The Von Stackelberg Hotel aims to please, while catering to a varied clientele. With all of the choices on offer, guests agree that it does exactly that.

For those who want a tailored holiday experience, the hotel provides a full range of special packages.

Since the hotel is a fair distance away from the nightlife scene, visitors find they can have a good night's sleep without any disturbances.

The former city estate features grand historic buildings that once housed the baron's mansion, stables, gardens, and more. A beautiful courtyard is found within, surrounded by the buildings and the old stable, and features a grand fountain at the foot of the main staircase. The interiors have a medieval feel but retain their creature comforts. The stone walls and wooden floors add to its charm.

This luxury lifestyle hotel started out as the city estate of a German-Baltic aristocrat, Baron von Stackelberg. Built in the 19th century, 1874, to be exact, it has its own cozy little corner right next to Estonia's medieval Old Town. It was completely restored from 2010 to 2011 and is always being updated and renovated.

Green Key member

As a member of the Green Key Program, the hotel has worked hard to reduce its impact on the environment. That said, none of the modern-day conveniences have been skipped as part of this effort.

Location

Food & Drink

For business travelers

Zen spa

Reviews

Located at the foot of Toompea Hill, it is only a short walk from St Mary's Cathedral. Bars and nightclubs are only a short drive away, so those who want to participate in the night-time action will not have too far to go.

Breakfast is served buffet style at the hotel's restaurant, La Boheme Bar & Brasserie. Based in a cellar that was renovated to accept guests, the restaurant is open throughout the day and offers delightful French cuisine.

The Kaval Ants Farm, in addition to operating as a conference venue, also hosts dinners, by request, serving up either rustic Estonian cuisine and folklore-related shows or Estonian haute cuisine with classical music.

The restaurant can be found in the hotel's old cellar, based in the main building. The opera-themed French brasserie-style restaurant hosts up to 60 patrons. The contemporary décor features stone, wood, and glass.

The fine dining a la carte menu offers a selection of snacks, salads and daily favorites, as well as a special children's menu. The Unique Breakfast is also served here as a fresh, natural, healthy option. This is the perfect spot for a business lunch or romantic candlelit dinner.

The unusual name of this venue comes from an Estonian legend (Kaval Ants is a witty character in old Estonian folktales). Used for dinners, parties, receptions, and product launches, it can be found in the renovated stables of the old city estate, above the courtyard. Decorated as an authentic Estonian farmhouse, it features limestone walls, old wooden beams, and tall glass doors delivering lots of natural light. The venue caters dinners with rustic national cuisine and folkloric shows. It can also handle European dinners with Estonian haute cuisine and the very best classical music.

Closed in by the former von Stackelberg city estate's old buildings on three sides and the former stables on the fourth side, the Courtyard has a lovely intimate quality that adds to its charm. A round fountain, laid with granite, sits at the foot of the main staircase. The granite slabs around the fountain appear in the form of an honor circle, which is unique to Estonia's historic manors.

The Courtyard is an excellent spot for a coffee break or a quick meal. Events are scheduled here during the summertime.

The exclusive ZEN Spa features three treatment rooms (including one for dual treatments), a sauna, and a Japanese pool. Spa services must be booked in advance, at least 90 minutes beforehand. The spa is open from 9 am to 8 pm daily. Special arrangements can be made for other times. Some of the preferred treatments include Lava stone massage, manicures with OPI gel polish, Golden Veil face treatment, classic massage, honey massage, and time in the sauna with the ZEN pool.

Snacks and drinks can be ordered within the sauna from a special menu. You can hire the sauna for private use for an hour and a half or you can use it with other hotel guests for a much lower price. After using the sauna, guests are advised to hop in the Japanese bath for 15 minutes at the most to lock in the comfortable heat. To cool down a bit, guests can take a quick, cool blast under the rain shower.

Business executives can make use of the free WiFi to stay in touch with the office. Meeting rooms with banquet facilities are available for conferences or seminars. Office services such as faxing and photocopying are available.

Four meeting rooms are on offer at the hotel, each filled with plenty of natural daylight. The largest of these is Kaval Ants Farm, which was once the old city estate's stables and has now been redesigned and renovated to serve as a venue for conferences, parties, folkloric shows with dinner, and more. It provides state-of-the-art presentation equipment and can host up to 120 people. The large glass doors open out onto the courtyard, which can be included as part of the conference space. Designed as an authentic Estonian farmhouse, the venue features limestone walls and old wooden beams on the roof.

The Alexandrine meeting room can stand alone, hosting up to 10 people for dinner or 20 people in theatre-style seating, or can be combined with the larger Kaval Ants Farm venue. The room can also be arranged for an "Executive Board Meeting" style. All events hosted here can make use of a customized catering menu, with meals served either within the room or out in the sunny courtyard. The hotel restaurant is available for meals as well. Private business lunches or dinners can easily be accommodated here.

The Karoline meeting room on the second floor is the second largest venue and can host up to 30 people in theatre-style seating arrangements. This room can be combined with any of the others for use as a breakout room or separate workshop area. Customized catering is available.

The Wilhelmine meeting room is the smallest of the lot, hosting only12 participants in a theatre-style set up. It is ideal for intimate gatherings and small meetings.

Booking.com users have given this property a very high score, though some have complained that the bathroom lacks sufficient amenities or that the bathtub is too high to easily step into. Some have even said the bathroom is too small. There are mixed reviews about the temperature, where some have said the rooms are cold, while others think they are too hot. Some have complained about the quality of images on the TV, though if you're in Tallinn, TV should be the last thing on your mind. Guests typically like the style of the hotel, its location, and the food. Some have remarked that the beds are very comfortable. Returning customers have left positive reviews as well, which is always nice. Angelos from Finland thinks the hotel has gotten even better since his last visit. Vladimir from Russia was thrilled with the private sauna, which is open to guests at night. Quite a few reviews note that there is an unbearable smell in the bathrooms. We aren't sure of the source of the problem. Perhaps the hotel has a medieval ghost who doesn't believe in ghostly bathing---anything is possible in Magic Tallinn! Finally, Anna recommends requesting a room with a view of the interior courtyard, while Elena said the hotel was perfect value for money. We hope that if you choose this hotel, you will encounter only great service from the professional staff, as many Booking.com users did.

The hotel's La Boheme Bar & Brasserie is a great place to meet friends, whether you are a tourist or a local.

Finnish blogger La Vida Loca stayed at the hotel with her mother. Her review is written in Finnish, but since Finnish and Estonian are part of the same language group, Estonians may be able to read and understand it well enough. La Vida Loca initially discusses whether she wants to stay at this hotel, noting that based on the photos, she loved the style of the bathroom. When she finally decided to stay at the Von Stackelberg, she wrote here that the hotel was stunning, but the service was sloppy. She complained that she was given the wrong room. She wanted two separate beds, but they gave her two single beds pushed together to form a double bed and were unwilling to change the room for her. Sadly, as a result of this experience, she won't return to this hotel but would still recommend it to others. If you visit the Von Stackelberg, be sure to remind them of this incident with La Vida Loca, as we feel they need to restore their reputation and apologize. They are truly a classy establishment and can ensure a happy end to this story, and we do believe in happy endings.

Frequent travelers who have seen many standard hotels will find The Von Stackelberg and hotels in Tallinn's Old Town are a welcome change.