We spent Christmas and 5 fantastic days in this beautiful resort surrounded by beautiful forests, with reindeers in the middle, and a river (frozen) below.
One good consequence of covid (for us, clients, not the hotel..) was that we found a reasonable package, even if it remains pricey because the hotel is luxurious. Another good thing was there were not too many people and we felt even more exclusive.
Our igloos were super nice, comfortable, well heated, clean, nicely decorated, with well thought details (for instance, a tray with 2 little bottles on our arrival) AND fabulous window panes to admire the landscape and the sky. Note that due to corona, rooms are only cleaned upon request.
The staff is nice and helpful, specially waiters at the restaurant. Special thanks to the owner and the staff that looked for the bracelet that my daughter forgot in the bathrobe.
The food on our 1st evening was super, almost gastro! The buffet afterwards were OK, but can buffets compete with à la carte? We enjoyed breakfasts and cocktails (gin and tonic with Finnish gin as well as glöggi, hot wine with spices) by the fireplace.
There are many activities, but some quite expensive. We recommend absolutely the husky safari (you drive your sledge!) and the panoramic sauna with the outdoor jacuzzi (traditional sauna was fun but a bit tight for 4). The reindeer sleigh is outrageously expensive for 15 minutes roundtrip, but we still loved it.. (not thrilled by feeding the reindeers).
Buy reindeer sausages in a supermarket in Ivalo (take a taxi, cheaper) and make a barbecue in the dedicated hut (cutlery and dishes provided) free of charge. But you must know how to make a fire!
The kids (young adults) loved fat-biking. We even saw Santa who looked so real!
A very nice bonus: you can borrow shoes, outfits, sledges for free (snow rackets are also provided in front of each igloo).
However we came here to see the northern lights! We had to wait until our last night to see them, but it was worth it. Note that the alarm is actually an app which sends you a notification when there is an aurora (if you are sound asleep, not sure you hear it..).
We went with a guide and it was absolutely worth it. He knows the places where to see them and they were so beautiful.
(only hiccup was that we didn't know others would share our van, nor that we could have had reserved a van just for us...and ended up in quarantine when we returned home, as one of the other persons tested positive. It seems hotels in Finland cannot request guests to provide covid information nor take the temperature. But all the staff does wear a mask. )
A fantastic experience and a memorable Christmas... we would gladly go again!
