Pier 4 opens a new perspective in Helsinki, Finland

Sokotel's newest hotel, Solo Sokos Hotel Pier 4 in Helsinki, has been the talk of the town since its opening. The unique, all-wooden hotel offers guests natural luxury, dining experiences and the most impressive terrace in the city. 

Opening in August 2024, Solo Sokos Hotel Pier 4 is located in a prime spot in Katajanokka, Helsinki, right on the seafront. In addition to the hotel, the all-wood building houses Stora Enso's headquarters. The wooden architecture and the presence of nature create an atmosphere that is serene, and just entering the hotel lobby is an impressive experience.

Pier 4 has 164 rooms. There is a café in the lobby serving all the city's residents, and a rooftop terrace that has been popular since its opening. Other facilities include meeting rooms and the Harbore restaurant. For Helsinki residents, the hotel offers a view of the maritime environment, previously hidden from view. The ambitions of the restaurant are high.

 

– Our location with this sea view is unique in Helsinki. The building, its architecture and the hotel's location by the sea have set the standard for our restaurant business. We definitely want to compete with the best restaurants in Helsinki, says hotel manager Petra Wikström.

Nature and sustainability on display

Wikström says that the hotel's strong identity is reflected in everything from the interior design to the food. She says that sustainability has been strongly present in everything from the building itself to the raw materials used in the kitchen. 

– The building is designed to last for the next hundred years. Wood construction gives us a starting point that we will continue to build on with hotel and restaurant experiences. We will support the vision of the building with our activities, use indigenous materials and design, and bring nature close to us in a multi-sensory way. 

 

The food is home-grown, and the flavors are clear

Wikström says that simplicity, clarity and taste are essential in food, whether it is breakfast, lunch or meeting products. The food concept is designed by Sauli Kemppainen, who has gained extensive experience in his career. 

Kemppainen says he took on the project as a personal challenge. He has been working on food products for Harbor, the lobby café, meeting services and breakfast.

– When I started working for the S Group, I knew that people might think, "I wonder what's going to come out of that”. I saw an opportunity in that challenge. S Group gave me complete freedom and time to design the food concept, Kemppainen says.

Harbore aims to be one of the best restaurants in Helsinki. Kemppainen says that is what he has set out to achieve with a seemingly simple concept. 

– At Harbore, we always have one plus one on the plate, which means one main ingredient and one side dish. You don't need to be a restaurant professional to understand the food, it's easy for the average restaurant-goer to understand what's on the plate. However, simplicity is a bit of an illusion, not everything is as simple as you might think, explains Kemppainen. 

 

Kemppainen says that customers have responded well to the whole concept.

– But we're still in the early stages, so time will tell how it all works out.

Aiming for a diverse customer base

The Pier 4 Hotel offers a wide range of food from morning to night. The day starts with breakfast for hotel guests. Lunch includes an à la carte business lunch, a meeting lunch and a daily light lunch at Cafe Helli in the lobby, which serves dishes such as soup and baked potatoes.

In the evenings, guests can also enjoy a barbecue on the rooftop terrace of Bar Humu.

Wikström says that the café in the lobby has also been designed with locals in mind.

– Cafe Helli serves breakfast porridge in addition to lunch and is designed to cater to residents and office users in the area. In the afternoon, the space serves as a café where you can stop by to enjoy the offerings and admire the sea view.

 

The Harbore is also aimed at citizens. It's not always easy to get locals into hotel restaurants, but Pier 4 and Harbore have a clear policy. 

– Sokotel is a big hotel company, so we have a lot of experience from a long period of running restaurants in hotels. Our starting point is that Harbore is its own entity, and the restaurant is also treated as such in the launch, marketing and communication, says Wikström. 

– Harbore is a restaurant that happens to have a hotel on the side.

Flexibility and an understanding of the customer's everyday life

Metos was chosen as a partner for Solo Sokos Hotel Pier 4 based on the framework agreement and previous experience. Metos' handprint can be seen in the hotel's restaurant, café and bar areas. 

 

The hotel and its facilities are designed well before the food and beverage concepts are finalised. Thus, long projects require flexibility and the ability to change plans. 

– Although the concepts for the restaurant, bar and café are not clear at the planning stage, we knew roughly what volumes we needed to be able to cater for based on the number of rooms and meeting spaces. The basic elements of a hotel kitchen environment are also pretty standard. After defining the concept, there are always small adjustments to the equipment in these projects, Wikström explains.

One of the most challenging aspects of the design is the lobby café, which is not a very typical concept in Finnish hotels.

– The productization of the café was not done until Sauli joined the company at the turn of 2024. By then, the equipment purchases were already pretty much done. These types of situations require our partners to be able to live with us and see what changes we need, says Wikström.

 

He points out that even after opening, the hotel is still validating what the range and offerings will be. Listening to customer feedback and looking at the big picture will reveal what's right and what needs to change.

Amidst the hustle and bustle of the first few months, there is one thing that the hotel manager is particularly proud of.

– I am very proud of this staff! We have managed to create a strong identity for ourselves and, as a result, have got all our service elements in order, says Wikström with obvious satisfaction.