We stayed at the Helka for 5 days in May and had a fantastic stay in a hotel I would definitely recommend.

The location is perfect - 10 minute walk from the railway station, 5 minute walk from bars, restaurants and shops and 2 minutes from the Church in the Rock.

The room we stayed in was beautifully clean and stylish - although twin beds. Great decor, including the canvas design overhead. Free internet access was another bonus as was the free morning sauna and sumptuous breakfast buffet.

Staff at the hotel, bar and restaurant were always friendly and happy to help and the hotel is excellent value for money. The rooms aren't huge - but they're big enough for kipping in for a few days.

Helsinki is a beautiful city - if you're visiting, be sure to visit the islands around the city, buy local beer rather than imports and for something totally different and bizarre, visit Hevimesta, the heavy metal karaoke night - amazing!!

Helka is a very nice styled hotel, located right in Helsinki's city center, with many of the sights within walking distance. The actual rooms nice nicely furnished and reasoably clean, but some are quite small considering the price. Size and layout varies between rooms, so it would be worth asking to see a couple before accepting one.

Downstairs is a nice lobby fully furnished with Alvar Aalto design chairs, sofa's and such, and a very nice bar serving drinks at reasonable prices (open until 1 am).

I would recommend staying at Helka if you can shell out the room prices and like designer interiors.

Nice hotel in good location for seeing Helsinki.
Nothing special but clean.

I chose the Helka by reading Trip Advisor's comments. I was on a business trip and wanted to find a decent and not expensive hotel downtown. The hotel is an anonymous building 5 minutes walk far from the railway station and main tram stops. I booked a single room, small with a view on the rear. Bed was too soft for my backbone. Bathroom with shower. Essential wardrobe. In short, all was very functional (not basic). Breakfast with wide choice of food except cakes or pastries (for Italians not good...).
Staff very friendly when requested any kind of info or help. Could not book a sauna after work, it was always full. If you don't need special requirements, if you search for a quality/price rate, so Helka is a convenient choice, expecially in a city so expensive like Helsinki. As Italian I recommend to taste Finnish restaurants (ravintola), I was positively surprised. Don't drink wine: it's terribly expensive. You'd rather drink their beer, Lapin Kulta.