Even though our government was advising against non-essential travel, we decided to stick to our plans to cross this amazing place off our bucket list. First of all, it's worth noting how patient staff were with me during the booking process. I had a lot of questions and had to make some changes leading up to the trip. They're email communications were always timely and helpful.
When we finally arrived, we were picked up at the airport by, surprisingly, the owner Juha who was very friendly. We got there about an hour before check in and our cabin was ready. We booked the "Romantic Winter Escape Pkg" which included a deluxe room. I believe there are only 2 of these newer cabins- 14 & 15- at the far end of the property. Compared to the other cabins, these include a small entry way with a bench, shoe tray and tons of hooks. This was handy bc it kept all the outdoor gear (both ours and that provided by the resort) out of the cabin and we were able to maximize the space inside. There is also a small electric fireplace, 2 cozy chairs/ottomans (which we used as night stands) and a small table in these cabins as well as the cabinet area with a small fridge, coffee maker and tea kettle. Left in the room for us were bottles of sparkling water, sodas and juices. It's been a long time since we stayed in a place where you can drink the water from the tap and it was certainly a nice change (and convenient!)
Overall, the cabin was great. Always warm enough and very cozy. The pictures of the bed and view speak for themselves. The window warmer always melted the snow off quickly and cleanly. It was as amazing as I'd hoped it be. The bathroom was great too - heated floors and great pressure in the shower. The 10 minute time limit on warm water was never an issue for the 2 of us.
Our package also included a number of activities: the first night we chased the auroras in a van with Markus. He was very friendly and knowledgeable and, even though it was cloudy, managed to track down some northern lights. He took many pictures for us with his camera and provided a link for download by the next morning.
On our first morning, we did a horse sleigh ride through the forest. We ended up being the only ones in the sleigh and it was very enjoyable. This place is literally a winter wonderland and, again and again, I couldn't believe my eyes.
The panorama sauna/jacuzzi is available for private bookings. We had it booked after we finished a 2 hr snowmobile ride with Wellu (which we added to our package) and , since that was the coldest I had ever been in my life at -23, it was well worth it! Very relaxing.
That same day, we had made some new friends who mentioned they were out for the husky safari which had to be cut short due to some people getting frost bite. We panicked and tried to cancel our ride the next day which wasn't possible. And we were so glad we stuck with it! It wasn't as cold as the day before and so much fun! Emilia at Extreme Huskies was a great guide and faired extremely well when the group ran into problems with some misbehaving dogs.
We also added the Barrel sauna/ice swimming experience. Also very private and enjoyable. Only one of us dipped in the ice water and didn't get in very far! But, when in Finland right?!
Lastly, the package we booked included access to the Aurora Alert App. Unfortunately I had to do some back and forth with front desk staff over that. They insisted they did not see that under our reservation and said we could pay for it. I had to go quite a ways back in msgs to a friend when we originally booked where I had taken a screen shot of what the pkg offered. Once I showed the front desk this, they gave me a code for the app and it was very easy to use. And it definitely alerted us to the lights when they were out! So much so the one night that I had to silence my phone to get some sleep.
The food was included (breakfast and dinner) and was all incredible! I can't think of one thing I ate that I didn't like but, to be honest, I was very happy to be offered fish on our fourth night after 3 nights of meat (Reindeer roast, Beef Sirloin and "over cooked lamb"). I very much remember the asparagus soup we had as a starter on our first night. So delicious!
Other things to mention:
-do the reindeer feeding! Most were babies born in May and there was one adult male (Bull? buck?) who was absolutely beautiful. They wanted what you had to give but certainly were not aggressive in any way.
-we went in late December and the sun doesn't rise then. Fortunately, it was lighter out between 11 and 230ish so we had better views of the property and surrounding areas.
-we saw the northern lights from the window in our cabin only once. On our second night, the sky was totally clear and full of stars. The clearest day/night also happened to be the coldest one FYI. The other days were cloudy and snowy.
-there was no wind!? I don't even want to think about how cold it might have been if it was windy.
-there are toboggans (with hill very lose by), fire pits, cold weather gear, fat tire bikes, sleighs for luggage all available for your use
-the only thing we didn't do that we wish we had was the Ice Karting. Other guests said it was tons of fun.
-our cabin was the furthest away from the main building but only a few min walk max
-wifi could be spotty at times
I think that's it... I like to read thorough reviews so I hope this can help someone who is planning a trip to Aurora Village. It's worth the time, money and energy to get to such a unique and remote place. Thanks to the staff for a great stay!