Finnish Night at A-Stay

Two weeks ago the latest issue of Goodbye magazine hit the stands. Naturally that’s cause for a celebration, so Goodbye invited a few bloggers over for a Finnish Night at A-Stay. I was one of those lucky bastards, so after work I hopped on the train direction Antwerp Central, totally ready to get my hands on the newest Goodbye and eager to experience a state-of-the-art hotel concept.

Goodbye #20 hit the stands!

New kid in town, A-Stay is located upon less than five minutes walking distance from Antwerp’s main railway station. That came in very handy as I was in a hurry to make it there on time. We were warmly welcomed by Nicolina and Rini. Later we gathered around the cozy fireplace for some bubbly and chit chats about how much we all love to travel. After we got acquainted, it was time to get the party started! Rini enthusiastically shared with us the twentieth edition of Goodbye. Finland is one of the countries they are focusing on. But as always you will find lots of other interesting and inspiring destinations, such as Laos, Japan and South Africa, to name a few, in there too. You can check out some of the most beautiful pictures of this issue upon the Goodbye website, but if you want to read the articles make sure to get yourself a copy now!

Nicolina, the Head of Marketing at A-Stay, is originally from Finland, so the focus of our night was mostly about ‘The Land of a Thousand Lakes’. I haven’t been there yet, but it’s super high upon my bucket list. So I guess it’s needless to say that I was all ears when Nicolina talked about life and growing up in Finland. She also wanted to share with us some Finish food, so while she disappeared in the kitchen to prepare it, we went on a little tour of the hotel.

Sweet Dreams at A-Stay!

The thing that makes A-Stay stand out is its far-reaching use of technology. The hotel is giving us a taste of what hospitality could look like in the future. A-Stay is the first hotel that makes use of biometrics. Wait.. What? Yep you heard right! Upon arrival guests are asked to scan the palm of their hand. So when you scan during your stay you will get access to all kind of services and fun experiences. The most practical one is that you can use your palm scan as a room key. So, say goodbye to forgetting your key in the room! The palm scan is the safest and most accurate identification technology known today, so no need to worry about security issues.

A-Stay has 192 guest rooms. Our’s was located on the sixth floor and had a blue theme, which I really loved. During the tour we also got a glimpse of the pink rooms and those were super pretty too! We were explained some of the features of the room, like the fact that you can control your room temperature on the TV or create a disco in your shower. A-STAY’s formula goes beyond offering guests the highest level of comfort and flexibility so they can fully design their own stay. I was very much looking forward to check it all out, but it was time to go down for Finnish Apéro first.


Nicolina prepared for us some yummy Smørrebrød with Salmon & Eggs. She also let us taste a Finnish Wodka. Normally I’m not a big fan of Wodka, but this one was less heavy than the ones I tasted before (haha at least I think)! The event finished around 8.30pm. Some of us stayed a little longer to chat, while others went out to ‘unfold the city’.

I was really eager to experience the hotel and its facilities, but as I had to work the next day, there wouldn’t be much time to do so. Because of that my friend and I decided to stay in and enjoy a fun girls nights at our cool hotel room and watch some Netflix. But hey, not without making a little pitstop at A-Stay’s Grabn’go first. Girls’ night requires snacks you know!

Back in our room we got settled in. The guest rooms aren’t big, but you quickly notice that they have put a lot of thinking into making sure it feels spacious and well organized. The sink is located in the room, which you will see the moment you step in. The walk-in shower is large and offers a lot of space to place your products, which isn’t always the case in hotels, so I really liked that. The toilet is separated by a glass wall from the shower and room. There’s no closet, but there’s a rack where you can hang your clothes so they not rumple. The whole room is controlled by electronic panels with multiple settings for lights, curtains and as mentioned before the temperature. Also super handy was the small space in the bed to store and plug your phone in.

Talking about the beds, so comfy! When I was younger I rather looked at location and price more than the comfort of the hotel I was staying. Naturally that resulted into crappy hotel beds sometimes! Getting older (and hopefully wiser) I find a good night’s rest more important, so I’m always happy when the hotel beds make me feel like I’m in heaven. The best thing with is A-Stay is that you do not have to compromise on any of that anymore. A-Stay offers a quality home away from home at a very affordable price and that inside of the city center of Antwerp. There are more European locations coming up within the next two years. Excited much? I know I am!

Morning… time for breaky!

Breakfast is always one of the highlights for me when staying at a hotel. The breakfast buffet at A-Stay consists of fresh fruit, cereals, granola, yoghurt, a nice selections of fresh croissants and bread, and naturally different kinds of cold cuts like cheese, ham and salami. Believe me there is something for everybody! A-stay wouldn’t be A-Stay as they don’t involve some technology at some point right? So how about ordering your drinks through the iPad? Whether it’s a Latte, Cappuccino or some hot coco you want, it will be ready in no time!




And then it was time to say Goodbye to A-Stay! We went back to the computers where we checked-in, scanned our hand and seconds later we were checked-out! No waiting in line or ticking complicated boxes. Fast & super easy! Thanks so much at Goodbye & A-Stay for having me and my friend over! We had a blast!

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