Compensation Clinic: AC & Sauna Issues At Hilton Helsinki Airport

This week, the Compensation Clinic case comes from my stay at the Hilton Helsinki Airport, where I have stayed numerous times when arriving late, leaving early, or having a short overnight transit @ HEL.

Remember that you can email us, send a message via Facebook, or use Twitter to include photos too. We’ll try to cover Compensation Clinic cases here on a regular basis.

You can access Hilton Helsinki Airport here.

READ MORE: Hilton Honors Rate & Bonus Points Offers

The Hilton Helsinki Airport, like the two other Hiltons in Helsinki, is managed by Scandic Hotels, which Hilton used to own.

I have had issues with this hotel previously that I have reported to them. The main problem has been the temperature, as you cannot open the windows. It seems that the temperature is set at 23 °C or higher, which is way too high for comfortable sleeping.

The hotel tends to do a good job with upgrades, as Diamond members can usually expect a room with a sauna.

So, I had three issues with my most recent stay:

Room Temperature

The room temperature is set to 23.3 Celsius, and nothing happens when you try to change it.

Conditioner Empty

I have no issues with these bulk amenities that most hotels have nowadays, but housekeeping should ensure they are actually stocked.

Sauna

I have never had a problem with their in-room saunas, but this time it just didn’t get hot enough. It is currently warmer in Dubai than the highest temperature this sauna can reach.

As this is essentially a Scandic Hotel with a Hilton flag, I knew that raising anything with a property would not lead to anything, so I opened a case with the Guest Assistance:

Dear Diamond Desk,

Please forward this to Guest Assistance and request that they open a file.

HH LIFETIME DIA # REMOVED

CONFIRMATION: REMOVED

1. Room Temperature

You cannot change the room temperature at all. It is set at more than 23 degrees Celsius, making it impossible to sleep comfortably. You can set the temperature to 20 degrees Celsius, but this has no effect.

2. Bathroom

The pump bottles in the shower are not adequately stocked. The conditioner bottle was empty.

3. Sauna

I appreciate the upgrade to a room with a sauna, but why not allow it to heat up? It was so cold that you had to wear a sweater to break a sweat.

The Hilton Guest Assistance opened a file, but I didn’t hear anything back. I was in touch with them 9 days later:

It is now 9 days, and not a word from the hotel.

Please resolve.

I received the following reply:

I have reviewed your case and can confirm the hotel team sent you an email the 31st of March. For your records attaching below:

Dear REMOVED , I’m sorry about the temperature not being to your liking, I hope you contacted the reception to solve the problem, the sauna was for security is maximum heating. I apologize for the inconveniences you have had in our hotel, I will send it to our general manager. I hope it gives us a second chance. I hope you have a good day. Front Desk, Polly

Thank you for your loyalty with Hilton and wishing you a great weekend!

I’m not sure who’s lying here, as I hadn’t received a note from the hotel.

I received another email from Guest Assistance:

We apologize for the experience. As a gesture of appreciation and to make things right, we have issued 14,000 Hilton Honors points to your account. These points will be available within the next 24 hours.

Conclusion

My advice is always to try resolving issues with the property first, but this is essentially a Scandic Hotel with no problem resolving skills.

I have complained about these temperature issues several times, and it seems that they are unable to resolve them.

There are now two other hotels connected to the airport (from Strawberry) that don’t require you to walk outside at all. This Hilton does, and it can be a hassle during winter with all the ice and snow.

Note that I didn’t ask for any compensation in my original email, but happy to accept these 14,000 points.

Source