All spaces of Original Sokos Hotel Royal, owned by Osuuskauppa KPO, have been renovated during 2023-2025. With the renovation, Royal hotel has become one of the most energy-efficient hotels in Finland and the most experiential hotel complex on the west coast.

The renovation work has been carried out in two phases. The tower section / main building reopened after renovation on February 26, 2024. Renovation work on the additional building began in spring 2024 and will be completed by the end of January 2026. The additional building will have 121 renovated rooms and a parking facility with 172 parking spaces.

"The renovation of Original Sokos Hotel Royal Vaasa is the largest single investment in the travel and hospitality industry in Osuuskauppa KPO's history and the largest investment in tourism infrastructure in the Vaasa region in decades," says Riku Asukas, KPO's Travel and Hospitality Industry Director.

The total project has created employment equivalent to about 400 person-years in the region. The renovation has created about 40 new jobs at the hotel, with a total of 90 employees.

The interior design is the work of award-winning Helsinki design agency KOKO3. "We brought color, light, energy and movement to Royal's tower section, based on the hotel's sunny, energetic and energy-efficient identity. The hotel room interiors use different colors from the sun's spectrum, such as bright yellow and blue. The illustrations in the interior textiles, from bicycles to wind power, reflect the core of energy city Vaasa," explains interior architect Aino Brandt. The concept continues seamlessly in the phase 2 interior design. Textiles, paneling, furniture and patterns have received a new color palette. We pay homage to 1940s architecture. The interior is classic, understated and atmospheric.

Superior energy efficiency
The starting point for the hotel renovation has been to create Finland's most energy-efficient hotel in a renovated building in Vaasa, the energy capital of the Nordic countries. This has been made possible by geothermal heating, the hotel's own solar panel field, and efficient waste heat recovery. In addition, the building services technology has been completely renewed. The hotel will also feature many energy efficiency innovations that, among other things, minimize energy consumption in empty rooms.

The renovation creates the most experiential hotel complex on the west coast
The hotel renovation has particularly focused on visually impressive public spaces that support social interactions, as well as various surprising elements. The hotel's most spectacular facilities are the Huippu Panoramic Sauna & Pool with its tropically warm pool area and the 15-meter high Atrium lobby on the entrance floor. The lobby forms an urban complex surrounded by two new restaurants – Restaurant Royal and Trattoria Puistikko – as well as meeting spaces Aurora, Kajo, Trattoria's cabinet and Working Lounge. The event floor, like the entire hotel, is accessible. The additional building houses hotel rooms as well as Irish Pub O'Malley's, meeting room Tähti, and 2800 m² of external rental space (with YLE as tenant).

The renovation work has been carried out almost entirely by local experts:

• Client: Osuuskauppa KPO
• Developer: KPO-Kiinteistöt Oy
• Main contractor: WestGroup, Vaasa site
• Contractor for hotel floors: Vaasan Rakennuskorjaus Oy
• Main and architectural design: Oy Polyplan Ab, Vaasa
• Structural design: Contria Oy, Vaasa
• HVAC contract: Tammi Kiinteistötekniikka Oy, Vaasa
• HVAC design: Granlund Group
• Electrical and AV design: Sweco Finland Oy
• Automation contract: ATN Automation, Vaasa
• Electrical contract: ARE, Vantaa
• Solar power plant contract: Solnet Finland Oy, Helsinki
• Interior design, hotel spaces: Interior Architecture Agency KOKO 3, Helsinki
• Interior design, sauna department: Oy Polyplan Ab, Vaasa

• Interior design, O'Malley's: Visionary Design Partners Helsinki Oy
  
  Main building facilities (Hovioikeudenpuistikko 18):
  
• 139 rooms, room categories: Standard, Superior, Junior Suite, two Suites
• Trattoria Puistikko, 216 customer seats, open Mon-Sun from lunch until evening
• Breakfast and banquet restaurant Royal, 200 customer seats
• Working Lounge (12 pax), Trattoria's Cabinet (12 pax), event space Aurora (80 pax) and event space Kajo (80 pax)
• Huippu Panoramic Sauna & Pool - customer saunas Hehku and Vihta, private sauna Haapa with tropically warm pool area with experience showers
• Four meeting rooms on the second floor for 30-60 people (Onni, Filmi, Solar and Tuuli)
• Gym, bicycles and electric bicycles available for guests to borrow
  Additional building facilities (Hovioikeudenpuistikko 21):
  
• 121 rooms, room categories: Standard, Superior, Junior Suite
• Activity room (80 m²)
• Irish Pub O'Malley's, 660 customer seats, open Mon-Sun

Meeting room Tähti (8 pax)

History of the hotel and its buildings
The first completed renovation and expansion project focused on the hotel building originally completed in 1972. Many operators have run the building over the years. Since 2015, the hotel has been part of the Sokos Hotels chain.

Vaasa's Royal hotel, officially named Original Sokos Hotel Royal, is a culturally and historically significant building, especially its older part. This premier hotel in Vaasa opened at its current location under the name Central Hotel in 1941. The name dates back even earlier, as a café-restaurant called Central was located on the same plot already in the 1880s.

The actual hotel operations at Central began in 1942. The building, designed by architects Aulis Hämäläinen and Jouko Ylihannu, had been completed a year earlier. The hotel became the center of Vaasa's entertainment life during its early decades.

Initially, only the best luxury rooms had their own toilet and shower, until all rooms were equipped with sanitary facilities during the renovations carried out in the 1970s. At the beginning of the next decade, each room was equipped with a color television, making it the first hotel in Finland to do so.

There was already an opportunity to enjoy this luxury of the time when Swedish Prince Bertil visited the hotel in 1982. President Urho Kekkonen also stayed at Royal several times during his fishing trips to the Kvarken waters. One of the suites was named after Kekkonen.

In 1988-1989, an underground tunnel was built between the plots, connecting the hotels located on opposite sides of the street, forming one complex.

For more information:
Riku Asukas, Industry Director, Osuuskauppa KPO
Max Hellqvist, Hotel Manager, Original Sokos Hotel Royal, Vaasa