Hotel - Marriot Residence Inn Los Angeles LAX/Manhattan Beach:
Very nice hotel, it's a small studio with everything needed to spend several days : Kitchen, Kitchenware, Microwave, Fridge (large), TV with Cable , nice Sofa. Great for spending a few vacation days. Very good service.
Only be careful for the room location. The building seem to be older, and the 1st floor can get noisy with steps from residents above... so just try to take a 2nd floor room.
Also, the air conditioning machines or the fridge in the room are louder than I'd like at night time.
daily room service, as any hotel
free parking
free wifi
free contonental breakfast
close to restaurants
a Target supermarket is near by (1 or 2 blocks away)
walking distance to the beach: 20 or 30 minutes (consider that coming back, part of the way is uphill)
the area seems to be very safe
Manhattan Beach board walk:
Very nice buildings on the breach front ... it seems that lots of places are for rent.
The 3 main ways of going from HEL to Helsinki downtown , which lies about 17 km from the city center (~ 10 mi) are:
regular bus (cheapest, about 4 €)
FinnAir Citi Bus ( a little more expensive but faster, about 6.2 €)
taxi (about 40 €)
All options take somebody to the destination, is matter of cost, comfort, and speed desired. My experience with the FinnAir Citi Bus is very good, goes directly, very few people in the bus, very clean, and helpful drivers. Ask the driver , or download from the Web, a map with the stops. The last stop is by the central rail station, with access to bus, metro, tram, and in the core of Helsinki downtown. So in the worst case, if somebody gets asleep due to the jet lag, the worst case is waking up in the middle of downtown with access to everywhere (safe place as well).
Hotel Hilton Strand:
The hotel lies 2-3 blocks away from a Bus / Tram / Metro station. Also, it is walking distance from downtown.
The hotel is nice and service good. In the US I would give it a 3.5 star rating. The rooms are spacious and clean, with all amenities such as TV with English channels, Fridge, Safe Box in room, Wifi in room at 10 € for 24 hours, Free Wife on the 1st floor lobby. Sauna and swimming pool on the 8th floor, with a nice city view. Breakfast is excellent.
There is a small number of restaurants in a 5 block radius, but the area is much more quiet than downtown of course, and not too much to see. However, the church <name here> is at a walking distance (probably 10-15 minutes)
Although I like the hotel, it is farther away than other good hotels from the core of downtown (e.g., Kampi area). The Hilton was cheaper when I was looking for price, though. But check for prices, as having to take the public transport to the hotel ads 2.2 € for each way (however, free if walking 10-15 blocks).
Safety:
My impression is that Helsinki is a very safe place. I've been walking day until very late in the night, never felt unsafe or threatened. Men and women are walking around at all times as well.
Free WiFi (WLAN):
WIFI is everywhere. I've been more successful in getting decent free WIFI at the shopping malls (e.g., Kampi, Citi Center, etc.), hotel lobby, and at the airport. But many restaruants (ravintola) and Cafe offer it as well. The subway (Metro) also provides Free Wifi but the signal is very weak (perhaps it is just the place I stood, perhaps is better somewhere else in the station)
Before accessing the web, it is necessary to open the Web browser, and sign up to a Welcome page (either click on a banner with an Ad or click on a Term Agreement button)
Souvenirs
I walked a lot and checked at least 5 souvenir places, including Stockman. The souvenirs are about the same everywhere, but found one place with lowest prices, and also providing a Tax Free form that allows getting back some € when leaving the airport (Only for non EU passports. Remember to take your passport when shopping).
The place where I found lower prices (in some cases 5-10 € under other shops), is located about 1 block away from the stone church (walking distance from the downtown, but a bus or tram can be taken to go faster). I haven't taken note of the address, but got a (pretty bad) picture of the store front:
Bar and Restaurants:
When getting inside some bars and restaurants it called my attention that I was being asked to leave the jacket at the entrance. Somebody would keep it safe for a 2-3€ fee , which seems a little bit steep for just a jacket and in such a safe place such as Helsinki.
My City Tours:
The boat tour is very interesting and informative (audio in finish and english). I recommend it.
However, I don't recommend the red bus tour. My experience wasn't that good, since I paid for a 48hrs ticket (combination of ship+bus), but the next bus didn't come after I went down the first time, and I had continue walking :( On the next, the time schedule had been removed from the stop. In general, the interesting stops from this bus, can be easily walked, or be done with tram/bus (get a day pass)
Very nice hotel, everything inside looks brand new. It is a 5-10 minute walk away from the gate.
Not a cheap hotel, but a great location to overnight and rest well before an early flight.
A cheaper option is to just sleep inside the airport.
Free WiFi internet: After connecting the WiFi, open the browser and look for a form that needs to be filled in order to get free WiFi acess. After submitting the form, will get 15' of free access. They said they would send an email to confirm the account, and afterwards provide more free access, but I never received this email. Another option is to pay for access , if a Boingo subscriber , it can be used too.
This trip was pretty short and fast. there wasn't much time for visiting the place, but still, I got to see something.
Sweden is a very nice country, with very nice, organized, and clean cities.
Everybody seems to have a very high level of english speaking.
It is very easy to move around this country. Credit card is accepted everywhere, one can literally spend a week without the need of cash. The only place I saw cash could have been handy is at the public restrooms in the train station.
Arlanda Express (train from Airport to Stockholm)
Hotel Comfort Inn , Stockholm
Tiny 1 bedroom/1 bathroom. No closet. Hangers on wall.
Bed is comfortable
Room is quite silent.
Hotel and neighborhood feel very safe.
Excellent free breakfast.
Large HD tv , with a couple of channels in english.
No closet.
No safe in room, but available at front desk.
Free WiFi. Need to ask for a password every day (expires in 24 hours)
Very good location, 3 blocks away from central station. A stop to the Arlanda Express is accross the street.
Across Arlanda Express exit
1 Bedroom from Comfort Inn Stockholm
1 Bedroom from Comfort Inn Stockholm
1 Bedroom from Comfort Inn Stockholm
Gamla Stan (old town)
Gamla Stan
Gamla Stan
Royal Palace
Stockholm Central Station
Train, Metro, and bus station
Train ticket can be purchased online, but access to a printer is needed. They can SMS the ticket information, but this only works for local phone numbers. The Ticket teller machines will ask for a PIN in order to validate a credit card purchase, which afaik, I don't have for my international card.... in order to save time, just go and buy from the ticket office (I didn't look at what time they closed)
Lockers are available, and the fee can be paid with credit card or currency.
Restrooms with showers are available, but SEK cash only.
Locker for bags
Stockholm Arlanda Airport:
There are many paid Internet Wifi providers such as Boingo, Ipass, Tmobile europe. But there is only one way of getting free Wifi, by having a local phone number (they send a password through SMS). They offer sending the SMS to a foreign phone, but I never got it. Guests at Hotels inside the airport will get free Wifi.
The airport is safe for overnight sleeping until the international departure gate opens at 4:30am. The Lunges are behind the gate, and therefore, closed.
This airport seems safe for overnight sleep. Lots of people stay and sleep in comfortable couches.
For dinner, the option that is open until latest is Mcdonals, open until 11:00pm. And they sell beer :-)
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