I visit Taivalkoski every now and then during my business trips and I always stay in Herkko. Excellent hotel, friendly staff, a small pool and a gym. What more could you request for a business evening? Only thing that prevents me giving 5 starts is the restaurant. Food is good, but opening hours are limited during off-season. Also the menu for lunch and dinner seems to be the same, so it is a little boring. However, the buffet itself has a good price-quality-ratio.
This hotel is very nice, in a beautiful region !
But the real secret of this hotel is its team !! They want to help you and make you feel confortable. You have a problem, it's not a problem !!!!
We were four, two adults two kids.
We wanted to go shopping, "no problem we drive you !"
We had to leave at 3 am the last day. Only for us they prepared our breakfast with direct delivery in our room !!!
Go Go Go !!
And kiitos to the team ("Than you")
I've visited Hotel Herkko several times. It's a nice small hotel located at Taivalkoski minicipality in the Finnish Lapland. It suits well for those driving a snowmobile in Kuusamo, Posio, Pudasjärvi, and of course Taivalkoski area. After the active day, no matter were you skiing, downhill skiing, driving a snowmobile or nordic walking, sauna and mini-spa at Herkko have always felt luxurious treatments for sore muscles.
Hotel Herkko is only about ten minutes walk from the village but the village is very small. There are few groceries, a chemist's, and that's all. To my knowledge the only restaurant is at Herkko. It's alright serving simple Scandinavian food with Lappish touch.
I stayed at the Hotel Herkko again for my summer vacation. Im pleased to say that the standard is still as excellent in the quieter summer months as it was in the winter. I hiked for two days covering 37km from Taivalvaara to Kylmaluoma. There are shelters that you can use on route which are stocked with firewood for you to use on the designated fireplaces so you can cook your own food. It gives you a greater feeling of being part of the wilderness. You can also camp in these areas. The route is well marked with orange markers on the trees and signs are at certain points giving clear indication of which direction and distances. I didnt meet another hiker so no worries about it being too busy. The trail is a mixture of woodland path through silver birch, forest tracks through red pine, alongside lake edges and on duckboards through vast areas of swamp. The wildlife is abundant, small and large - from frogs to reindeer and all kinds of birds. Quite a challenging trail in as far as distance and remoteness with a heavy backpack but could be extended to more days. Im wishing I had taken a fishing rod with me too. I could have spent hours fishing at the many lakes enroute and cooked them over the open fire for tea. Daylight 24/7 too allowing for an easier day and not getting caught out by the dark. The Hotel Herkko kindly offered to pick me up at Kylmaluoma and take me back to the hotel. A satisfying hike giving you a greater feeling for the remoteness and hidden wilderness areas of Taivalkoski. I took Iso-Syote-Taivalvaara-Kylmaluoma map 1:50 000 with me which I managed to get on-line although the hotel had the same map but a more up to date version if needed.
