HISTORY Park Hotel is situated beside the Puolalanmäki hill, by a beautiful park. This charming Art Nouveau house was built as a private villa by British-born John Edward Eager, who was the manager of the Crichton Shipyard. The original blueprints from the year 1902 are displayed at the hotel lobby. At the time there were mainly low-rise wood buildings in the Puolalanpuisto park. Therefore this first stone building was very distinctive and it was visible all the way to the railway station. Two years later the building of the Turku Art Museum was built on the same hill. An additional building was built in the yard to suit the Eager family’s hobbies. There were a stable for two horses, a henhouse upstairs and even a rabbit hutch in the building. In addition to the bottom floor, reserved for household chores, the main building consisted of only two residential floors with eight rooms, and a roomy attic floor.   After John Eager, the beautiful Art Nouveau house belonged to a German-born chemist Ernst Kurt Sperrhake and his family. The Sperrhakes also had many tenants, including architect Alvar Aalto who was probably the most famous one of them. One of Aalto’s designs, Maalaistentalo, was finished in 1928 in a nearby street, Humalistonkatu.   Turun Marttayhdistys, a local Martha association, bought the house in 1956 and a School of Home Economics started operating there. The Martha association moved to new premises in 1982 and there was yet another change of owner. This time the house was purchased by Heikki Salmela the founder and owner of the Hesburger fast food chain. Fortunately, Salmela had an eye for beauty and the economic means to change the building into its current form - Park Hotel.   It was a challenging and interesting task to design a unique look for each 20 rooms. It took two years and a lot of money but the result is nice and cosy, everything a hotel guest can expect today. Each room is individually furnished and there are no ordinary, so called standard furniture, in Park Hotel. The rooms have parquet floors, hand woven carpets, velvet quilts, beautiful wallpapers in different shades and funny decorations.   The biggest single cost was caused by the building of an elevator to this three storey house. It is no exaggeration to say that John Edward Eager’s house underwent a complete transformation from a caterpillar into a butterfly - only the facade and the milieu remained the same. Although a part of the green backyard is nowadays used as a parking place. There are as many parking places as rooms in the hotel. The stable building is nowadays used as a sauna which is loved by everyone who has ever used it. The former henhouse upstairs is a place for relaxation after sauna. It is also possible to hold small-scale meetings there. During its short history as a hotel, Park hotel has experienced a lot. In 1986, the hotel was used as a scene for a movie called Jään Kääntöpiiri (Tropic of Ice), directed by Lauri Törhönen. The movie shots in the hotel completed the outside filming made in London. Park Hotel appeared as an English hotel in the movie. Due to its beautiful details, Park hotel has been a scene for many fashion and advertising shots. The present owners of the house Eva and Zbigniew Dziedzic together with their son Saul Paavola begun running Park Hotel in 1988. The hotel had already received an image of its own, so it was only natural to continue in the same manner. All necessary ”cosmetic” changes aim at enhancing the personality of the hotel and strive for increasing the cosy atmosphere of a family hotel. According to the feedback from our customers, we are on the right track. In fact, many people describe Park hotel as ”a home away from home”. The peaceful location in the city centre and yet away from the traffic noise, add value to the hotel. For example, in summer it is possible to sleep with windows open and hear the birds singing! The nature is close to us, there are not many city hotels with a hedgehog family living in the backyard. SPOOKY OR NOT? Imagine all the things that the walls and the windows of the house must have seen during the decades, and the number of steps running across the yard. The whole house and its surroundings have a good atmosphere. The house must have been a home to happy people. Like all old houses, Park Hotel has ”a house spirit”. Many guests might have heard mysterious steps or knocks. Perhaps they are just natural voices belonging to an old house. Hopefully our busy customers also sense the positive ambience. THE HISTORY OF JAAKKO Miss Jaakko, our hotel mascot, is an African Grey Parrot. Jaakko came to Finland 35 years ago and has at least the same amount of years as age. Jaakko has lived in the hotel since the beginning of the hotel business. Jaakko stays in his cage at the reception, and observes everything around him and even makes some expert remarks every now and then. Over the years, Jaakko has gained a wide and even international circle of friends.