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Review: Kakslauttanen Hotel and Igloo Village

A lot of planning went into our trip to Finnish Lapland to see the Northern Lights. It’s not a trip many will ever have the luxury to do, and seeing the lights isn’t guaranteed so we wanted to do everything possible to make it the most enjoyable and successful trip possible. I’ve posted other notes on how we came to our decision on where to stay:

• Kakslauttanen Hotel and Igloo Village
• When to stay in Kakslauttanen
• Getting to Kakslauttanen
• Activities around Kakslauttanen and Saariselkä
• Review of Kakslauttanen Hotel and Igloo Village

So this is about Kakslauttanen Resort itself.

Arrival at Kakslauttanen

We were met at Ivalo airport by a bus driver and taken to Kakslauttanen. It was a pleasant bus ride and the landscape on the way there was just surreal, the grey light and perfectly smooth snow covered surfaces made it look like the entire place had been buried in ash.

On arrival at Kakslauttanen we’re greeted on the bus by the manager and some staff. Those that were staying in the glass igloos (us and one other couple) were asked to get off first and we would be escorted to our accommodation. We dropped our bags at the luggage room and were told to take just a days worth of clothes with us, as our bags would stay here. When our guide discovered we would be in the igloos our entire stay (it seems most only stay for the one night) we were told we could come back later and taken them ourselves on a sled. Unfortunately the other couple didn’t speak much English, and our Vietnamese guide seemed to struggle when she couldn’t stick to her script and very quickly lost interest in providing them with any information. With my mangled Italian I was able to give them the pertinent details, as otherwise they would have been left clueless to fend for themselves.

I’m not really sure the purpose of leaving your bags behind, with the sleds provided it is easy enough to tow you luggage to your room and there certainly isn’t a space issue within the igloos themselves. Thankfully the restaurant was still open for us despite being delayed by slightly over an hour, so once we’d seen our igloo we raced back for some food.

The Restaurant and Food

The main building is mostly dominated by the restaurant. A mandatory half-board supplement is charged with each reservation, which entitles you to breakfast (served from 8am-11am) and a 3 course set menu dinner (served from 6pm). There is also an optional à la carte menu should you choose. On the first night we opted for the set menu which was a “Thai salad” (lettuce, tinned tuna, and tomato with some fish sauce), a sweet and sour chicken dish, and a creme brulee like desert.

Breakfast the following morning is a buffet-style, with the usual selection of cereals and yoghurts. There is also boiled eggs, bread, and various types of pickled fish. It’s worth mentioning as I know it’s an acquired taste, but the breads are pretty typical of what I’ve had in Scandinavia before. Quite often rye or a dark grain, sliced quite thin, and very very dry. The pickled fish is coated in sauce, it makes up for the dry bread, and very heavily seasoned with dill. Given Emma doesn’t really like dill that greatly reduced the options for breakfast, I quite liked it though. There is also tea, coffee, and hot chocolate to drink along with a juice.

We alternated between the à la carte and the set menu each night, if you decide to eat à la carte you get a discount (or refund I guess?) on your half-board supplement to offset the cost. The food on both menus was of a much higher standard than I was expecting, as I’d read some truly terrible reviews, but it certainly wasn’t going to win any Michelin stars. I think you need to be realistic though, as it’s a desolate environment where local produce isn’t an option and the next closest main town is a few hundred kilometres away. All in all, it was quite tasty. I had the grilled salmon and reindeer, Emma opted for lamb and elk. There was a bit of an argument regarding the elk, as it was meant to come in a creamy sauce but instead came with a red currant sauce. The waiter apologised and said the chef had put the wrong sauce one, I was unconvinced as it looked exactly the same as the reindeer dish I’d had the previous night. But we were both so hungry that we accepted the apologies and started eating.

The service however was underwhelming, but we were beginning to see this was a trend here already.

The Igloos, Facilities, and Surroundings

Well, this is really what you are coming to Kakslauttanen for. The glass igloos are at the very back of the property, a quite leisurely 5 minute walk from the main office building. The snow covered and tree-lined path is reasonably lit most of the day/night (bring a torch with you if you’re planning to be out past 10pm), and weaves its way past the log cabins toward the frozen lake. You cross a small bridge, past the snow igloos, and up a slight hill to find the glass igloos.

The glass igloos themselves were great. Re-splendid in zebra print bed covers, and permanently heated to 25°c. The heat combined with the double-glazed glass ensures the windows don’t fog up and you always have a clear view out, it also means people have a clear view in when the lights are on. There are curtains that provide some privacy upto about chest height, and the small toilet and hand basin is behind frosted glass meaning you don’t need to leave the igloo whenever nature calls. The beds have motorised controls to raise and lower your feet and head, but I was slightly unnerved by the amount of static electricity that was sparking about whenever we moved making me hesitant to put my camera gear anywhere near the sheets.

Showers however are centrally located and communal (men’s and women’s seperate) with towels and toiletries provided for use. Don’t believe the map provided either, the men’s block isn’t on the opposite side of the path but rather further along next to the women’s. Included in each shower cabin is a sauna, which apparently only runs between 6pm and 9pm (not that anybody informs you of this), and a toilet and change room.

In terms of internet access, there is no wifi access in any of the cabins or igloos. There is however a single PC available in the luggage room which can be used for free.

The property on which the cabins and igloos are set is so amazingly picturesque, especially in the dim light of evening. If you’ve seen the recent Chronicle of Narnia movie then imagine stumbling through the wardrobe to meet Mr Tumnus and you’ve some idea of the kind of scenery. The frozen lake provides wide open space which we discovered is perfect to give you maximum visibility of the sky for viewing the lights. The glass igloos however, did not. The way they are nestled among the pine trees meant that the trees obscure the view for any displays which are low in the sky, I imagine you’d need at least a rating of 2 on the aurora borealis forecast to be able to see anything at all out of the igloo while in your bed (even when raised up).

The main office contains a small gift shop and store selling various snacks, beers, etc. We passed on the opportunity and instead bought ourselves food and drinks from the supermarket in Saariselkä.

According to the website, there is also an ice chapel, an ice restaurant, and snow igloos. There was no sign of the chapel or restaurant, and the snow igloos were still under construction while we were there. I was quite annoyed because at no point was there any mention that these buildings weren’t there, may only be available during certain periods, or anything along those lines. Given I went there with the romantic intentions of proposing to Emma under the Northern Lights the Ice Chapel was my backup should the light not appear, and no such thing existing definitely put a kink in my plans.

The Verdict

It all sounded so magical and perfect. The surroundings were gorgeous, the extra activities were fun, the food was edible, and the accommodation was accommodating. On the whole though, the service was terrible.

We’d realised by the end of the trip that it’s not entirely the fault of the staff, they’re hamstrung to an extent by management which seems inept, indifferent, and incompetent. Quite a few of the staff genuinely went to great lengths to try and help you, and were out of their depth given their insufficient training. When we discovered quite late one evening that the European adapter we’d brought with us didn’t quite fit into the plugs provided (they were recessed into the wall and our chunky universal adapter was too big), a staff member named Pum went to the effort of getting her snow gear on and going back to her room to get us hers to use. Likewise a couple of Italian twins went to great lengths to find the answer to any problems having had the job thrust upon them day before.

If it had been a couple of isolated occurrences then we may have just shrugged it off, but by the end we both felt utterly worn down at the amount of effort required to get what seemed like basic assistance with anything. All this in the space of just 4 short days.

It began with the poor Italian couple who would otherwise have been left to fend for themselves, but we didn’t realise then it was just the start. They didn’t initially seem to realise we were meant to be in the glass igloos our entire stay. We tried on a couple of occasions to use the sauna, only to discover it wasn’t on. After disrobing, spending 30mins trying to work out how to turn it on, and then getting dressed again it was simply too much effort to face the -20°c temperatures to find out what the deal was. It turns out they only run between 6pm and 9pm, something that could be easily rectified by informing guests of such or simply posting the operating hours on the door. Maybe the lack of information is a deliberate tactic to make you shell out the €14 per person for a tour of the Igloo Village (tip: you can do it yourself in about 15mins).

Guests we were eating breakfast with were informed with approximately 15mins warning that their afternoon safari had been brought forward to essentially now. I’ve no idea how they expected to reach these people had they not still been eating breakfast, but it didn’t matter as with 2 children under the age of 5 to get dressed and ready for the freezing temperatures it simply wasn’t an option. 2 other couples then jokingly said to us as we were about to check out to be sure to check out bill, as everyone checking out when they did had disputed the charges. Sure enough, they were right and we’d been double billed for some item and not given the advertised refund on the half-board supplement when we ate à la carte. After much arguing, and ultimately telling them how they should calculate the bill, it was eventually sorted. But it was a frustrating exclamation mark at the end of the trip that reflected what it was like trying to get things done properly.

This isn’t to say I always expect silver service and fine dining, it’s just that for the amount you are charged it is almost offensive the level of disregard you are given. Contrast it with our stay for a similar length at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. One gladly leaves customers unaware of the facilities available, is condescending when you are given something you didn’t ask for, and seems to make a habit of trying to over charge customers. The other will gladly arrange to have dry cleaning picked up regardless of the time, seems genuinely offended if you’d suggest something was just OK, and just generally bends over backwards to make things as perfect as possible. Strangely the one with the poorer service was 48% more expensive.

Would we stay there again? With serious reservations. Watching the stars out of the igloo was fantastic, the setting was picturesque, and Saariselkä offered pretty much everything we could ask for from such a remote town. I think next time I’d want to have a car so we weren’t dependent on the bus or taxi to get in and out of town or the ski field.

It’s really just that you pay a premium price, feel like your getting squeezed for every dollar while you’re there as your a captive audience, and are left feeling used at the end of it. When the final impression you get from walking away from somewhere is a dispute over the bill, it’s a sting that is hard to forget.

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