub. I thought it was mainly the British who were obsessed with bath tubs but clearly Estonia has a penchant for a good soak too!

(It’s not real marble, by the way, as you would expect from a hotel at this price point.)

Toiletries were Radisson Collection’s own brand:

Size-wise, the room is pretty average – space for a desk and armchair, plus areas to put luggage and get around the bed:

Speaking of beds, for some reason I was given two single beds.

The artwork above the beds, of a bird’s eye view of autumnal trees adds a splash of colour.

There was a good sized desk as well:

Plus an armchair and coffee table:

I had a good view across town, too:

Whilst I liked the design of the room, I did have one problem: dreaded AC controlitis. I could not, for the life of me, seem to work out how to use the Siemens control panel which meant my room remained at a toasty 23 degrees. Despite pressing all the buttons I was none the wiser, and if I had stayed another night I would have asked the hotel staff to show me how.

Hard to believe that some companies still can’t design intuitive room temperature controls but there we are ….

Spa and gym

For a city hotel, the Radisson Collection also features an impressive and popular spa. This features a steam room, sauna, sanarium, hot tub (‘Japanese Bath’) and a small pool. It was very busy when I went so here is a PR photo:

My only complaint is that it was school holidays during our stay and the spa and pool were packed with kids. It would have been nice to have some adult and family sessions at the spa to give the rest of us a more relaxing experience.

The gym was a good size.

Breakfast at the Radisson Collection hotel

The following morning I stumbled out of bed from a not-great night’s sleep to be greeted by an impressive breakfast spread. It is served in the stylish main restaurant on the ground floor called MEKK.

There was plenty to choose from at the buffet, although I wasn’t particularly hungry. You could choose from an extensive range of hot items:

Cold cuts including cheeses and meats:

A whole range of fish, including smoked salmon and marinated herring familiar to anyone who’s been to Sweden:

Plus the usual range of pastries, breads, yoghurts, cereals etc etc. There was even some Prosecco available:

In addition to the buffet you can also order of a small a la carte menu. I opted for the poached eggs on avocado toast with a side of smoked salmon which was delicious, albeit the eggs weren’t as runny as I like them.

Conclusion

If you’re staying in Tallinn (and I highly recommend it – whilst small it is a beautiful little city with so much to offer) then the Radisson Collection Tallin hotel is a good place to stay. Although it’s not in the old town, it does offer modern amenities and brand-new rooms just ten minutes walk away.

I didn’t expect much from this hotel – and I’m not hugely familiar with Radisson Collection – but I was genuinely impressed. A surprisingly good spa, impressive breakfast and (I am told!) a very trendy rooftop bar make it worth a visit.

Rooms are available from €116 per night. Remember that if you have an American Express Platinum card you can claim free ‘Premium’ level status in Radisson Rewards which will give you some extra benefits.

You can find out more on the hotel website here.

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How to earn Radisson Rewards points and status from UK credit cards (April 2024)

Radisson Rewards does not have a dedicated UK credit card. However, you can earn Radisson Rewards points by converting Membership Rewards points earned from selected UK American Express cards.

These cards earn Membership Rewards points:

• American Express Preferred Rewards Gold (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 20,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 60,000 Radisson Rewards points. This card is FREE for your first year and also comes with four free airport lounge passes.

• The Platinum Card from American Express (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 40,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 120,000 Radisson Rewards points

• American Express Rewards credit card (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 10,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 30,000 Radisson Rewards points. This card is FREE for life.

Membership Rewards points convert at 1:3 into Radisson Rewards points which is a very attractive rate.  The cards above all earn 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 spent on your card, which converts to 3 Radisson Rewards points.

Even better, holders of The Platinum Card receive free Radisson Rewards Premium status for as long as they hold the card.  It also comes with Hilton Honors Gold, Marriott Bonvoy Gold and MeliaRewards Gold status.  We reviewed American Express Platinum in detail here.

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