Lapland Hotels Äkäshotelli

Overall lovely holiday and experience for our first time to Lapland. We were part of a large group of all ages including children aged 3, 6 & 7. The temperature had been quite mild for Lapland and there had not been a lot of snow but luckily when we arrived there had been a bit of snow. Just seeing the snow is exciting & provides lots of fun for the children sledding. We booked through TUI and overall I think it’s an overpriced holiday and unfortunately not very ‘Christmassy’ we could have paid a fraction of the price and went in January/February and it wouldn’t have made any difference. The rooms are ok, spacious & clean which is the main thing. Food is awful at the hotel and be prepared the drinks (even soft drinks) are ridiculously overpriced (if you drink beer- very flat, not quite a pint glass and they’re charging 9 euro for that. 15 euro for a glass of red wine. ) The day out to the snow village was fantastic, we had a taster husky ride, taster snow mobile (pretty long session for a taster) visited Santa he doesn’t say much and you are in & out), children decorated cookies too. The only problem about the day here was it was far too short. We had 2.5 hrs to cram everything in, meaning we had to cut short our walk inside the igloos etc. we could have spent a lot longer here as really it is your full experience. The finale meal is very very disappointing, again very overpriced drinks (53-64 euros for a bottle house wine). The Christmas dinner was boiled potatoes (hard) or chips no roast potatoes, tinned peas & carrots and smoked turkey, it was not edible tbh. Puddings were nice though. Experiencing a winter holiday, sledding, and the snow village was brilliant, but if we went again we would not book through Tui or a package holiday and wouldn’t be as bothered about it being Christmas time as I think Lapland UK is far better for the Christmas experience and excitement for children. Hope this helps anyone looking to book.

Great family experience. We have never been a winter holiday as a family and this was an amazing experience. Hotel was clean and food great for our fussy kids. The scenery is unbelievable and local people very friendly. Highly recommended to visit

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.

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!