Building, overall premises, silence in our room (walls are extremely thick!), museum tour the next day - the overall experience

I could only complain something minor about breakfast (eggs too hard, porridge cold)

Hotel Kakola is a converted prison so it has a very interesting aesthetic. Our room was spacious, with a huge bathtub and a balcony. It was very quiet and the bed was comfortable. The pizza served in the restaurant is very good. Breakfast had lots of interesting choices, something for everyone. The hotel spa had a fantastic saunas and pools, but it is extra, not included. We’ve been traveling all over Scandinavia for five weeks and this was by far the best hotel we stayed in.

The location is up a hill and the funicular wasn’t working. It’s a bit of a hike to everything you want to see, like the Castle and museums.

We had a pet friendly family room for our group of four. There are only a handful of pet friendly rooms at the hotel, and they are all located at a separate wing. While you will not have the best views from these rooms, we were positively surprised by how clean, quiet and spacious the room was. We had a double bed for the adults and a large sofa bed for the boys. The dog was provided with snacks, bowls and a toy. The hotel is fairly new and beautifully designed. Both the rooms and public spaces are great. Worth mentioning is the delicious breakfast with many local delicacies and an extremely friendly waiter. I've been to Turku many times but never to the Kakola area. It is a beautiful, quiet recidential area with an interesting history, situated high above the Aura river. The riverside and the city center are easily accessible via a funicular (free of charge) or by foot but it is a bit of a walk. For us however, being a bit further away from the city center worked really well.

The outside spaces seem to be a bit under development still. Where to park was not entirely clear for us. However, I understood that a parking garage is being built for the hotel, so the parking conditions will eventually improve. The access to the pet wing is not the prettiest possible (at the back of the building) but the rest of the experience compensates for this tiny flaw very well.

We were a group of three friends and we had a really nice room with large double bed and bunk beds which had bars. Room was big enough for us three. Beds were quite soft but okayish to sleep. Our friend enjoyed the bed behind bars, did not feel claustrophobic at all. Breakfast was nice, not too much, just enough. Staff was very friendly and we had an excellent service when we came and parked our car, there was a "porter" taking care of the parking permission for us. Really nice touch to the place.

Like said, the beds were a bit too soft to our taste and pillows had this weird insulation thingy. We slept well i any case so not a big issue. There was plenty of space to say.

It was our first time in Turku. We were lucky with the hotel and the weather (turned out to be the first wave of Spring - Easter 2023). The hotel was really nice. The fact that they kept that historic value intact and as part of the vibe made the experience unique. We chose a standard King size bed room which was good for our small family of 3. Since our little daughter still sleeps with us parents, the bed was spacious enough for 3 of us. The room was clean, the temperature control worked fine, the balcony was nice for 2 people sitting and the view was towards the hotel entrance, was not something special but was pleasant enough. The location of the hotel made things super accessible. Check-in/check out was easy, parking was available, limited spots though. The staff was very friendly, all in all a very good experience. The breakfast was standard, like in any other Finnish hotel/restaurant. We didn't use the Spa so can't comment on that. The spa is not the same hotel building but close and also not included in the hotel room price.

I appreciate the hotel giving us the room with the bath tub which was requested in the booking, however the drainage of the bath tub was broken, basically it was not possible to close the lid of the tub so it was a bit disappointing to not be able to use it. We did report it at the time of checkout, hopefully others don't have to face it. For the price we paid, I think having a mini fridge in the room is not too much to ask. With toddlers, sometimes its needed. The nights were cold so we did use the balcony for that purpose and it worked perfectly for us.

The Hotel is very interesting having been developed from a former prison. The prison theme is maintained throughout the hotel in a stylish, minimalist fashion. Our room was really very nice and well appointed, and the bathroom likewise. The colour schemes of the bedroom and bathroom were stylish. The breakfasts were good. The Hotel is part of an interesting development of the former prison and includes a great brewery nearby. The whole area is fascinating and is close to the river and the brilliant Forum Marinum, the best Maritime museum I have ever been to.

Working out the specific function of the numerous light switches was quite entertaining if a little irritating. There were multiple functions for each of the switches which inevitably resulted in a disco of light profiles each time we tentatively tried to turn a light on. Trying to repeat a simple function such as turning on the bathroom light always resulted in a 5 minute battle of light. Likewise with the air conditioning, which seemed to prefer the setting of 23c despite our numerous attempts to set it lower. Sometimes we thought we had won, but no, after 5 minutes, the fan came back on and it had reset itself to 23c. Two science PhDs are clearly no match for this programming.

We stayed in the jail cell room. the beds were narrow but very comfortable. the spa is awesome too! location is right between the castle and the city center so you can really walk anywhere

ok there’s a couple of basic things they could do to that room that are very needed. the bunk bed rungs to get to the upper bunk are a killer. whoever designed those should be imprisoned. also a couple of shelves (one by the top bunk) would be so helpful as floor space is so small for 2 people. and while I love the instagrammable mirror, you need to have one that you can actually use in the room.

Double room was new and cozy, it had local AC, balcony, bathtub. Sound insulation was ok enough, lighting in the room was good, curtains were ok, bed was cozy. Staff in the hotel were really nice. Hotel restaurant and it's waiters was excellent which also serves the breakfast which was good.

Bathroom door was not functioning properly. Bathroom could have had more table space because there was even room for it. Bathroom lacked large mirror. Bathtub narrow end was quite narrow for broad shouldered person.

The staff was very friendly; in the reception and in the bar. The hotel was very beautiful inside and outside. The room was very quiet, nice size and comfortable. The location is magnificent, beautiful. The breakfast was very tasty. Overall very happy and recommend!

Too much waiting for reception (check in), the line was almost going outside. I came straight from the spa so I wanted to dry my hair right away but the hairdryer was missing in the room. Fortunately I got one when I went to ask from reception, the problem was fixed very fast. Still, the start was not successful.

Hotel Kakola is always my choice when in meetings at Turku. Hotel is old prison converted to Hotel. So much nice, fun details in hotel's decor reminding of old prison days. Rooms are nice and quite large. And you can choose room with bathtub also. Staff is extremely helpful and friendly. Restaurant Ruben at the Hotel has great menu and summer time you can enjoy your meal on nice outdoor area. Nice small wine bar right next to to lobby. Hotel is about 15-20 min walk from downtown. You can take funicular down and take number 1 bus if 15 min walk is too much for you. Kakola hill has other fun things to do right next to the hotel. Other restaurants, Kakola shop etc. And spa coming soon not far from the hotel!