SAARISELKA INN

So a long post, but hopefully helpful. We flew from Newcastle to Ivalo on sat 18th dec- Santa's Lapland 3 nights (Santa's Magic) staying at the Saariselka Inn. 2 adults and an 8 year old. I won't say too much about the airports as it's an ever changing picture but for us there were no issues at either end for departure. We flew with Titan Airways. We had xmas songs and singing on the flight, a Christmas quiz. The pilot frequently updated us on Santa's test runs which we unfortunately couldn't see as he was often in front of the plane. Upon landing, the Santa's Lapland team and elves were on hand for both help and entertainment. It was snowing! On arrival in resort, the elves were at the Saariselka sign welcoming the coach in. Suit collection at Lapland Safari was quick and easy (whole coach done within 20 mins). Drop off at the inn and the reps had already checked us in and we were taken straight to our rooms. We had room type A which is essentially a small double with a single bed put in. It's tight. But cosy. Pack light clothes wise. Other than underwear and baselayers no other clothing touches your skin. You don't need multiples of everything for each day. Save the space for wine and remember there's not much space in the room for multiple cases. The room has a drying cupboard next to the front door and a shower. Tea and coffee facilities mean just that. Means to make one as in kettle and paper cups. Bring tea/coffee. We also brought our camping mugs from home (doubling up as wine mugs for the box we brought with us). Room has a fridge, TV (one English channel) and a small hairdryer. As everyone says it is basic but it is very clean and very warm. And so nice to not have to traipse through a hotel or up and down stairs everytime you need to pop in. 30 mins after arrival we met in the Panimo pub for an illegal briefing with Jingle Jenny and Ho Ho Han. We were raring to go but it was worth the 30 mins for some top tips. We were told Tunturi would be take away only. Again I won't say much about this as plenty of posts currently about it and it's a changing situation. We used the pub a couple of times a day. Cost around 18 euros for 2 pints and an apple juice. Coffee was 2 euros (we had a duty free rum in a insulated bottle to add to coffee for a hot toddy). No food other than doughnuts and crisps. The hot chocs there are immense. Board games for the kids to play. Open fire. Friendly staff. Kids allowed in until 10pm. We hit the tobagganing run after that on afternoon 1. Loads of sledges at the bottom-don't buy one, it will only be pinched if left unattended. We didn't make it to the mountain top this week but some great slopes are available higher up off the main one to try without going too high. The church just near it is beautiful and also worth a look. A flashing hat or bright hat is helpful if you're not all coming down together to help find your child. If you're tobagganing remember it's active. Don't wear so much you can't move or bend. A walk back up, takeaway Tunturi tea (bought a pint in Panimo and ate it in there) and a leisurely loop walk around town afterwards more or less completed our night out. Just walking, snowballing and seeing who can find the deepest section of snow is fun. We returned to the room, filled our tin cups with a wine and finished the night sledging down the steep snow piles outside the room. A little hint to limit snowsuit rage in a tiny room. Take the boots and suits off outside the room, hang in the drying cupboard before getting in, cramped, hot and grumpy. Day 2 was our free day. We headed to breakfast at Annie's (didn't get to try their evening meals as not open sun/mon). Breakfast is a random potatoe, cut hot dogs and meatballs combo. Also usual salad, cold meats, cheese, cereal, porridge, toast, biscuits. Tea is loose leaf or herbal bags. If you prefer your English breaky tea faff less then bring a tea bag with you. We hadn't planned on booking excursions but we were getting 30 euro pp per day compensation for the tunturi food situation. As we'd already 'spent' it we decided to reallocate it to a trip. We booked the 10km (2-3 hour) husky excursion with Husky and Co. The trip left at 12. 30 so we hit the tobogganing slopes until it was time to leave. The excursion was expensive but my God it was brilliant. As soon as the huskys first pull the sledge you're hooked. There's nothing quite like it. You get about an hour actually on the sledge. Half way point gives drivers the opportunity to switch over. We both (adults) had a go. We saw wild reindeer. It's exhilarating and beautiful. The dogs are amazing. And a little cold. Wrap up warm. Especially around your face. On return you have a hot drink, a small sweet treat, wr had some time with the 3month old puppies where you can ask questions about how it all works, before returning to Saariselka. That night we did the aurora walk (behind Tunturi Hotel). We saw the Northern lights which was one of many trip highlights. Download the Aurora app and look out for clear skies. There are small firepits near the Aurora hut so take marshmellows and matches. You can get wood from the door next to the toilets. You can also light a fire in the hut. Worth taking drinks and snacks if you're planning on staying up there a while. And increase the iso on the pro setting on your phone camera if you're struggling to pick them up. Truly, truly an amazing experience. So much so that we went the next night too. Day 3 - Search for Santa day. We had a 9.10am pick up. We were there for 10. I was worried it would be a day of queuing and waiting around but it really wasn't. It was so well planned and organised. Make use of all the short activities on offer. There is no need to do the big 5 as soon as possible, there is no need to rush. Lunch was spag bol (very tasty), plenty of opportunity for biscuits, pancakes and Berry juice. It was a great day. We used to open fires to toast our own marshmellows. The letter to santa switch is topped the day off for me. My child on the other hand wasn't that fussed. Oh and I'd give the ice bar a miss. Poor cold coffee and hot choc. Get the pic and leave is my advice. The husky ride was fab. Obviously not in the same depth we had on the paid excursion the day before but still really good and particularly for younger kids, more than enough. The kids skiddow was a hit and had a couple of goes on that. The ice hockey was fun. The ice fishing is less likely to reep reward but my son is a bit of a geek and was really interested in the whole process. Search for santa magical sleigh ride was brilliant. Don't tell them that's what it is, just say it's a snow mobile ride. For more surprise. The reps all day are on hand for help, advice and warm up activities. We couldn't face another Tunturi takeaway so used the burger bar opp the pub which is delicious. Lots of recommendations for the restaurant in the supermarket too, the pizzas looked amazing. We did some gift shopping and successfully hit the Aurora trail again. At the back of the supermarket is a badly laid out but large gift section which is a few euros cheaper than the shops. Last morning we got up very early to hit the tobaggan for the last time before returning for breaky and our 10.20am departure. We were the very first ones down there at 8.15am. We had it all to ourselves for the first couple of runs. Ps. Ivalo Airport is tiny. Be prepared to sit on the coach whilst the queue goes down enough to let the next coach in. Be prepared to queue for upto an hour inside. Be prepared to pay 30 euros for 2 sandwich, a doughnut and 2 waters. To be honest I've had this experience at UK airports except your atood queuing throughout, so whilst it is less than ideal, it's airports. Take snacks, drinks and charged devices for the kids. Hints summary: Hand warmers (don't need loads), snoods, flashing hat or head torch, marshmellows, wine/duty free/tin cups, hip flask, own tea and coffee, don't over pack, relax don't rush, battery booster, learn your iso settings and the Aurora app. All in all, what a trip! Once in a lifetime. We loved every minute, of which Santa was just one part, and we are just sad we were only there 3 nights.…

Date of stay: December 2021Trip type: Travelled

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Lisa2307 wrote a review Dec 2021

26 contributions2 helpful votes

+1

Great little Pub

Loved this place. Warm , Cosy and put the Liverpool game on for us ! Great hot chocolate for the kids , boards games etc; Even a bit of kareoke ! Friendly staff and locals . Made to feel really welcome. It isn’t cheap but we were on holiday and didn’t mind as the authenticity of the place added to the experience.

Date of stay: December 2021Trip type: Travelled

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MBoyd218 wrote a review Dec 2021

Edinburgh, United Kingdom25 contributions20 helpful votes

+1

Saariselka Inn (Santa's Lapland Trip)

We stayed at the Saariselka Inn as part of Santa's lapland Magic Break. We arrived Friday and departed on Monday. The village itself is small and very pretty, for a long weekend there are more than enough places to eat out somewhere different each night (we picked bed and breakfast as we like to try different places to eat). The accommodation is spacious warm and clean, it is fairly basic, but we went there with those expectations and happy with our choice (we weren't in the room that often). The bathroom was very clean and had a great shower. The breakfast was buffet with lots of choices. All over the village there are sledges just to be picked up to use and you can walk (15 mins) to one of Europe's longest sleding hills, 1.8kms long lots of fun. We went on the northern light experience, we managed to see the northern lights but it was -30 and our kids (8 and 11 yrs old) didn't handle that cold very well, the reps recognised this and organised a bus for all the kids to head back half way through, I personally wouldn't recommend any younger than teenagers on that trip when it's that cold. The Santa day was excellent, lots of great warming rooms to use, definitely make use of them as it makes the day much more enjoyable. …

Date of stay: December 2021Trip type: Travelled

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Suvi wrote a review Jul 2021

2 contributions

Positive and safe short visit

We only stayed one night in July, and I was happy with the location, buffet breakfast and the friendly staff at breakfast. The interiors are outdated ( from the 1980's ) but tidy enough. The only small negative was a less than friendly welcome at the reception, but I can understand that times are stressful for businesses when the pandemic has affected the customer flow from abroad so massively. We saw only a couple of other guest so it felt safe with corona in mind. The beautiful and calm reindeers walking around outside were a nice addition and created a lovely athmosphere when looking out the window or taking a walk. Quality for price was good. Pub Panimo has a terass otside where we enjoyed a glass of wine and a IPA, inside was karaoke and a pub quiz (every Friday and Wednesday) which was not too loud but relaxed.…

Date of stay: July 2021Trip type: Travelled

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Amanda B wrote a review Feb 2020

Toowoomba, Australia89 contributions14 helpful votes

Good value

We picked the Saariselkä Inn for a few reasons: it was one of the cheaper options, it was central to everything we needed and we got discount at Husky & Co for all of our excursions. We were very happy. Yes, the rooms are a bit dated but for the price there’s not much to complain about. We had an issue with the heating and someone came and solved the problem immediately. The sofa bed was quite uncomfortable for our third adult... that would be our main criticism. Katja, who worked on reception, was so friendly and was always genuinely interested in hearing about what we had been up to during the day. Other staff members were also friendly and helpful. Nothing was too much trouble.

Date of stay: February 2020Trip type: Travelled

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