Hotel berhampiran Saariselkä, Saariselkä

We travelled to Santas Saareslka Inn in November 2023, the opening weekend for Santas lapland (who we booked with). On arrival we were greeted by a very helpful rep. We were shown our rooms. As a family of 4 we had two interconnecting rooms. This meant we had two bathrooms too. The rooms were roomy enough and were very warm. There were drying cupboards to put snow suits and plenty of wardrobe space. There was also a kettle and fridge. Top tip- you only get paper cups so take own cups and spoons. There was plenty of room to put suitcases etc. The bathrooms were basic but has a shower (always hot) sink and toilet. The block we stayed in was straight across from the resturant area. You could go here for breakfast- lots of choice or to sit in the sofa area. The pub (where reception area was) was lovely. Very warm, great atmosphere and had board games you could play. Although I agree with previous reviews about rooms being basic and outdated, they had all we needed, were warm and were in a great location. We really didn't spend much time in the room as wanted to make the most of exploring.

We were lucky enough to win a week in the Holiday Club in a draw from Inghams Holidays! My lady gave way to a silver-tongued salesperson at an event and gave her email address never believing it would ever be her that wins. Then she nearly deleted the notification email as it was probably a scam. And so we were off to lands well north of the Arctic Circle in the middle of January. Neither of us were skiers so we weren’t sure what to expect. And we are both in our mid-70s so we weren’t going to take many risks. It's a three-hour coach trip from Kittila Airport to Saariselka including a 20-minute rest stop. The first stop in Saariselka was to get issued with heavy overalls, snow boots and mittens which are vital for temperatures of around -25c to -30c which was what we experienced. The hotel is in the centre of town and most places are walkable. Temperatures indoors were pleasant, not hot, but to go outside needed around 20 minutes to put on the kit to go outside. While we were there the sun rose about 11 am and set around 2.30 pm but there was another hour or two of reasonable light. The rooms were basic with twin beds easily pushed together and the continental individual duvets. Bathroom was fine. Lighting in the room was OK but could have been brighter. There’s a TV but the only English programmes were subtitled. The rooms aren’t serviced during the stay but we asked the rep and he organised the cleaners to change towels and empty bins mid-week. We had half-board so breakfast and dinner were buffet service and the food was filling and plentiful. My lady is vegetarian and the rep told the kitchen and they provided a fresh-cooked vegetarian dish for every dinner just for her which was easily added to with the salads and vegetables on the buffet. Dinner was usually soup with two main meat or fish courses plus plentiful bread, vegetables and salads. There was usually just one choice of sweet plus endless hot drinks and an adjacent bar. During the week we were there large numbers of French came and went plus some oriental parties. A couple of times we encountered a rather full house but the turnover of tables is quick and the food doesn’t seem to run out. There is a swimming pool which seems to be for play rather than swimming plus a sauna and a spa but we didn’t try them. There’s no gym. Inghams offered excursions such as husky driving, reindeer farm visits, skiddoos plus there is a regular public bus service to the ski lifts. We found it delightful to walk the signed trails in the hills – a walking pole is useful. The silence in the woods is wonderful. Everyone wants to see the Northern Lights but that is entirely by luck. During our week there were plenty of sightings but the quality was not good. Enough to show you have seen them but not enough to be thrilled. Plenty of green but no reds or blues. I never knew that the vague wisps of white cloud can be seen as green by taking a picture! Amazing. One lesson we learned, don

Staffs are kind and good at English so I didn't have any difficulty of communication. I recommend to buy a spa included ticket and enjoy the Finnish sauna. For the foods, you have to pay for the dinner buffet but the quality is really good. It was worth every penny. There was nothing inconvenient at all. If I had to pick one, there were no amenities in the bathroom only except soap.

We’ve just returned from our 2 night trip to Saariselkä. I was nervous before hand, I thought it was going to be hyped up and not be as magical as everyone says. I was definitely wrong! We flew with Jet2, and for once, we weren’t delayed on either flight! The outgoing flight was fantastic - the crew were amazing, so engaging and getting the kids excited, sing alongs, activity books, hands down the best flight I’ve been on for interaction! Santas Lapland reps are everywhere when you get there. It’s as smooth an operation as you could get. You’re allocated a coach which remains the same during your stay so you know where you’re going. They tell you where and when to be everywhere you need to be. I was impressed by how little organising we had to be responsible for - we just had to be on time! The rep in Riekonlinna was fantastic and went to a lot of effort for us to sort out our husky ride out as we had an infant with us who couldn’t go on. She managed to get us 2 slots so we could take it in turns which we were so grateful for! The rangers at the activity centre were fabulous. Amazing with the kids, sing-alongs and unbelievable energy, they genuinely love their job! My 5 year old found the naughty elves hilarious! Nothing was too much for the staff, both santas Lapland staff and hotel and shop staff - everyone we came across was absolutely lovely, including other guests! In terms of the hotel and Saariselkä itself, we couldn’t have asked for more. An abundance of snow, the kids were in their element. Not quite snowball making snow but mountains of the stuff nonetheless! We managed to see the northern lights from the viewing room in the Riekonlinna on our second night which was amazing. The festive meal was all arranged and communicated well, lovely buffet spread to meet everyone’s preferences. The ONLY negative thing I have to comment on was the lack of variety for lunch at the activity centre but I also completely understand how chaotic it would be otherwise! But other than that, I have no negatives whatsoever, it was absolutely fantastic! Shout out to the ranger Nathan who entertained the kids spectacularly and somehow managed to remember our name on arriving at the coach to go home! If you’re questioning whether it’s worth it - it definitely is. It’s by far the most expensive holiday I’ve been on, but everything other than drinks at the hotel and souvenirs is included and it definitely is a once in a lifetime experience!

The rating I have given is purely for the hotel but I will comment on some elements of our experience from the TUI side of our holiday at the end. A few things to bear in mind when reading this: 1. We had researched this hotel before we came so knew what to expect and as a result only booked B&B. This is a 3* hotel remember regardless of what it costs. 2. We travel a lot and stay in a huge variety of places ranging from 3* B&B to 5* Hotels so have balanced expectations. 3. It was -30c when we were in Lapland. 4. We flew on a 6am Gatwick flight in mid December 24. 5. Family of 4 with 6 & 8 year olds. Hotel facilities: Pretty basic, the hotel is split into a number of buildings the food being served in the ‘Main’ reception building other buildings were about 400m from one another you need to be careful walking a scan be slippery. We were in Gielas building it was ok, typical Europe 3* hotel corridors a bit battered carpets stained lifts quite small. Had a few drinks in the bar €4 for a soft drink €9 for a beer. Staff very friendly. Room: Very very basic but clean, beds comfy walls a bit battered. Our room was warm we had a family room with a balcony which was quite cramped for 4 people but we weren’t in it for long. Didn’t use the sauna. The bathroom seemed to have been renovated and was a bit odd with a tin bath not attached to the wall so water fell down the sides onto the wet room style floor when having a shower. This meant the floor was very wet. Towels not changed i our 3 day stay but tissues etc topped up. Clothes drying machine in room worked well. Free safe kettle cups and glasses all cleaned. Food: I was expecting it to be bad and it didn’t disappoint! We only had breakfast and the choice isn’t great, it’s extremely busy and they run out of things fast. The kids enjoyed the chocolate spread though. The most annoying thing was the two stupid little toasters that allow about 100 people toast 4 slices of bread at once. Ridiculous. I have also never had scrambled egg you can cut into slices, read into that what you will! No fresh orange juice the whole time we were there. Staff friendly and did their best but seems to not be enough of them. The ‘Gala’ dinner we had was a bit of a joke food wise very salty, not enough of it and it was cold. TUI: Flight good but 30 mins late lots of people to meet you and show where to go on arrival. Took ages to get the warm weather gear (lots of waiting around on the coaches for the other coach to be ready) was about 3 1/2 hours from landing to getting in our rooms despite only being a 24 minute coach ride from airport to hotels and the luggage coming out quickly. You do end up carrying a lot of stuff. We had 4 suitcases hand luggage and then two huge sacks of warm weather gear. Very difficult to manage with children in -30c. The most annoying thing was the stupid ’welcome meeting’ which they get you all off the coach for basically stick you in a big conference room and sell

總體： 這絕對是在Saariselkä最棒的住宿 地理位置位於幾乎最高點 我們待的第一天晚上就看到了令人難以忘記的極光😭🥺 而且是真的很明顯的那種！！！！ 酒店沒有太多餘的光害 剛剛好可以拍那種人臉也很清晰的極光照片 我們訂的房型是樓中樓小木屋 強烈推薦大家訂這個房型 樓中樓的設計真的很舒服之外 也有多餘的空間可以放行李都不會太擠 大片的落地窗戶可以很輕易看到整個雪景 也有陽台可以走出去 房門口外還有提供塑膠雪板玩 從前台check in開始的每個人都帶著微笑 服務態度超級好！ 住了兩晚之後我們又決定再訂一晚 這次住到了玻璃屋 雖然也很驚艷！ 但我會更推薦小木屋 喔還有！一定要體驗他們的桑拿房 超級大超舒服價格也很合理 交通： 我覺得如果來Saariselkä還是自駕比較舒服些，雖然滑雪場跟整個城鎮跟整個酒店距離位置都不遠，但開車會讓出行方便很多，上去的路上不會很難開，還會看到超棒的景色，總體來說很方便。 早餐：足夠的份量，鮭魚及各種魚類吃到飽，還有美景一起，總體感受很不錯 晚餐：酒店晚上在同個地方有提供晚餐，個人認為很值得一試，除了很有氣氛之外，餐點也非常好吃！推薦在夕陽十分用餐，一切都很美好！