Lapland Hotels Äkäshotelli

I never realized how beautiful Lapland would be. The accommodation has the most beautiful surroundings - literally winter wonderland. There was a lot of sledges around for the kids to play on - they had so much fun doing this - using the snow mounds/hills in the hotel area. Our apartment was really spacious - seemed clean - and had a great dryer cupboard for anything that got wet in the snow, dishwasher and a sauna. (we were busy on activities so didn't spend much time here.) It was great going with TUI as there was fun activities for kids in the spare time as well as in the evening, the reps were also very helpful with bus times/recommendations etc. The day out to the snow village was brilliant. Staff in the hotel were very friendly and helpful. Great bus routes to nearby ski resorts where kids can sledge for free. There was one issue but luckily this didn't ruin our holiday - breakfast was fine BUT dinner/lunch was not so great for food. Our kids aren't fussy and managed to find something simple like chips/chicken nuggets but the pasta dishes/meat dishes were really unappetizing for us - I stuck to what the kids ate, as I'm quite a foodie this was disappointing. However this didn't ruin the trip and I probably would return and use the breakfast but eat out nearby for dinner as the hotel was still great value. As a travel agent, I notice this one always comes up a great price including food - sometimes cheaper than the other hotels which dont include any food - AND you have apartment facilities plus the food - so I don't understand why people moan so much as its still better value. Yes some of the apartments are a little far away but there are sledges nearby to help with luggage.

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