An extensive renovation in Original Sokos Hotel Lappee
An extensive renovation of the centre part of Original Sokos Hotel Lappee, containing 145 of the hotel's 260 rooms, will begin on 1 November 2022. The hotel will continue to operate with minor exceptions during the renovation work. The 115 rooms that will remain in use are located in different buildings than where the renovation work will take place.
All hotel rooms and corridors in the centre part will be refurbished to meet modern needs and trends. We want to offer our customers a pleasant customer experience and a memorable visit. The principal design office for the renovation and partner in concept planning is Flock Oy from Helsinki, and the principal designer for the project is architect Anna Kyyhkynen. Inspiration for the interior decoration of the hotel rooms comes from the nature near the hotel: forests and Lake Saimaa. Nature is a rich source of inspiration and an empowering element both for us locals and our guests.
Room themes Pihka and Paatti
"The concepts for Original Sokos Hotel Lappee were created based on natural inspiration drawn directly from South Karelia and Lappeenranta. Beautiful South Karelian handicrafts, authenticity, the wood industry and Lake Saimaa with its steam ships fed our imagination. As a result, two different themes for rooms were created: Paatti and Pihka. The dark-toned Paatti ("Boat") reflects an old-time steam ship atmosphere, while the light and harmonic Pihka ("Resin") is an ode to craftsmanship and wood as a material", says Minna Varajärvi, project director at Flock.
Woodnotes Oy, a design company rich in tradition, is participating in the furnishing of the new hotel rooms. They have designed and implemented unique furniture specifically for Lappee's rooms.
The construction work will be carried out almost exclusively by local operators. The main contractor for the project is Maalausliike Sami Ahtiainen Oy, a company based in Lappeenranta. Original Sokos Hotel Lappee is a Green Key-certified hotel. The planning and construction for this project are also guided by sustainability, which is reflected in energy-efficiency and the choices of materials and furniture.
After the renovation, we will have spacious family rooms, Superior rooms, a suite and two accessible rooms to supplement our Standard rooms.
Changes to functions during the renovation
During the renovation work, only the upper level (floor −1) of the hotel's car park (at Brahenkatu 1) will be available to our customers. Additional parking space and charging stations for electric vehicles can be found in Aimo Park IsoKristiina (Brahenkatu 5).
Access to reception is from Brahenkatu or via the Terveystalo lift and the shopping centre corridor.
The route from reception to hotel rooms goes partially outdoors (approximately 40 metres to the lifts) or indoors via the Terveystalo lift. Hotel guests can access the sauna, gym and breakfast facilities through indoor routes. We will have to reduce the opening hours of the sauna slightly (the opening time ends at 9 p.m.).
There will not be much noise disturbance from the renovation work, since the hotel rooms that are in use are located in other buildings, above the shopping centre.
We apologise for any inconvenience caused by the renovation to our customers. However, we are very happy about soon being able to offer better quality to our customers!
The renovation project will be completed by 17 April 2023.