"How long is your cake?" is the Finnish equivalent of asking a prisoner how long their "bird" or sentence is. My "cake" stretched to one night only, but I spent the previous evening wondering what I'd let myself in for. Going through a roll-call of prisoners I'd visited as a probation officer, some of their comments came back to me. One young offender had pitifully complained of being cold at night. Another, facing a five-year sentence, exclaimed, "They should have done this to me years ago." And the most dramatic, "Please tell the police I want to inform them where the gun's buried!"
Hotel Katajanokka is located on a small peninsula near to some of Helsinki's main sights, including the golden-domed Uspenski Cathedral and Kauppatori open-air market. The hotel's high walls and dark red brick exterior are unmistakably that of a prison, although almost none of the windows have bars. The grounds will be used for outdoor theatrical performances next year.
A giggling young couple walked up the steps of the hotel, looking around with a mixture of interest and trepidation. Who would want to stay in a "prison" hotel? Surprisingly, they are becoming increasingly popular. I suspect that the proximity to rule-breaking and rebellion attracts at least some visitors. As a four-star member of Best Western, it is not a budget option at €240 a night. I asked Sari Mellor, the hotel's marketing director, if any former prisoners had stayed since it opened on June 1. She wasn't sure, but some guests had tried to request a particular room by cell number, claiming that a distant relative had once lodged there.
Katajanokka had been for remand prisoners, awaiting sentence or trial. Several were political, including Risto Ryti, Finland's wartime president. His former cell is the only room that retains its bars.
Built in 1837, it grew from 12 cells to 164 by 1888. Its relatively small size and lack of modern facilities, such as toilets in the cells, led to its closure in 2002. Best Western chose to renovate the building because it had an interesting history, an exploitable theme and made good use of a solid, old building.
The former "landings", which most remind me of the prison, have something strangely homely about them. Unlike floors in "ordinary" hotels, with their dark, sometimes smelly corridors, the different levels are visible and well-lit by windows either side. Neglected, dirty stairs running through the centre of the former landings are an incongruous touch of authenticity in the otherwise sanitised establishment. Although the wire netting that separates landings has been removed, the shape of the hallways recalls a prison. Carpeted lifts to each floor, again, seem out of place.
With low lighting, brick walls and paved floor, the restaurant has a cosy, but natural feel to it. Guests sit in leather-backed chairs at wooden tables which have been carefully scratched to evoke the "roughness" of prison life, albeit preserved in varnish. A vase of orchids and a Nordic, woody aroma ensure a Best Western experience, not that I was complaining.
I ate a rich lobster-shrimp soup, followed by fried Baltic herrings in sour cream sauce and mashed potatoes. Tin mugs are used for drinks as a nod to the theme.
Break-out rooms running off the restaurant are named Tutkinta (the "interrogation" room), Sakko (the "ticket" room) and Kakku (the "cake" or "bird" room).
Bridegrooms-to-be celebrate the start of their "life sentence" at the Katajanokka. Typically they are locked in the "segregation" cell, which has been left as it was. Theme packages include a ball and chain, prison clothes and "guilty" stickers. I know some of my probation colleagues would find this tasteless, but I also know that a lot of prisoners have a sense of humour. Perhaps too, in quieter moments, guests will ponder on life in a real prison.
Touchingly, five clergymen blessed the hotel prior to its opening, "to expel any residual evil and encourage new energy into the building", Sari told me. Lying in bed that night, I wondered who had stayed in the two cells my room had been created out of.
An arch across the middle of the room indicated the wall that had separated the cells. It was only possible to see out of the two higher windows if I stood on my bed. A third small window below allowed more light in. The striped orange and brown carpet, which reminded me of prison jumpsuits, was offset by stylish buff-coloured walls. Black lampshades added a Halloween touch. Torch-shaped reading lights mercifully protruded from underneath them. A huge TV and computer screen, silk cushions on the bed and the modern en suite helped me forget where I was. Sari said that Best Western had been at pains to avoid reminding guests too vividly of where they are staying, while retaining the hotel's historical identity.
That's why cake at Katajanokka, with its four-star comfort and friendly staff is more than palatable and I might just be tempted to re-offend!
Getting there
Blue 1 offers flights from London to Helsinki starting at £58.
Rooms at Hotel Katajanokka cost from €95 to €230 (£64 to £156) for a single room and from €110 to €290 (£75 to £197) for a double room. There are three luxury suites, each with a sauna at €250 to €440 (£170 to £298).
bwkatajanokka.fi; +358 (0)9 686 450
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