Original Sokos Hotel Arina

I booked this hotel way ovee 6 months in advance with the S-Etukortti discount. The cost was 362 euros for three persons, two nights in the same standard room. For that price, I was expexting the hotel to be quite good. However, the first disappointmentwas the parking facilities. The route to the parking hall involved driving between two flowerpots, then passing trough the pedestrian street and stopping right in front of a mall door blocking everyone trying to get in or out. The parking hall itself was cramped and tiny not having more than around 30-40 spots. The price was 26 euros per night. We were for some reason assigned into an accessible room, so we had a bit more space. The room was still quite a disappointment. The armchair turned to a bed had zero mattress, and it was fairly small. I was the unlucky one having to try to sleep in it. In my opinion, even for a Scandic hotel (more a budget hotel) this bed was bad. I didn't sleep at all in this thing, as it wasnt comfortable at all. The AC was also broken (we did not know that yet). At around 11 p.m. after trying to sleep for two hours I got up to adjust the AC, just to notice it was off and the touchscreen did not respond. We called an employee to reboot it, and we got it on and turned it onto the level 2 out of three. I also switched beds with a person that sleeps more easily. The bed I switched to was great. Due to this, I did arrive a bit late to the event I was going to. The breakfast was good, offering different local and international options. The selection was the same as in all Original Sokos Hotels, with some local extras. I also tried out the sauna and gym, which were okay. While in the sauna my towel was stolen, luckily there were spare ones. The sauna had a nice little relaxation room offering lime water and hot drinks self-service. What it comes to other amenities, the hotel did offer a discount coupon to Sokos department store and some nearby (same company) restaurants, that I both used. However, concidering all this, I do not see this being worth it. I recommend the Radisson Blu hotel instead for around the same price with better service.

Very warm welcome at the reception, superb room with all the equipment you need while travelling and very good food too. Would recommend this hotel to everyone any time. Well, maybe one thing, accessibility and parking with a tourist coach is a bit tricky as while loading you block one lane from the street and parking is not too near. The parking part is fine with me as I like to have a walk after a long day of driving but for some it can be a problem as parking is about 500m away.

Centraly located close to station and waterfront and park. Many resturants around. Good big room, wifi wirked well and room had nice view on square. Small but decent breakfast nordic style. Small lobby area with swift check in. Sauna and gym as well

Stayed one night on the way up north. Arina is located in the middle of Oulu. Silent and clean renowated room, exellent bead and breakfast. What else do you need? Garage is quite small and cramped and difficult to find the entrance. Recommend.

Returning to Oulu for the first time in 3 years for the Irish Festival, I decided to treat myself to a week at this hotel. It is in such a great location, and the room was very comfortable and well kitted out. I was particularly impressed with the way the lights worked: generally, everywhere you go in the world, on retiring to bed you end up turning all the lights in the room off and on and off again before you get it right! Even better was the sensor in the bathroom (once you reach a certain age, night-time trips are de rigeur) which turned on low level lighting, which stayed on long enough to prevent stubbed toes on the way back to bed! The breakfast selection was great, and in a lovely bright breakfast room (it got very busy at times): I loved the puuro, and the quirky selection of mugs to choose from was nice. I thoroughly enjoyed my two trips to the sauna, and now really want to try an authentic smoke sauna, as recommended by a lady I met in there! I also approve of the absence of automatic cleaning service every day: you just need to remember to ask in time the night before! The bed was super-comfy and the pillows also very good. The only downside for me was that I could hear clothes hangers being rattled on the rails in the room next door, as the sound-proofing between rooms wasn't that great. Likewise, they'd have heard mine.

Lovely, modern, clean hotel! Perfect location, comfy beds and quiet rooms. Wonderful breakfast buffet. Really pleasant stay in all aspects. Nice theme throughout the hotel and attention to detail in the hallway carpets, little notes left here and there, excellent service!