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HOTEL STYLE
Quirky Hotels
Luxury
Languages Spoken
English, Russian, Spanish, Finnish and 1 more
Property amenities
Free parking
Free High Speed Internet (WiFi)
Free breakfast
Hiking
Highchairs available
Airport transportation
Baggage storage
Gift shop
Street parking
Wifi
Paid internet
Bar / lounge
Restaurant
Breakfast available
Breakfast buffet
Breakfast in the room
Snack bar
Special diet menus
Taxi service
Non-smoking hotel
24-hour front desk
Laundry service
Ironing service
Room features
Bathrobes
Air conditioning
Desk
Housekeeping
Room service
Coffee / tea maker
Flatscreen TV
Bath / shower
Wake-up service / alarm clock
Refrigerator
Hair dryer
Room types
Non-smoking rooms
Family rooms
Location
Joulumaankuja 8, Rovaniemi 96930 Finland
Name/address in local language
Santa's Igloos Arctic Circle
4 reviews
Getting there
Somewhat walkable
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travelers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
This summary was created by AI, based on recent reviews.
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Santa's Igloos Arctic Circle offers a charming and modern atmosphere that impresses many guests, particularly noting the cleanliness and maintenance of the facilities. While the igloos provide a cozy experience with appreciated amenities like jacuzzis and saunas, some guests feel that the rooms fall short in space and luxury for the price paid.
Praise is common for the hotel's staff who are often described as friendly and helpful, although there have been mentions of service inconsistencies. The value for money has been questioned by travelers, especially concerning dining options and room comfort.
Atmosphere
Charming
Rooms
Cozy
Value
Expensive
Cleanliness
Spotless
Service
Inconsistent
Amenities
Well-appointed
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I stayed in santas igloos for 4 nights and I was lucky enough to experience bought the igloos with the sauna and the premium igloo with the outdoor Jacuzzi!
I must say they were both extremely cool in there own ways! While I was there we experienced -20 degrees Celsius for the first two nights so getting home from our day exploring and jumping into the sauna was a surreal experience.
The outdoor Jacuzzi came at the perfect time as we were able to sit out in it at night time and stay so warm while watching the snow fall.
The premises itself is lovely and very aesthetically pleasing, the igloos are a generous size and come with a modestly priced mini bar which makes it more appealing.
The staff were so welcoming and friendly and couldn't do enough for us, I would like to give a special mention to Elizaveta, Medini and Noah who went above and beyond to engage with us during our stay.
The food in the restaurant was delicious and very Finnish, I enjoyed elk and veal as well as a scampi risotto.
The desserts were also magnificent (blueberry pie is what I'd recommend)
All in all I will most certainly go back hopefully sooner rather than later.
The only small hiccup we experienced was when we switched from our first igloo to our second igloo we unfortunately had to checkout at 11am and wait until 4pm to check back in.
But honestly this wouldn't deter me from going back tomorrow if possible.
Location wise is perfect as it's about a 5 min walk to santas village and most tour companies like safartica offer a pickup/dropoff service.
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Date of stay: January 2024
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Traveled as a couple
Room Tip:Book in for dinner as it gets busy
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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Far from the center of Rovaniemi naturally, 10 minutes walk from Santa Claus village.
Note that getting there and leaving it is not that simple. It will cost you €40 by taxi to reach Rovaniemi center for a 13-minute journey…. And by hotel bus it’s quite complicated when you have suitcases. The bus stop which leads to Santa Claus Village is not far from the hotel but then to Santa Claus Village, you have to find space on the bus which goes to the center of Rovaniemi and all these bus trips have a cost, between 5-8€ per person each trip. Also knowing that the last bus is at 6 p.m.…. Don't plan to go eat in town because no more buses and it will be €80 for a taxi round trip. It’s an expensive affair!
Nice igloo room, not very big. Of course we come there to hope to see the Northern Lights! I found the rooms certainly out of the center of Santa's village, but not far enough to avoid light pollution...
Very average bedding and uncomfortable pillows like in all hotels in Finland, who knows why! Nothing to say about cleanliness and soundproofing of course, each igloo being well away from each other. Floor heating. Bathroom clean, bright and large enough.
Great welcome! Kind and very helpful staff. We also tried the hotel restaurant because the main course was offered that day, and as a good Frenchman who likes to eat well, well it wasn't crazy. It was okay but I don't have an indelible memory of it.
Disappointing breakfast…. There is a choice but also not to roll on the floor, especially given the overall price of the hotel and the standard it gives itself.
Overall the experience is nice but clearly it's not worth €700 per night.
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Date of stay: March 2024Trip type: Traveled with family
Room Tip:Demandez si possible un igloo le plus éloigné possible du bâtiment principal pour éviter la...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
A lot to digest? Read an AI-generated summary of recent traveler reviews.
Stay in a hotel near Santa Claus Village. The environment is great and you can see the beautiful star room at night. There is also a private sauna in the room, so you can better experience the Finnish sauna culture.
In terms of dining, there are basically not many choices except the restaurants in the hotel, but I was surprised that the quality is very high, and there is absolutely no cutting corners because of the lack of competitors! I am very grateful to have found high-quality food during my four days in Finland! (And you will enjoy discounts when you stay in the hotel and dine in the restaurant)
Salmon, Whitefish Roe And Lappish Bread 17.5€ Even without salmon soup, salmon dishes are indispensable. The smoked salmon still maintains a tender and tender texture in the middle. It is a good match with the white fish roe and bread.
Elk Fillet And Cranberries 17.5€ The venison steak is super tender, and the cream with berries is also very refreshing! It was eaten up super quickly, it was delicious!
Elk Fillet & Pepper 38.5€ The main course of venison steak continued to be excellent! The degree of rareness is just right, and the meat is very juicy. In addition to the sauce in the steak, the other light-colored sauce is also very good (a familiar but hard-to-name feeling). It can be eaten in three ways with crushed black pepper. There are three different flavors, so you won't feel bored after eating the whole steak.
Arctic Char & Lobster 38.5€ If you are particularly fond of salmon, you may be a little disappointed with Arctic Char, especially if you went to a restaurant near Santa Claus Village at noon and ate an extremely fat and oily salmon steak. But Char is not exactly salmon, so it cannot be compared like this. The fish meat is relatively firm, and although there is less oil, the fish flavor is also abundant. The shrimps are very fresh, the meat is elastic, and the aroma becomes stronger after being cooked in butter.
Caramel & Apple 15€ “Blueberry Pie” 15€ Both desserts are presented in a re-interpreted way of disassembling elements, and the combination is familiar yet new. In particular, the Blueberry Pie makes full use of Finland's abundant berries.
Finally, I would like to thank the hotel team for the mysterious birthday gift! It was a perfect ending to this trip to Finland (even though it failed to chase the light).
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Date of stay: March 2024
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Very close to Santa's Village, about 10 minutes walking. The problem is that the road is snowy and usually dark, it would be ideal if, for the price they charge, they had a shuttle service to Santa's Village, so at least I wouldn't have slipped and fallen at the hotel entrance because of the accumulated ice . The Igloo is curious, we had to request the extra bed because they had not put it in. You take your suitcases to them, in the dark because there is little or no lighting. The curtains have to be closed otherwise everyone who passes by can see you. The glass roof has a heating system to melt the snow but it works intermittently so after a while, it is covered again. The bed was good and the bathroom too. They have a northern lights alert system using a tablet in the room. Breakfast included and quite well supplied with food and drinks. Dinner is not included and although it is very well cooked, the maple and the fish are very good, my daughter's portion of chicken with fries was larger than our two dishes combined and the price was too high for that size. Very good service. Overall, a curious experience but not worth the crazy amount of money it costs.
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Date of stay: December 2023
Rooms
Service
Sleep Quality
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The igloo we stayed in was amazing and we had great excursions and saw the northern lights 3 nights out of 4.
The communication and customer service in the reception and in the restaurant is extremely poor.
They attempted to charge us for a christmas meal which we never ate and was included in the half board price bit were adamant that they had the right to charge us.
Every time we booked a table for an evening meal no matter what time it was there was never any availability for the times we wanted as they said they were fully booked which was a lie as we walked in for tea each day at 5pm and they just let us sit down to order so I'm not sure how comprehensive their booking system is.
When you are eating you had waiting staff stare at you which made me feel very uncomfortable. On christmas eve there was a menu that none of the food on there we wanted to eat as there was nothing suitable so we asked for a kids meal which was nuggets and chips and said that surely this would be beneficial for both us and the restaurant as they would save money on giving us less expensive items and we would get a meal that we would like.
Moreover ,every time we booked in we had an argument with the reception staff over times we could eat and them trying to book us onto the system took ages and ages it made meal times very stressful for me.
They need to drop the fancy food and offer people simple dishes or alternatives to what they offer so that everyone can have somtheing to eat.
I would stay in the igloos again but would never dine at the restaurant .
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Date of stay: December 2024Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Igloo The room is very small and a bit cold. When you shower, the whole bathroom gets wet. The cleanliness also leaves a lot to be desired. We found a tissue from the previous guests.
Reception The receptionist is very friendly but clearly overwhelmed by the huge crowds. There is luggage everywhere in the lobby. At our request, our luggage was stored in the locked luggage room. When we came back, the luggage room was open and we could have taken as much luggage with us as we wanted. The toilets in the lobby are not clean.
Restaurant The menu is small but fine. The taste and quality of the food is very good. However, the portions are tiny and the prices are much too high. We complained politely about this and asked for a little more rice so that we could fill up. This complaint resulted in the head of service shouting at us.
The breakfast is OK but not great.
All in all, not recommended, unfortunately the price-performance ratio is poor.
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Date of stay: December 2023Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Quite disappointing. If you are from the one country which comprise more than 70% of their guests, it’s a great place to stay . Others please avoid. 1) times mentioned for check in and check out in voucher : 3 pm ( check in) and 12 noon (check out). Apparently it was an error in their sales system!!!! How can they not correct the error! 2) when we reach the hotel , we are informs that room is not ready and “official” check in is at 4pm. 3) I was informed that for the dinner ( included in package) I need to book a slot. I requested for 6.30 pm slot as I had an activity planned for 8. 4) then at 4 pm I was finally allowed to check in and told that dinner is only available at 5pm!!! All slots post that are reserved for a “big group”. I had no option but to accept having dinner at 5pm. 5) then after having the dinner we ordered for some drinks ( very expensive but that acceptable for a premium hotel ). After a few sips we were requested to move to lobby as they had to prepare “for another big group”!!! 6) so we took all our jackets and moved to lobby to finish our 13 euro glasses of Gloggi. People who have kids will understand how painful it is to move around . 7) then we were told that even though breakfast is from 7.30 to 10.30, we should come at 9.30 as before that there will be a “big group” and we might not get a table. 8) so we come around 9am . We could start immediately because it was empty . Just like the dinner , they were keeping everything reserved to ensure the best experience for this one group ( no doubt it was clear that it makes good commercial sense to take good care of them as they were celery 70 to 80% of the guest. But why spoil our holidays . Why don’t you just say that others are not welcome) 9) so after the breakfast , after accommodating all unprofessional requests of the hotel , I asked whether I can check out at the previously mentioned time of 12 noon, I was denied as there was a “big” group which they needed to cater to. So after check in at 4.30pm, dinner at 5pm, breakfast from 9.15 to 10.15, i checkout out at 11.15… I really don’t know what to say… it was really impressive how the hotel was going out of their way to accommodate guests from this one country… we ended up spending a lot on food that we were forced to have early, drinks we couldn’t even enjoy. To be honest I think I should have resisted more in the beginning itself ( I did slightly but gave up when it was clear they are not bothered about my experience)
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Date of stay: December 2023Trip type: Traveled with family
Room Tip:During peak tourist season avoid this place. They are not interested in you . They have a target...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Truly a very special experience for any family. A few things could have been improved but with minor adjustment it would have been a five from us.
The Food
Dinner was magnificent. I’d recommend the elk in particular. Superbly presented and delicious.
Breakfast was of a high quality with a good variety of options available.
The Room
The potential for a view of the aurora while nestled in bed will be a big selling point for the majority and we can confirm (having been lucky enough to see it) that the experience is unforgettable.
The room is well put together and fittings are of a good standard. I did find the wonky plug sockets a little confusing! A single igloo is great for a couple, and while having our three year old with us made space a little tight, it worked well enough. The room was warm at all times and we appreciated the heated glass, which kept our views available throughout.
The WiFi is fantastic. Fast and reliable. As hard as one tries, aurora watching is not always the most exciting thing for children. Being able to keep our three year old entertained was superb.
One minor point - Storage is limited!
The Service
Polite and friendly at all times. There was a little confusion over arrival and departure times but this was not the fault of the hotel.
One major piece of feedback from us - the website claims that room service is available. This is absolutely not the case. Getting wrapped up for a walk to the main building whenever we wanted a drink or a snack to continue our aurora watching was extremely inconvenient and simply not in keeping with the rest of the experience. Please sort this out, it’s the only thing here that I’d class as unacceptable for an establishment of this quality.
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Date of stay: December 2023Trip type: Traveled with family
Room Tip:Website claims regarding room service availability are not true.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We booked a Premium Igloo with Alcove for 4 adults, the room was ok, nothing luxury. We accepted that hot water only available for about 12 minutes then you have to wait for another 30 minutes for it to heat up, so for a family of 4 we just need to plan ahead. The igloo part of the room was nice and the alcove part was fine but not the bed. One of the bed was a cheap rollaway bed and way too short for an adult. It also has broken springs at the end to form a gap. For over 1000Euro a night I don't think it was too much to ask for a decent bed. To their credit, the staffs were very concerned and tried to change the room or the bed for us but they couldn't. At the end, we had no other choice but to take 1/4 refund. The refund itself cost more than the bed that I had to sleep on so I don't understand why the hotel wanted to cut cost like that. Needless to say, I woke up with a bad back and couldn't enjoy the activity for the next few days (I had to take the bed because I was the shortest one in the group).
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Date of stay: February 2024
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
This was a very interesting place. Close to Santa's Village, the igloos are essentially studios with glass windows and ceilings covering half of the dwelling and a bathroom with a closet and storage near the entrance.
Perfect for viewing the northern lights, the igloos offered enough opportunity for privacy with curtains that could be pulled to cover the windows while still allowing for an excellent and unobstructed view of the sky. The great thing was that you could sleep and wait for the aurora alarm to awaken you if/when the northern lights are visible.
The rooms were very well furnished for their size and they included a little sitting area, kettle for tea or coffee, and televisions. Some rooms also had saunas in them.
The front desk and reception area had an adjacent dining room. On the evening that we dined there, the menu consisted of an appetizer plate of lox, smoked salmon, smoked sausage, reindeer meat and reindeer chips, and white fish. This was followed by carrot soup, Arctic char, and chocolate cake served with berries and cheese. The food was quite good for dinner as well as for breakfast. They offered a simple but nicely presented buffet with eggs, bacon, sausage, pastries and breads, fruit, yogurt, cold cuts and cheese, and the same chocolate cake that we'd had for dinner.
This was definitely a beautiful, romantic place that could be cozy and absolutely wonderful. Minus one star because our room was freezing when we checked in and the water in the shower got cold quickly and needed about 30 minutes to warm back up. It would've been helpful if they'd turned the heat on prior to our checking in. But, seeing a glimpse of the northern lights more than made up for this!
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Date of stay: February 2020Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I am not quite sure about that but the staff is very helpful. I think you should call them and ask. I am sure they can come up with something. They can drive your wife to your igloo.
There are more places to choose from in the Rovaniemi area.
PRICE RANGE
$354 - $762 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
LOCATION
FinlandLaplandRovaniemi
NUMBER OF ROOMS
71
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
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