HI Finland selects a rural hostel in Central Finland as its Hostel of the Year

Vaihelan Tila has been awarded the title of Hostel of the Year 2015 by HI Finland. The hostel, with its surrounding farm, is located in the village of Pappinen, in Joutsa. The owners of Vaihelan Tila, Birgitta and Juha Ruohtula, offer a diverse package of services giving travellers a genuine experience of life in the Finnish countryside. The farm has offered accommodation to travellers for five decades.

It continues to be active in forestry and arable farming, along with a mixture of animals from cats to wild boars. The farm buildings include a small farm museum with a display of historical agricultural items. A wood-heated sauna welcomes guests in the hostel grounds. A smoke sauna is also available on reservation, offering a different flavour of the Finnish sauna culture. The smoke sauna is located on the lakeshore, a short walk from the hostel. There is also a jetty for swimming. Swimming is possible even in winter – if you are brave enough to take a dip in a hole in the ice!

Birgitta enjoys her work in the hostel: “My work is so varied; every day is different. I get to meet people from all over the world. And the best thing is that the same guests keep coming back again and again.”

In the heart of Finnish Lakeland

Joutsa is a small rural town that offers travellers an unhurried experience and lots of local culture. Birgitta has her own favourite pastimes in Joutsa: “When I do my shopping in summer, I sometimes like to sit down in the market café to enjoy a cup of coffee. I visit the craft centre in the Taito Shop to get ideas and admire their colourful yarns. They often have exhibitions as well. The library in the town centre is a nice place to visit.”

For tourists, Birgitta further recommends Leivonmäki National Park, Haihatus Art Centre, and several local craft boutiques, such as Design Pylsy and Pikkupuoti. Joutsa also offers lots of opportunities for recreation, such as horse riding and motor sports.

Hostel Vaihelan Tila wants to offer a quality hostel experience

The Ruohtulas cultivate a high-quality customer experience by developing their hostel activities and participating in HI Finland’s trips to hostels in other countries to pick up new ideas. This year, the Ruohtulas will begin work on implementing Hostelling International’s HI Quality system. Their hostel offers accommodation for 14 people in rooms with 1-4 beds.

Every year, HI Finland awards a commendable hostel the title of Hostel of the Year. The selection criteria for this year’s award called for an active role in the development of activities along with positive customer feedback. The title has been awarded since 2004; Last year, the recipient was Laivahostel Borea in Turku.

#ILoveTravellinginEurope, Happy European Tourism Day!

Did you know that today is the European Tourism Day?

That of course means that there is a reason to celebrate! Our theme of today (well, everyday) among hostelling network in Europe is I love travelling in Europe. You do too, don’t you?

Here’s some of us Finnish hostelling people revealing why they love travelling in Europe. Hopefully they can inspire you with their chosen destinations.

3 questions will be answered:

1. Why do I love travelling in Europe?
2. My favourite destination in Europe (outside Finland)
3. My favourite destination in Finland

Emmi 
Eurohostel, Helsinki

1. I love travelling in Europe because the connections are so smooth.
2. London has it all! There’s so much to see and do.
3. Lapland is my favourite destination in the whole world. I love its nature and the peaceful and quiet atmosphere you can find there. It’s a great and welcomed contrast that I find there for the hectic everyday life.

Emmi (left) and Lea from Eurohostel in Helsinki

Lea
Eurohostel, Helsinki

1. The sameness of how the systems work is refreshing sometimes, especially if I compare to Africa and Latin America, where I usually travel.
2. I love Estonia, I like their language especially!
3. Lakeland Finland - well, because of the lakes.

Annika
Eurohostel, Helsinki

1. It’s fairly cheap to move around Europe
2. I was surprised by how beautiful Scotland is.
3. Lapland and over there especially Levi are special because of their ambience in the winter with all that snow. It’s full of magic and has a very Christmassy atmosphere.

Annika from Eurohostel in Helsinki

Birgitta
Hostel Vaihelan Tila, Joutsa

1. The distances are short, it doesn't take much time to fly from one destination to another. That makes short breaks possible. The architecture and culture of the old European cities are interesting, worth experiencing.
2. Reykjavik in Iceland has been the most memorable trip. I'd like to get to know the whole island outside the capital city too.
3. To be honest I travel abroad more! Though I am planning to make day trips to neighbouring towns to see local culture and art.

Birgitta from Hostel Vaihelan Tila in Joutsa

Sauna is the hottest place in Finland

If you visit Finland and leave without experiencing sauna even once, you have missed an essential part of the local culture. For many Finnish people sauna is a part of everyday life and it is enjoyed at least once a week.

Many Finns have a sauna in their own home. If they haven’t had it in the first place, they might have built it in their apartment – for example where their walk-in closet used to be! In apartments the saunas are electric, but in the countryside it’s often heated with wood and it gives the nice, softer heat.

If you get invited to a Finnish summer cottage you can be sure to find a sauna there. I’m not even sure if a summer cottage was considered a proper one if there was no sauna. At least the owners would be asked frequently “So, when are you going to build the sauna here?” It is expected.

Sauna by a lake. A place to relax and unwind.
Photo by Visit Finland Image Bank

It is quite magical in the summer when you can first enjoy the hot sauna and then go swimming in the clean waters of a lake or a sea. And then go back to sauna again. Back and forth!

Sauna in a Hostel

Many Finnish hostels provide their guests the real sauna experience. Many have included it in the price and you share the sauna with other guests (men and women bathe separately). Or then you can rent the sauna for yourself. Here is a complete list of all the hostels in our network that have saunas.

Smoke sauna

This gorgeous sauna building below is in the Lakeland area in the village of Joutsa at Hostel Vaihelan tila. It's a smoke sauna, so it takes a whole day to heat and therefore they are not used on daily basis. 

Here's another smoke sauna (in Finnish "savusauna"). This one is at SKO-hostel in Savonlinna, which is also in the Lakeland area.

There's a hostel called Hostel Ahopää in Saariselkä, Lapland. The hostel is part of Kiilopää Fell Centre and they offer you the experience of smoke sauna few times a week. They also have "normal saunas". Here's an introduction the all their sauna facilities.

Kiilopää Fell Centre is a home to Hostel Ahopää too in lovely Lapland.

Sauna by a Lake in Lapland

Hostel Visatupa is a real gem for anyone who loves nature and wants to experience the countryside in Lapland. They have a very good sauna too, it's right by a lake. In the winter you can even try ice-swimming!

Sauna at Hostel Visatupa in Lapland

Let's have a look inside

Without people there though...

There's a log or two ready for the next time the sauna is heated at Hostel Koskelan lomatalo in West Finland

Cozy sauna at Hostel Hirvikoski in Toholampi

City saunas

Many city hostels offer the traveller a chance to enjoy this Finnish tradition too.

The pictures below are from two hostels in Helsinki. First there's Eurohostel that has just recently renovated their saunas to resemble a very traditional Finnish smoke sauna. It is electric though. And the morning sauna is included in the accommodation price.

Also Hostel Domus Academica, located in central Helsinki, offers its' guests a morning sauna. Plus a refreshing swim in the pool.

Want to learn more about sauna? Start by reading an article '10 Sauna Tips for Beginners' on VisitFinland.com.

And if you wonder about the health effects sauna has, here's some information at Visit Sauna website.

HI Membership goes sauna!

Hostelling International members, make use of your membership even outside the hostels while in Finland: Forum Sauna in Turku gives you a 10% discount on all sauna and spa treatments


See you in sauna!


by Kati


updated in October 2014

Follow Hostelling International Finland's board Finnish Sauna on Pinterest.