Commercial cooperation PihlasResort
Google reviews: 5/5 Travel time from Helsinki: 3h 7min by car
Food experiences at the resort: The resort's own Restaurant Siimes serves experiences for all the senses all year round with breakfast, lunch and dinner. During the summer, the cool Beach Club Koto transforms into a grill restaurant and Cafe Trapesa serves food within walking distance Food experiences nearby: The TeaHouse of Wehmais, which belongs to the same business family, is a guaranteed destination for every gourmet
Accommodation types: Forest Suites offer the opportunity for a luxurious vacation for two and Garden Villas for groups of 4-6 people More information and reservations: pihlasresort.com
PihlasResort has all the ingredients for a perfect pampering weekend. Based on a one-night visit, PihlasResort represents Finland's highest quality experience service, and from the same level, the first ones that come to mind are Kuru Resort and The Hotel Maria, which opened in December 2023, in Helsinki. The Barö in Barösund, Inkoo could also be classified in almost the same quality category. However , PihlasResort, which embraces ecology and closeness to nature, is in our opinion the perfect choice for every adult who appreciates peace, delicacies, pampering and activities.
We traveled to Pihlas by electric car, so Heinolan's Heila is comfortably about halfway and the intermediate stop is equipped with a large selection of charging points for electric cars, so you can conveniently charge the car during a lunch or coffee break. Heinolan Heila is our regular stopover if we're traveling the road 4, because in Heila you can conveniently shop from local producers' selections and the restaurant offers honest local food or baked goods. There are several electric car charging points at the destination, PihlasResort, so the destination is excellent for electric car drivers.
What separates Pihlas from many other places is that it is clearly the best destination for a year-round vacation. Our visit was in November, at the end of autumn and already a bit wintery, so we will focus on the winter tourism aspect in our article, but we definitely plan to visit Pihlas in the summer as well, so that we can experience the relaxation opportunities offered by the surrounding nature, the garden and the lake.
Genuine hospitality
In Pihlas, the greatest impression was made by genuine hospitality. As people in the hospitality industry with a long history, we know how to appreciate genuine service and from the moment we arrived, we felt warmly welcomed by the entire staff. Inside the resort, you can walk from the accommodation to other facilities, and you can also drive right next to the accommodation and to the activity places. Welcome toasts were served almost as soon as we arrived at the reception/restaurant building and the staff took us to the Forest Suite reserved for us and introduced the accommodation with its functionalities.
As a Forest Suite accommodation type, it serves perfectly for a pampering holiday for two people. The Forest Suite is like a high-quality designer villa for two, with a cozy balcony facing the park and the lake, a sauna, a kitchenette and room-specific air conditioning. The contents of the minibar are included in the price of the accommodation, and to our delight, the minibar had plenty of non-alcoholic local refreshments and delicacies that were worth tasting. A slow morning is perfect for the first coffee when you wake up in your suite before going to breakfast or ordering breakfast in your room.
A treat at every meal
The evening of the arrival day culminated in dinner at Restaurant Siimes. At dinner, a tasting menu was served, accompanied by a greeting from the kitchen and Petit fours. Seasons and local food are at the center of Siimes, and the food could be described as truly high-quality bistro food. In itself, it is quite good that the food is not fine dining taken to extremes, in which case the restaurant is easier to approach throughout the visit. Janne, the shift manager of the restaurant, took care of us throughout the evening, to whom special thanks are due for the excellent service.
In addition to making use of the own garden, the surrounding nature and the food of nearby farms, the specialty of Restaurant Siimes is that you can choose teas or juices as a drink package for the menu. Anna Grotenfelt-Paunonen is Finland's only professional tea sommelier as the managing director of PihlasResort. We tried a couple of different teas with the food and were very positively surprised. The pairing of the wines also worked excellently, and the selections would have included products from nearby breweries.
After dinner, we headed straight to beach sauna Henki to enjoy the gentle steams of the wonderful sauna, the bubbles of the Drop Design Pool on the terrace, and we had to visit the splashing whirlwind pool as well. There are more spaces in the beach sauna, and late at night Janne still served products from local breweries, among which I remembered, for example, the products of the Juva brewery, as well as Kuusenkerkkä gin from Pieksämäki's Mahla Forest and Pohjoinen blueberry lemonade.
We also wanted to experience breakfast on site at Restaurant Siimes instead of breakfast served in the room. When we arrived, we received breakfast order slips for our trip, because it is possible to pre-order portions for breakfast according to wishes. The breakfast served as plate portions is practically the best you can get for breakfast, so we were very pleased with this. In addition to plate portions, the tables were initially served with a basic selection of breakfast items including, among other things, homemade breads, cold meats, cheeses, vegetables and pickled root vegetables. The juices were wonderful local berry and apple juices. We chose eggs benedict, natural yogurt with different cereals and semolina as the plate dishes. Probably the best "hotel breakfast" we have enjoyed in Finland.
On the day of departure, there was still lunch before departure. It is possible to enjoy three courses at lunch. Normally, the accommodation includes lunch including a main course, a small dessert and coffee or tea. We enjoyed the main dishes and shared the dessert, which was a suitable combo considering that not too much time had passed since the rich breakfast.
Between breakfast and lunch, we went for a walk around the sports hall. On the second floor, there was a small gym, shiny with newness, where you could comfortably warm yourself up. The gym was a fun place because we didn't know how long it had been since we played indoor and it was also possible to play basketball, so we really enjoyed it.
We stopped at the Teahouse of Wehmais on the way home, a twenty-minute drive from Pihlas. Teahouse of Wehmais belongs to the same business family as PihlasResort, and there you can buy tea, accessories and enjoy tea and snacks from Finland's most comprehensive selection. You can also enjoy lunch at TeaHouse of Wehmais, as the menu includes the soup of the day, and at the time of our visit, burgers would also have been available. We ordered the Cream Tea set, which included the selected tea, two freshly baked vanilla cones with whipped cream and jam. A visit to the TeaHouse of Wehmais really crowned a short break from everyday life.
Services at Pihlas Resort are included in the price
At first glance, some may wonder about the high price of staying at PihlasResort. However, as a result of a little research, it quickly becomes clear that the price includes many more services compared to the traditional model of booking only accommodation. We made a short list of the services included in the accommodation price:
welcome drink on arrival
accommodation in Forest Suite or Garden Villa
the contents of the minibar with refreshments and small bites
high-quality coffee and tea in the Suite or in the villa
breakfast in Restaurant Siimes or as room service
lunch at Restaurant Siimes including main course, small dessert, coffee and tea
sauna Beach sauna in Henge and relaxation in the counter current pool, Drop Design Pools or the lake
exercise and gym use
tennis and padel courts and equipment for summer time
pick-up service from the public transport station or Kuopio airport
Use of the resort's electric cars
laundry services
concierge services
So the list is really comprehensive. So everything else is included in the accommodation price, except for dinner, alcoholic drinks, spa treatments or other activities. Please always check the services included in the price when booking, as it is good to note that changes are possible and some offers may include, for example, spa treatments.
PihlasResort can be warmly recommended for a weekend-long trip from the capital region. During the weekend, there is practically no reason to leave PihlasResort.
Hedonist's imaginary travel program - a long weekend in winter time
We already started dreaming about the next visit to PihlasResort. Based on the program of our first visit, we already created an imaginary itinerary for the next visit. Lunch has several starter and main course options, and dinner also has a menu that changes every day, so you'll be happy to take advantage of Pihlas' top restaurant two days in a row from morning to night.
DAY 1
At 13:00 lunch at Restaurant Siimes
At 15:00 check-in and welcome toast
15-19 hours relaxation, reading, being around
At 19:00 dinner at Restaurant Siimes
At 21:00 beach sauna, counter current pool and whirlpools
DAY 2
At 09:00 breakfast served in the room
At 10:00 a.m. morning sport for skiing, the slopes leave directly from the Resort
At 12:00 lunch at Restaurant Siimes
At 15:00 spa treatments
At 18:00 dinner at Restaurant Siimes
At 20:00 beach sauna, counter current pool and whirlpools
DAY 3
At 09:00 breakfast in Restaurant Siimes
At 10:00 a.m. morning sports in the gym and sports center
At 13:00 table reservation for afternoon tea at TeaHouse of Wehmais
Until next time! Thank you PihlasResort, Emmi-Sofia, Janne and co.