Soppela retreat at the Arctic Circle

The host and the hosts mother was very helpful and nice. Lovely lady that showed me around the property.

The cleanliness was not satisfactory at all. There were hairs from other people on the bed sheets and stains on the pillows. We also found a finger nail on the couch.

If one wants to have an idea over paradise, don't look too far. There it is Mamma Taina is your protecting angel. A few words in Finnish are a good help. 1 hour by bus from Rovaniemi. I was very happy there, peaceful and silent. A real holiday... Yes, in the winter. Arctic clothes are a must, if you want to hike, or walk around.

The moment I left Mamma behind, alone

nice location on the shore of the lake. blueberries/mushrooms everywhere around the house. old school gym as advertised. very very nice host (actually mother of the owner). there are just couple of houses around. car is highly recommended to get to the nearest shop (to Kemijarvi) or any kind of tourist attractions (hikes mainly around). but the with the car nearest very nice hikes are 10-15min max by car and also one nice beach is just 10min by car. there is also a very nice small beach 50m from the accomodation. and also there was a beach volley place next to it. i would say it's quite a good value for the money (we stayed in the big apartment with kids) but dont expect some newly built apartment. it;s an old school, kind of a retro feeling. kind of a place you remember when going to grandma old house. good base if staying around Kemijarvi and exploring around. Pyha-Luosto National park is also under 1h by car.

hot water in the kitchen could be more hot but as explained to us by the host, it is an old school/building and old pipes... but yes that is definetely not a deal breaker (and hot water in the shower was really hot, so no problem there).