Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort

Arctic Dreams and a €600 Nightmare: My Kakslauttanen Review My week at Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort East Village March Arctic experiences abruptly interrupted by a discordant, and frankly, insulting note. The High Notes: My arrival was seamless. Despite a late flight, a friendly, English-speaking driver awaited me, even sharing some Finnish phrases – a warm welcome that set a high bar. The resort truly shines in its curated experiences. The Aurora Hunting with Snowmobile Sleigh was a thrilling introduction to the Arctic wilderness, with a knowledgeable guide who brought the landscape and its history to life. The Reindeer sleigh ride was pure magic, a serene journey through snow-laden forests that I enjoyed so much, I booked it twice! The Kakslauttanen Planetarium offered fascinating insights into the aurora, and the Husky Safari was, without a doubt, the highlight of my trip. The connection with the dogs and the thrill of the ride were unforgettable. The resort's consistent accommodation of my disability throughout these experiences was truly commendable. The Crashing Low: The €600 "Aurora Hunting by Car" Rip-off Then came the 3hr "Aurora Hunting by Car" excursion, a €600, three-hour travesty that shattered the illusion of Arctic perfection. This single excursion cost double all my other activities combined and matched the price of a business class flight with all its perks to the UK. This was not a "tour" or a "hunt." It was a grossly overpriced taxi ride.

Great location. Food and Service is very good. Property is very well maintained.

Overall, I was very pleased with this experience. The positives: Fantastic facilities offer a truly unique experience -- sleeping under a glass dome! The region is beautiful, and it is unforgettable. The aurorae come when they come -- no control there -- but my last night brought a spectacular display that took my breath away. The food was very good for a large resort: lots of Finnish/local options together with more familiar ones for North Americans. The front-desk service was truly fantastic; I don't know how they stay so patient. . . . My only negative was the requirement to purchase an activity for each day, which surprised both my travel agent and me. That said, the reindeer "safari" (stupid name) was TOTALLY worth it -- enjoyable, unique, and I learned a lot, both about the reindeer that are so central to life in this region and the Sami (indigenous) people who use everything about the reindeer to survive. I loved my reindeer (Otso). and it was a way cool experience. I am an experienced amateur astronomer who rolled his eyes at the "planetarium experience," but it was actually a very good primer on the aurorae that both gave the cultural/mythical aspects while getting the science right in some depth. They won significant points on that. I recommend the place. But know that they suffer from the "large tour group experience" (they can't help that), and meals will occasionally feel like you are trapped on a cruise ship (NOT my taste), but it's manageable -- just be assertive about being seated away from large groups who are oblivious to the existence of other human beings. This was a bucket list item, and I achieved all my goals! Douglas Duckett

I struggled to eat, the food choices were limited to unappetizing poorly prepared meals. The beans were undercooked ( crunchy) too many purée ( baby food) need to offer familiar options for those not feeling adventurous. The eggs appear powered ( like MRE from military. Day 2 meals were very salty. I struggled to find palatable food. Also as the only woman of color in my group I was denied my request to book a ski trip despite pleading & offering to give up other activities ( I have plenty of money to pay) my friend ( Caucasian) asked to book a ski trip right after me & she was promptly booked , so she graciously booked 2 and let me go with her. I loved the grounds, views, husky adventures, but would not recommend due to food and the refusal of service to woman of color. There are other resorts one can partake of the winter adventures.

Fantastic resort! Only one restaurant was open and the food wasn’t great (it was fine, just not great) but everything else made up for it. We stayed in a lovely Kelo-Glass igloo and absolutely loved it. The activities were fun—best were snowmobile, dog sledding and feeding the reindeer.

When we arrived we found that we had booked the east side igloos that have to shower facilities & a long walk through the snow to get to a shared shower room. This was not what we were expecting for such expensive accommodation! Luckily we got help from a great guy named Anastasios who got us into the west side of the property with an upgrade to an igloo with great facilities, where we saw the northern lights! Thank you so much Anastasios for saving our bucket list trip from being a disaster! You have great understanding & very helpful customer service skills! The resort is much better in the west side…east side I would rate not much higher than back packer accommodation at a ridiculous price! The food could be better too for the price!

We booked the kelo glass igloo and were extremely underwhelmed by the entire experience. The food was subpar, the hospitality was non-existent and the activities organized by them were overpriced. There are far better resorts that offer better igloo experiences at a much better price!

Given that there a lot of mixed reviews about this resort, let me try and set the record straight. My husband and I stayed here four nights with the first two nights spent in an igloo in the East village and the next two in a small chalet in the West. We got dropped off by the bus from Rovanieme right at the footsteps of the East Village reception making it very convenient to enter the resort. The check-in was smooth given that we were the first ones to arrive but note that they only had two staff members checking guests in so you may need to wait a bit. We were given all the necessary instructions, a map and keys to our igloo. First few things to know about the place - the resort itself is HUGE. East village is smaller compared to the West but there is a fair bit of walking involved especially between the reception (and the dining hall next door) and the igloos. Our stay was in February so with all the snow it took a good few minutes (6-7 at our speed). Please keep in mind the scale of the place. The villages are beautiful, especially when covered with a blanket of snow. The igloos are nearly perfect and we were lucky enough to be given ones in the first row. The igloos are all positioned at an elevation making the view of the scenery and the northern lights even better and less obstructed by foliage. The locks in the doors are not good and you may need a few attempts to get in with the key provided (a common compliant). The interiors of the igloos are exactly as advertised and we found them perfectly adequate. The East village is also far more private, quite and in our opinion, the better option for viewing the aurora. Compared to the igloos in the west village, we'd argue these are superior even without the private shower. The west village igloos are placed too close to each other and with the attached shower space, the illusion of living in an igloo is kinda broken. Of course, this is subjective. The chalets in the West village are pretty, clean and very comfortable too. We had no complaints with either stay option. Transfers to the West village are with periodic shuttles that you can sign up for at the reception. The aurora alarm mobile app they have you install is simple and pretty accurate. The staff is also very easily approachable via Whatsapp. West village is fairly larger and involves a lot of walking. It is also more crowded. Signage throughout the resort is lacklustre and we ran into a fair number of people that were lost. Feedback to the resort to work on the signs please, especially for the winter season when roads are easy to confuse. Regarding dinner - the food is pretty good even if the selections are limited! They have an international menu and an Indian menu at ALL times (three course mneu, NOT buffet). You can ask to see either or both. Dishes are rotated and you can mix and match dishes from either menu. Breakfast buffet is decent as well and if you care about Indian vegeterian options, we found the West village to have 1 or 2 options more than the East for breakfast. I wish they had a varied selection for breakfast though because for guest like us stayinglonger, the breakfast was exactly the same each day. They offer lunch as well (course menu or a la carte). The staff is fairly helpful and kind but pretty busy (and somewhat overwhelmed, especially in the West) most of the time. Activities are well coordinated and pickups and dropoffs are as scheduled. We didn't run into any challenges. For activities, we opted for the 2-hour Snowmobile safari. This one was an average experience - it was much slower paced than we imagined with a lot of stops along the way (for photos). I wish they would offer two variants - a slower, family friendly version and then a more fast paced one for those looking for the thrill of the adventure. We also opted to have the fireplace running when in the Chalet - yes you need to pay 35 euros upfront but the amount of wood they started us with for plenty to have the fire going for several hours across two days. Overall, this a is a great place to stay but looking at the reviews, your experience will vary depending on your personal tastes, expectations and knowing what to expect. Be kind to the staff and they respond in kind and will try to help, as best as they can. Although don't expect too much. We didn't run into any of the challenges mentioned in other reviews. The resort is not perfect of course and fairly expensive as well but most of the experience was smooth and we fully enjoyed our stay.

This is truly my favorite place in the world. It is such a beautiful resort; it is so magical and doesn't feel like earth. One thing to know, especially if you book through a third party, to get airport pick-up in Ivalo, you have to schedule it with them in advance. It is not automatic. It'll cost you about 90 EUR in a taxi (or at least that's what it cost us.) Other than that hiccup, it really was the best time. I wish I could come back every year!

Great stay in an actual winter wonderland