Commercial cooperation at Radalla Resort
Google reviews: 4.6/5
Travel time from Helsinki: 1h 44min by car
Food experiences at the location: Manor restaurant Balladi serves lunch and dinner and serves breakfast from local producers. Food experiences nearby: A seven-minute drive from Iitti village is a nice Farmer's Market - Iitti Maatilatori and a quarter of a drive away is Finnish actress Olga Temonen's Pizzeria cafe REHTORI
Accommodation types: Manor and beach hotel and beach villas. All accommodation types are air-conditioned and the beach villas also have a convenient kitchenette.
More information and reservations: radallaresort.fi
For a few years, we have been thinking about where to find high-quality holiday destinations in Finland for two people. We really value a cottage-style experience with all the delicacies, but we have thought that there are not too many such destinations available so far. The Barö and Kuru Resort have been prominently featured in recent years, which of course fit the description well. There are also cabins or villas available, but their biggest problem is that the cabins and villas tend to be too big for two people, which usually means that the price level gets out of control. To our delight, as a result of a little research, we have found both resort-style destinations and villa destinations for two people at a suitable distance from Helsinki, so we want to highlight these to others who are looking for similar places for vacation. In the Foodie Getaway trip, in addition to a reasonable location, the important things for us are calmness, cleanliness, high-quality accommodation and a good restaurant or the proximity of restaurants. Plus the beach. We just picked up three interesting objects for pleasurers that fit our criteria, you can read the article here .
We only discovered Radalla Resort in Iitti near Kouvola in the summer of 2023, and we had the pleasure of making a collaborative visit for a one-night mini-vacation to the destination in July. Based on the material we found online and on social media, we got the impression that it must be a relatively new resort destination, and we were pleasantly surprised that the journey to the destination from the capital region is only a little over an hour and a half. In the case of newly opened Resort, we could not yet find enough material on the web and social media, so at the latest the recoverable average of 4.6/5 in Google reviews convinced us that this place must now have something exceptional. In addition to everything, we noticed the recently completed wonderful beach villas, which as an accommodation product is exactly what we want and above all aimed at two people.
Travel planning
Our trip planning is guided by delicious stops. On the track, the Resort is so close that we could have gone straight there without stopping anywhere along the way. However, based on a short google search, we came across Olga Temonen's Pizzeria cafe REHTORI, so we thought it would be nice to stop there for lunch on the way to Radalla Resort. The pizzeria-café in connection with REHTORI is also Olga's farm, which is really popular with families with children. The destination is definitely a must for families with children traveling in the direction of Kouvola. We weren't that interested in Olga's farm in itself, so we focused on enjoying the food.
The pizzeria-café REHTORI, which was built into an old village school, was cozy and very crowded in traffic on a Wednesday in July until late lunchtime. The service was quick to the rescue and you could immediately see the estimate of the waiting time for the pizza on the board. So it's a premium pizzeria, where sourdough-baked pizzas are baked in a wood-fired oven. The appetizer section would have had nice antipasti dishes, but we ended up ordering pizzas and continuing our journey. We enjoyed a couple of different pizzas, of which the brie pear was a strangely red pizza, so in our opinion the ingredients didn't quite get their rights as well as they would have if the pizza had been white. In any case, a place worth visiting if you happen to be in the area, although the pizzas in themselves are no different from the premium pizzas in Helsinki, guaranteed.
Iitti Kausala seems to be the closest village to Radalla Resort, and before arriving at the final destination, we checked the local K-Market and the bakery's offerings, which did not disappoint. Fortunately, we also stumbled upon the local Iitti Farmer's Market , which was a really nice acquaintance. We grabbed buns from the local bakery and beers from the Hoppa brewery in Kouvola and went to Radalla Resort.
A positive surprise immediately upon handshake
When we arrived at the parking lot of Radalla Resort, there was the main building and in front of it was a wonderful revelation. The main building has been wonderfully renovated, including the courtyard areas, and Lake Urajärvi glistened in the background. Really nice service at the reception, the keys to go and the car was right next to the beach villa. Radalla Resort has 10 recently completed beach villas, and in addition to that, the main building serves as a manor hotel, and there is a beach hotel building next door. A big plus these days is that all accommodation options have an air conditioning, so you don't have to sweat when staying.
Regarding the prices, it should be mentioned that between July and August, according to Radalla Resort's website, the rooms in the beach hotel cost around €125/night, the rooms in the manor hotel around €150-170/night and the beach villa around €205/night. The prices include breakfast and the possibility of a sauna. It is good to note that, as usual, prices vary depending on the days of the week and times. Overall, we would say that the price level is moderate for its quality, so the price-quality ratio is good.
Two-person beach villa with lake view
We conveniently parked the car in our own spot next to the beach villa. The beach villas are brand new and still exuded newness. Cleanliness was top notch and the bathroom was comfortably spacious, so there was no need to squeeze into a small shower cubicle. The villa felt like a lot of effort had been put into the materials and interior design elements. The beds and sleep products are guaranteed Familon production and the handy kitchenette opened from the cupboard. The villa experience was crowned by a terrace with a lake view and air conditioning. What else could you want from a small villa. If you are traveling with a group of three people, an extra bed or travel cot is available.
Manor restaurant Balladi serves local flavors
The price of the accommodation includes breakfast, where, to our delight, the emphasis is on quality rather than quantity in a style that suits the place. This summer, too, I've been able to experience endless breakfast buffets elsewhere, where the focus has been on quantity at the expense of quality, and now they only make me feel bad. Radalla Resort's breakfast was elegantly laid out in a manor restaurant's breakfast kitchen-like space. The quality of breakfast is often described well by the so-called scrambled egg index, i.e. in practice, if the scrambled egg is made from powder, it tells you everything you need about the whole morning, while if the scrambled egg is made from real eggs, it refers to a different kind of breakfast experience. Here, the scrambled eggs was made from real eggs. Breakfast included sandwiches with fillings, coffee from a small roaster, fresh juices, tasty porridge, cereal, bacon, crackers, scrambled eggs and fresh fruit neatly cut. The breakfast as a whole served very nicely.
We were booked for the Stay & Dine package, which included a three-course dinner at the Manor Restaurant Balladi. The three-course dinner included a light summer starter salad, a main course of your choice and ice cream or sorbet for dessert. There was a wide range of main course options, meat, fish, veggie and chicken options available. The restaurant space is wonderfully bright and you can see the lake view from the terrace from pretty much every place.
The drink list was suitably comprehensive and the beer section featured craft beers from Kouvola's Hoppa brewery. The Stay & Dine package also included a welcome toast and we only enjoyed it during dinner. The starter was a relatively simple fresh salad. For the main course, we both chose pike pan-fried pike-perch in a citrusy white wine butter sauce, herb potatoes and capers with rocket salad, and seasonal vegetables. The pike-perch was well fried and the portion was very summery. For dessert, ice cream with caramel sauce. The menu as a whole is very summery. Next time, you will definitely have to try the tapas-inspired Radalla Resort "radas" on the summer menu, as well as chocolate cake and creme brulee for dessert.
A versatile selection of activities
In a one-night trip, it would be quite enough experience to enjoy just being and feasting. For those hungry for activities, Radalla Resort has everything to do. On the first day, we went around an 8 km long nature trail, which in itself was a nice cross-section into the Finnish summer, because along the way, the scenery and terrain varied from the lakeside, cottage road, golf course, forest path, to pine trees and always to the refreshments of the village store. In terms of difficulty, the route was easy / medium, so the route does not require extreme athleticism, but it is not worth going on the trip with a stroller either. In the evening, we went to try out the public villa sauna session included in the villa accommodation on the lake shore and took a dip in Lake Urajärvi.
On the day of departure, in addition to enjoying the scenery and breakfast from the beach villa, we went to work up a sweat on the brand new padel court. In addition, the destination is available, e.g. SUP boards, rowing boat, golf next door within walking distance, live music at regular intervals, etc. All in all, the visit was very successful and we will definitely visit Radalla Resort again.
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