“All Hotels in Tallinn are the Same!” Or are they?
Cruise ship-like corridors. Faux marble lamps. Synthetic slippers. Scrambled eggs.
Can anyone really recall what stood out in the hotel they stayed at a year or two ago?
Hotels all over the world do tend to look alike – but luckily, Tallinn’s hotel scene is undergoing a fresh transformation.
The new wave of hotels in the Estonian capital is turning the focus toward thoughtful design, comfort, and sustainability. This means more spaces designed for actual living – not just sleeping – with an emphasis on personal experience rather than anonymous overnight stays.
Tallinn Grows With its Visitors
The rapid development of Tallinn’s hotel landscape is driven by growing tourism and a rising number of business travelers attending conferences and international events.
Tallinn has never seen so many hotel guests. In 2024, the city recorded 3.3 million overnight stays – a 7% increase compared to the previous year. More and more visitors are choosing to stay longer: around 60% of international tourists spent more than one night in the city.
This has increased demand for accommodation that feels more modern and home-like. People aren’t just looking for a place to sleep – they’re looking for an experience. Something comfortable and inspiring. Something memorable.
Desire for More Than Just Bed and Shower
The newest hotels in Tallinn are less focused on star ratings or room counts and more on modern trends:
– smart, guest-oriented design and (digital) services,
– environmental responsibility: solar panels, ground-source heating, and other green technologies,
– mixed-use buildings combining hotels, office spaces, and retail,
– global hotel brands offering trusted quality and international recognition.
A new generation of travelers – so-called “bleisure” tourists who mix business and leisure – are also shaping these trends. Unlike traditional tourists, they want hotels that work for both productivity and exploration.
Tallinn has become increasingly competitive as a host city for international conferences and large-scale events, positioning itself as a serious alternative to Helsinki or Riga. This is thanks to better connectivity, a compact city center, and – equally important – a new breed of modern hotels. Without sufficient high-quality accommodation, Tallinn simply couldn’t host events at this scale.
New Arrivals on Tallinn’s Hotel Scene
Several recent openings illustrate Tallinn’s evolving hospitality sector.
One is Nunne Boutique Hotel – a chic and modern space inside a medieval building in the heart of the Old Town, tailored for both business and leisure guests. Also notable is The Burman Hotel, a 17-room lifestyle boutique hotel combined with the Bombay entertainment complex, offering a luxury experience with a unique personality.
Novotel Tallinn: My Hotel Is My Castle
A milestone in this transformation is Novotel, will be opened in December 2025. This apartment hotel – the first of its kind in Tallinn – is located right on the edge of the Old Town and the ferry terminal, where travel, tourism, and business intersect.
Part of the international Accor Group, Novotel is built on the idea of offering guests a secure sense of home, especially for longer stays. The hotel features 130 cozy units, many of which have separate bedrooms and fully equipped kitchens – suitable for families or extended visits. The globally proven “home-like hotel” model encourages week-long and even month-long stays. Everyone can find their own rhythm.
The entire apartment hotel – from architecture and interior design to its digital features – is created to deliver the comforts of home. But at the same time, it offers the conveniences of a hotel: cleaning, laundry, and food service.
A sense of community is built into the concept. Shared spaces like the club room, lounge, restaurant, and gym encourage interaction among guests – a chance to invite a neighbor over for dinner! Dedicated meeting rooms support work needs. There’s also underground parking and ground-floor retail to help guests connect with the local urban rhythm. Everything is designed to make life in Tallinn both easy and enriching.
The building’s sustainability is confirmed by its prestigious LEED Gold certification.
Estmak Capital: Creating with Vision
The developer behind Novotel Tallinn, Estmak Capital, has long focused on creating modern and sustainable urban environments in both Tallinn and Riga. The company’s philosophy is about cleverly transforming business and residential areas into modern and vibrant livable spaces. In short: making cities feel like home – for the one-day visitor, the lifelong local, and everyone in between.
Novotel adds to Tallinn’s hotel landscape something that has been missing – a long-stay, international-standard hotel that also feels like home. It helps to attract a new wave of guests – bleisure travelers, families, students, and young professionals looking for an alternative to traditional hotels and Airbnb apartments.
Helping Tallinn Move Forward
These new kinds of guests enrich not only the harbor district but the city as a whole – a clear win-win.
The growth of such modern hotels signals that Tallinn is ready for the next era of hospitality. Accor Group’s international experience shows that homey apartment hotels like Novotel are well received, offering human-centered comfort that appeals to both business travelers and tourists.
Tallinn is on the move. Judging by its hotel growth and urban development, the city is steadily making its mark on Northern Europe’s travel map.
