Lapland Hotels Äkäshotelli

Booked through TUI, was supposed to be full board, but whilst there was a kettle and fridge etc in the accommodation, there was no tea, coffee etc. and was told to walk to the supermarket. As a single parent to a child with additional needs, this was not that easy. The rooms are warm and spacious. Beds were not comfortable. WiFi was great. Sauna was lovely and shower had brilliant water pressure. Food was okay, odd combinations but perfectly adequate. Full board only allowed soft drinks with breakfast, such as orange juice etc, but nothing for other meals except water. Always had tea and coffee going in the main restaurant. Accommodation is spread out, so be prepared for a walk with your luggage and snow suits etc. The staff were great in the restaurant, very friendly and accommodating.

Could not fault the whole experience, the TUI flight was festive with games, songs and Santa landing on the roof, the accommodation was perfect, we stayed in a log cabin which are out of the way and had such an authentic feel with it's own sauna, the cabin was warm, clean, comfortable and had everything you needed, even extra shower gel and shampoo. We really enjoyed the food even my slightly fussy 7 year old. The staff were welcoming and accommodating. There were plenty of sledges around and lots of mounds to play on. We loved our Santa day at the Snow Village hotel which was breathtaking, and the snowmobile trip to see the real Santa! He was so authentic! The supermarket is a short walk away and behind it is the frozen lake with the Yllas swing. We also visited nearby Konnijannka petting farm and the hotel booked our taxi. We loved every minute of our stay! Didn't feel busy or touristy which is just how we wanted it.

A family trip of 6 to Lapland booked through TUI. First things first, Ylläs is an incredible and amazing area, it’s very remote but plenty to do in and around the surrounding area Transport isn’t a problem with coaches and plenty of taxis around to book, that don’t struggle in the snow! The hotel is good, our room was for 6 and had 2 bedrooms and a pull out sofa bed. The room also included a Sauna. Plenty of room given you’re out and about most of the day. We visited the Snow Village through TUI for half a day and that was a nice place to visit - Santa, Reindeer and Husky rides. I won’t write too much on TUI as this is about the hotel, but TUI were generally ok (over priced) but the Christmas Day Gala dinner is awful, we couldn’t even get a table. We booked a local reindeer and husky farm for a morning tour - fraction of the price of TUI and a great visit - kids could walk the reindeer and meet the husky’s in their cages. The food at the hotel was not great, however we expected this - very repetitive and won’t suit everyone. There are options if you walk out the hotel - burger and pizza restaurants, which are about £20 a burger a meal and £10 an alcoholic drink. Hotel has lots of sledges dotted around which people share and use on the big mounds of snow dotted around the hotel complex. My kids enjoyed this the most, sledging until 10pm at night. Day light in winter is limited to 10 - 3, but it didn’t bother us. The local supermarket is 15 minutes walk away, it’s best to get a sledge and pull your shopping back, much easier. Overall it was great and it is an amazing town to visit over Christmas. Everything was open Christmas Day, as in Finland I was told Christmas Eve is celebrated more - we went to the ski centre (Y1) on Christmas Day for sledging. A magical place and a decent hotel given its 3 star. The pictures don’t really do it justice on the website. However, food needs improving.

We stayed at this hotel - paid 6k for a family of 4 for a 3night stay TUI were terrible you constantly felt ripped off - after paying so much for 2 min husky ride - a brief 1 min meeting with Santa was really disappointing. We didn’t want to spend another 500euro to do a proper ride Santa village was incredibly average I’ve been to better set up’s in Ireland The snow was wonderful The hotel buffet was awful apart from breakfast - our kids ate only chips for 3 days as nothing really else there The highlight was the sledding which cost us 29euro per board in local supermarket. The final gala again terrible food and woeful entertainment. Finally our flight was at 1415 and we were dropped to airport at 10 -4 hours before the flight! We loved Lapland but price was extortionate for what you got - DO NOT book with TUI from speaking sunway is far better organized!

The hotel is in a good position, ten minutes walk to the local village but take a kick sled for a fun trip down. At -25C make sure you take ski gloves and a knock face cover, my eyes started to freeze by the time I got to the shops. The walk to the frozen lake is about 10 mins also and worth the trip. The northern lights were brilliant and apparently the best they’ve had for a while. The food was excellent, don’t believe the other reviews. There is plenty for all and the breakfast has a lot of choice the salt cured salmon was my favourite but if you like cereal, toast or cooked breakfast you’ll be happy. The rooms were clean and the sauna was great, the rooms were always warm. We went with TUI and I have to say the reps were useless. When we go back I will book everything individually as it’s easy to get around on the ski buses and you can book excursions easily. I would suggest the reindeer excursion if you’re going to book one, it was a great experience on Christmas Eve through the forest it was Magical. The Christmas Day party was ok, this was heard at Y1 ski resort, the food was fine and the bar easy to get to (you pay for the drinks but they were slightly cheaper than the hotel). The party starts at 7.30ish and with little children it’s too late, we shared a taxi back with a couple who had a baby, €20 on Christmas Day I didn’t think was too bad. This was our first trip to Finland and Lapland, we will be back. The hotel is nice and well placed, however I think we will try the Saaga hotel next, a short stop there and conversations around what it’s like convinced us that would be our next hotel.

Just returned from a 4 day Tui Santa trip. We stayed in the log cabins which are picture perfect. Hotel staff were always welcoming friendly and helpful. The hotel was clean and well maintained. There was a good selection of free sledges to use which was fantastic. The setting by the lake was stunning and its a short walk into town. We were lucky enough to see the Northern Lights twice when there. Food is a buffet, they had great choices each day. Including a varied vegetarian selection. The Tui staff were always on hand to answer any queries and my sons enjoyed the activities onsite with them. Overall a dream come true trip in every sense!

The cabin has one bedroom and a combined living room and kitchen. It is spacious for three persons. It is very clean. The kitchen has all the things needed for cooking, a waterboiler and a cofee maker. It also has own sauna. Apart from the two single beds, the sofa bed was large enough for two persons. The breakfast had many variety of food incl. e.g., newly baked bread, smoked salmon. Staff were friendly and helpful. There could be blackout curtains because the night is very bright in the summer.

What an amazing place to go, we have been lucky enough to stay at this hotel twice and the Princess (sister hotel) once. This is not only an amazing experience for kids but also for adults. Check in is so easy, on our first trip to this resort in 2021 as it was cancelled in 2020 due to Covid. We found looking for our log cabin a bit tricky (about 35 minutes lol) not ideal when pulling cases in the snow. But once you find your bearings its easy to get around. We returned in Dec 2022 again for the Christmas period but had the benefit of knowing where everything was. Log cabin, WOW. Sauna, amenities were amazing, sledges there is plenty to go around! Took a bit time to get used to the fire and getting it going once mastered its amazing. You don't get much time to chill as you want to do so much in the 4 nights we was there but late nights early starts for 4 or so days is doable! Food is a little repetitive, but near the lake there is a nice pub we went to a couple of times to break it up and the portions were huge! Lapin Kulta beer is awesome! There is a supermarket about 10-15 minute walk to buy some groceries and soft drinks and be rude not to purchase some cans of Lapin K!!! We booked through TUI and did Huskies twice in 2019, 2021, the first was during the day which was out of this world, but when we did it again in 2021 it was at night and we didn't enjoy it, i was driving the sleigh and was stressful as you couldn't see much in front and when you did notice the others in front had stopped i nearly squashed the dogs a few times so couldn't let the brakes off to much so came away not enjoying the experience which was also quite expensive. You also go off to Santa Village which is out of this world! You go on a sledge pulled by a snowmobile and plenty of warm berry juice and cookies! You get a taster on the huskies as well! And the Ice bar is a must!! They do shots of vodka say in a ice shot glass ;o) With the location of the hotel you are not far from the Supermarket but behind there is a frozen lake which is the ideal place to go to see the Northern Lights if there out to play! You see them with the naked eye but sometimes even better with a camera or phone but remember to change settings to night vision! This hotel is a must, however the hotel where you go to have meals used to have a kids area with some gaming machines but 2022 they were removed and more seating so my son was a little bored whilst we wanted to sit on front of the open fire having a hot drink. We will definitely return but would like to go for a week rather than 3-4 days. We never used the pool even when we had our kit just no time. And the Y1 ski slope is worth a visit and do a lesson and enjoy the slopes! Or you can rock up with a sledge and go in a certain area and no payment is required.

Great staff and delicious breakfast.