Hotelli Punkaharju

The Finnish Lakeland


Set among peaceful pine trees on the lake, this romantic 19th-century wooden hotel was once the gamekeeper’s lodge for the Russian royal hunting estates, and includes a majestic separate villa built for the tsarina. There’s a variety of room types and prices, including summer-only cabins with shared bathroom facilities. Doubles are old-fashioned and cramped; opt for a superior instead.

Facilities include a restaurant (buffet lunch €26 to €37, dinner mains €24 to €26), bicycles and a lakeside sauna where daily yoga sessions are held. The estate is surrounded by hiking trails.