Cumulus Resort Airport Hotel

A hotel for busy air travellers
Interior Architects Fyra redesigned the interior of the Cumulus Resort Airport Hotel in its entirety. An innovative hotel concept was created – a hotel next to the Helsinki Airport with solutions designed for the needs of flight passengers. The management at the Cumulus Resort Airport Hotel realised a few years ago that something had to be done with the hotel: the interior solutions were no longer up to par with the requirements of air travellers. The project was put out to tender. Fyra – a Finnish interior design company set up in 2010 by four women – won the tender.

It is evident that the new interior concept of the Cumulus Resort Airport Hotel features the same logic that guides Fyra in every project: each solution needs to respond to a genuine need. There is no “decorating” just for the sake of it. “We wanted to put emphasis on details that truly bring additional value to people”, says Emma Keränen, Interior Architect at Fyra.

New innovative room types
Most of the guests at the Cumulus Resort Airport Hotel stay only for a night or two. The types of guests and groups vary greatly. This is why Fyra came up with new room types that are easily adjustable: the extra beds are integrated as a part of the built-in wall furniture and are easy to pull down. “We call them bunks”, Fyra´s Emma Keränen says. The bunks are just as comfortable as the normal hotel room beds. They are easy to pull out and easy to put away. If you don’t need them, the room looks just like any other room for two. “The same room can be adapted to suit different customer groups accommodating everyone’s needs equally”, says Mikaela Pomrén, Head of Hotel Development.

The built-in furniture is balanced by a wide open interior on the other side of the room: there are no cupboards with doors. Instead there is a beautiful open shelf unit made from wooden strips. “The idea takes into consideration that people stay here for a short period of time. It’s easy to see what you have unpacked on the shelves and you can easily pack your things when you leave”, says Fyra’s Keränen.

There are lots of savvy little ideas – all serving the visitors. The hotel signage consists mostly of easily decipherable pictograms. Each floor has a small kitchen with a microwave oven and a faucet with boiling hot water. The luggage storage is hidden behind a curtain and each bag is secured with a chain and lock. You can easily retrieve your luggage even in the middle of the night. “What an ingenious idea. An idea we will hopefully be introducing to other hotels, too,”, says Mikaela Pomrén at Cumulus.

Finnish and Scandinavian design
The hotel is like a calling card for Finland’s nature and design. The materials are natural and there is lots of wood. The giant media wall in the lobby shows clips of the Finnish nature. The reception desk resembles a large traditional Finnish wooden dining table. This is something totally new. Instead of being behind a counter, the receptionist is right there sitting at the table with the hotel guests. With this innovation Fyra changed the customer service concept at Cumulus.

“We wanted to create a relaxed, balanced service encounter”, Keränen says. Mikaela Pomrén at Cumulus is happy with the solution. “The table has had a positive effect on our personnel. They do not wait for the customer to come to them. Now the staff can approach the customers and ask if there’s anything they can do to help.” Both the personnel and the clients have been delighted by the renewed hotel concept.

Fyra