Sustainability

 Sustainability is part of all operations at Salpalinjan Hovi

Located amid the beautiful nature of South Karelia and the historic Salpa Line, the Salpalinjan Hovi Hotel also offers easy entry to Stone Age dwellings. Our location on the culturally and historically significant Vuoksi and Kymijoki watershed and by the ancient outlet channel of Saimaa Unesco Global Geopark provides us access to spectacular nature and cultural history spanning millennia. The Rutola village trail presents the local log driving and sawmill history from 1890–1960.

 Our business operations emphasise sustainable values that support nature and cultural tourism. On the Näkkiniemi hiking trails, you can be introduced to Saimaa UNESCO Geopark with a guide and enjoy the breathtakingly gorgeous rocky shores of Lake Saimaa. We organise war history tours to the Salpa Line. In Karelia, our service is always cheerful and hospitable, drawing from our Finnish and Karelian lifestyle. Our sauna, filled with the enchanting aroma of juniper and formerly used by teachers, introduces our foreign guests to our peaceful way of life that respects nature.

Salpalinjan Hovi is a family-owned manor-style hotel renovated from a log-structured village school. The building served as Rutola’s village school until 2012 and has been protected as a structure of cultural and historical significance. The hotel employs the couple who own it, a hotel assistant with a disability throughout the year, and some seasonal workers. The hotel’s interior tells a story, honouring the history of the former school. All rooms are different and decorated based on school subjects. The interior decorations include plenty of recycled materials.

The school building was given a new lease of life as a hotel, which made the villagers happy. Villagers and active Rutola Volunteer Fire Department members volunteered to clean the grounds. Participants brought local perennials from their gardens, which is why the traditional perennial plants of the village now bloom in the hotel’s flowerbeds.

The hotel’s location on the Vuoksi and Kymijoki watershed is unique

– The Rutola village trail that runs by the hotel introduces the log driving and sawmill history from 1890–1960. We can book local guides for guided tours.

– Rutola is the most heavily fortified section of the Salpa Line with accommodation caves, numerous accommodation and machine gun bunkers, and field fortifications. The heavy fortifications were required because Rutola would have been the only point at which the Soviet army could have infiltrated the inland areas of Finland and the headquarters in Mikkeli without crossing a water system. We arrange guided tours of the Salpa Line.

– The owners have established a new geological nature trail and camping spot in Näkkiniemi near the hotel, which offers excellent opportunities for nature tourism. The trail consists of slightly more than 10 kilometres of signposted footpaths that run along the beautiful shores of Saimaa and a high-quality campfire hut, toilet, storage and firewood shelter. Along the trail are information boards on everyman’s rights and responsibilities, Finnish sustainable forestry, the log driving and sawmill history of the watershed area, Saimaa UNESCO Global Geopark and hiking maps. The campfire hut is a base for the guided Geopark and nature tours. A learning environment resembling a school has also been built to provide primary and lower secondary school pupils with activities and exercises.

– The spectacular Väliväylä canoeing and kayaking route runs near our hotel along the former log driving route.

Salpalinjan Hovi is committed to the principles of sustainable tourism.

We take care of nature and consider our climate impact.

 – The old oil heating has been replaced with a sustainable air-source heat pump.

– We have a green hydropower contract with Imatran Voima.

– The toilet bowls use water-saving technology.

– Water-saving nozzles have been installed on the taps.

– The hotel is cleaned with zero chemicals using an Atlantis dry steam cleaner.

– Waste sorting and composting have been arranged.

– The hotel’s interior decoration uses plenty of recycled materials and products.

– Our hotel can be reached on bus number 8.

– We recommend that our customers engage in various natural and cultural activities, which are mainly physical and consume as little external power as possible. We provide our guests with free access to bicycles, and through us, you can rent trail bicycles and e-bikes brought directly to our yard.

– We rent out a rowing boat and various forms of water transport through our partner companies, such as Saimaan Palju Events and Drakkar Oy.

We favour local providers and honour the cultural heritage

– We utilise and foster the cultural history of the area and our unique location in our wide-ranging guided tours and nature tourism products.

– The Salpalinjan-oppaat tour guide association is based in our village and provides guides for our Salpa Line tours.

– Three Saimaa UNESCO Geopark guides who handle the Geopark tours live in the vicinity, and two guides arrange tours of village history and various nature activities along the Rutola village trail.

– Our breakfast comprises foodstuffs from our garden and nearby forests and traditional delicacies.

– We favour local products and producers.

– Groups can always opt for a Karelian banquet with the traditional hot pot for supper.

– In summer, we employ local young people.

We promote well-being, human rights and equality.

– We treat our employees, guests and residents equally and respectfully, regardless of their background. We consider the unique needs of every individual in our operations. We train, guide and encourage our staff to act responsibly.

– A young woman with disability works for us as a hotel assistant.

– We strive for accessibility by providing a movable ramp, and since there are only three outdoor steps, our staff can also lift wheelchairs indoors. (Since the appearance of the building is protected, we cannot build a permanent ramp.)

We engage in fair cooperation

– We cooperate closely with other tourism entrepreneurs in the area and the regional tourism marketing and development organisation goSaimaa. The main focuses of our operations are nature, geopark- and cultural tourism. We collaborate with other tourism companies to build year-round travel services for different seasons in the Lappeenranta and South Karelia regions.

We have worked on the year-round availability of our operations, considering sustainability.

We can employ people throughout the year by developing various products and services.

– We work closely with the village associations of Rutola and Ruoholampi. Our hotel has invigorated life in the area. For example, the Rutola village committee has renovated a beach formerly maintained by the city and made it available to villagers and our hotel guests. With support from the city, the village association has also built a pleasant campfire site on the shore of Lake Ruoholampi and constructed an accessible path by it. The Rutola Village association holds an annual flea market on the adjacent field, and our grounds have also been used for events, such as the Rutola Soi music festival. The hotel provides a café for the events.

We invest in safety and quality of our services.

– We take care of the safety of residents, our staff and guests, and we comply with the law and official regulations. By developing our services and products with a focus on quality, we secure the continuity of our operations.

We communicate openly and constantly develop our business operations to reduce carbon consumption.

We develop and update our services and products to ensure that demand will continue far into the future. Stable finances and ethical business activities lay the foundation for sustainable operational development.

Service promise

We always provide cheerful and uncomplicated service.

– We greet every guest with a smile and a warm welcome.

– We want to provide our guests with the best possible holiday by explaining the activities provided by the hotel and the environment and highlighting exciting spots and sights in the area.