Tar Loft
Up under the roof beams at the north end. The dormer window looks onto the channel markers and, on a clear night, very little besides.
Savonlinna · Lake Saimaa · 38 rooms
A steamship depot on the water, still warm, still open
The boards outside are tarred black, the way the lake boats were, and inside it's pale pine and low light. For about ninety years the building loaded firewood and passengers onto steamers bound down Saimaa. Today it holds 38 rooms, a sauna out over the water on piles, and a restaurant where the coal scale used to stand.
The hotel runs its own casino inside the building, a floor above the lobby, open in the evenings. In June the light lasts past eleven; in February the ice reaches the sauna steps and you can walk out on it.
Stay
There are three kinds of room, all built into the original timber shell. Ceilings vary in height, the floors creak, and no two rooms are quite square, which we've grown fond of.
Pine Berth
Our smallest room and the quietest. The single bed is built into the wall like a cabin bunk, there's a reading lamp, and the door opens onto the inner corridor instead of the quay.
Long Room
This was the freight office, and it's been kept in one piece. It runs nine metres end to end, with two tall windows onto the water and a table big enough to spread a chart on.
Eat & drink
The Coal Scale
The ground-floor dining room takes its name from the iron weighing platform that's still bolted to the floor by the far wall. The menu leans on lake vendace fried whole, rye bread and whatever the grower in Kerimäki brings that week. Breakfast is served here from six thirty.
Löyly Bar
It's attached to the sauna out on the piles, so half the people in it are wearing towels. You'll find beer, cordial and a short list of spirits, plus a bench on the decking for cooling off between rounds of steam.
Quay Coffee
A hatch and six stools beside the main doors, open from early and closed by two. There's korvapuusti in the morning and filter coffee all day, and you can borrow a thermos if you're taking a boat.
The Ice Window
Open December through March only. It's one long counter facing the frozen channel, lit by candles, serving hot berry juice (with or without something in it) and soup after four.
18+
Driftwood Yard Casino, the casino upstairs
Driftwood Yard Casino is in the old ticket hall on the first floor, directly above reception. You can reach it by the pine staircase beside the front desk or the lift in the corner, and either way it takes under a minute from the lobby. It's a room in this building, run by this hotel, with the same staff you met downstairs.
The room is small, with a few tables, a short bar and three windows that look straight down the channel. The casino opens in the evening and closes when the last table does. Dress is relaxed but tidy, which means leaving wet sauna kit and outdoor boots elsewhere. Guests must be 18 or over, and photo ID is checked at the door on every visit, regulars included.
Our staff set limits on the floor instead of printing them on a board, so ask before you sit down. If you'd like to exclude yourself from the casino, tell reception in person and we'll arrange it on the spot, the same day. Casino hours change with the season and are posted downstairs.
To be clear, this is a land-based casino inside the hotel. The website itself offers no online casino games, takes no bets, holds no accounts and accepts no deposits or payments.
Getting around
- Train from Helsinki. The journey takes roughly four and a half hours, with one change at Parikkala. From Savonlinna station it's an eight-minute walk to our doors, straight along the water.
- Lake boats. Passenger boats run from the town quay through the summer to Punkaharju and the island routes. Several tie up within sight of our terrace, and reception keeps the timetable.
- Airport. Savonlinna airport is 15 km north, with seasonal flights only. Most guests fly to Helsinki and then take the train or drive.
- On foot. The town centre sits on islands, so nearly everything is within walking distance. Olavinlinna castle is about twelve minutes away and the market square five.
Find us
Driftwood Yard
Höyrylaivanranta 14
57130 Savonlinna
Finland
Höyrylaivanranta 14
57130 Savonlinna
Finland
Phone +358 15 482 0190
Email [email protected]
Reception is staffed from 06:30 until midnight, and you can call with any question about rooms, the sauna or the casino.