It is said that what doesn't kill you will make you stronger. This is very much the case in the hospitality industry in Estonia at the moment.
In Tallinn, two hotels have recently been re-imagined and re-branded. Falstaff's first customer experiences suggest that the previous versions of these establishments seem left in a previous life.
The number of high-rise buildings in the city of Tallinn is on the rise. The Radisson Hotel was one of the first. But to be honest, it was a rather unremarkable hotel and wouldn't come to mind when recommending a place to stay.
During the Covid years, the building underwent a major refurbishment, the concept was overhauled and new management was brought in. The result is a hotel whose four walls are literally everything it used to be.
It would be hard to find a more central location in Tallinn than this. The decibel level of the incessant traffic noise is certainly one of the highest in the city. The first thing that greets the hotel guest is a soothing aroma. You can sense that the world inside the hotel walls is very different from the world outside after just a few whiffs. Practicality, elegance and calm reign here. Even the football team, which has just arrived by bus from training, can't manage to establish their lifestyle here. They quickly disappear into their rooms.
From the lobby you would not get the impression that there are 278 hotel rooms above your head, only a quarter of which are unoccupied at the moment. There are more staff behind the desk than customers in front of it. You can get a room card in seconds thanks to online advance check-in.
The lobby bar is discreetly hidden behind a striped wall. Behind the bar is the restaurant. This is the new reincarnation of MEKK, a former cult restaurant of modern Estonian cuisine. The drinks menu at the bar features local spirits. Those of you who grew up in the last century should remember the cocktail of Tallinn liqueur and Sovetskoje Shampanskoye and ask the barkeeper to make you a modern version of the mixture.
The MEKK itself is now an all-day eatery, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. The breakfast is especially rich and very representative of local flavours. Frankly, it's worth coming here even if you're not staying in a hotel. In the evenings and at lunchtime you can enjoy the unique culinary signature of Rene Uusmees. He is a tireless innovator of Estonian cuisine. It's good that MEKK is back and that the renewal of Estonian cuisine has not stopped.
Another fashionable restaurant, ISSEI, is located on the top floor of the hotel. Nikkei is a Japanese-Peruvian fusion restaurant. It can be found in every food-conscious city. Tallinn is now one of them. Compared to the Nikkei restaurants in London or Copenhagen, it needs not fear to compete. The cocktail bar with an incomparable view from the rooftop terrace is in the same league.
Panoramic views from this hotel make it a better choice than any other. There are large windows at either end of the corridor and the views get more picturesque the higher you get. Even the view from the spa pool is proof that it's better to be inside the hotel walls than outside them.
Of all the rooms, the most striking are those on the higher floors with their cornered ceilings. The time you spend in your room will seem woefully short once you've enjoyed everything the hotel has to offer. The Radisson Collection Tallinn offered us a city break option we wouldn't have considered: stay in the hotel and never leave.
The brand new Nunne Boutique Hotel on the edge of Tallinn's Old Town is quite different from the Radisson Hotel. With 74 rooms, Nunne is a big hotel for the Old Town, even though it is four times smaller. It occupies a small block and its interior is twisty enough to get you lost for the first few hours.
Spread over three floors and divided into seven different categories, the rooms each have a different character. The most distinctive are the Historical Rooms, where one of the walls is a 13th century castle wall. Then there are the Courtyard Rooms, where each room has its own private entrance from the hotel's courtyard.
The tiny private spa in the basement can only be hired by one group at a time. It can accommodate 2-10 people. The opening of the hotel restaurant was the most anticipated event of the year in Tallinn. And it was well worth the wait. The Âme (soul in French) restaurant at the Nunne Boutique Hotel is a breath of fresh air in the Estonian restaurant scene.
At the end of the last century, when Estonia regained its independence, the first culinary protagonist was the restaurant l'Artiste, with its message that food is not only a treat for the appetite, but also an art. This restaurant is now the source of inspiration for one of the dishes on Âme’s very first menu, a dish made with salsify and veal sweetbread. What Âme want to say is: eating is to be enjoyed.
The experience of staying at the Nunne is very different from that of the Radisson. While the Radisson was a refuge from the hustle and bustle of the city centre, the Nunne is an organic part of the Old Town. The Old Town's tranquil atmosphere continues in the hotel lobby, restaurant and rooms. Stepping out of the hotel isn't a step out of town, it's a step from one part of the old town to another.
