Hi All,
We are thinking of booking our 1st trip to Lapland over New Year and would like some advice.
The package that appeals most (on price ;) ) is with Inghams to Yllas, staying in the Akas cabins, self catering. Which leads me to two questions:
1. I just discovered this post today tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g930790-d480…
Which is not inspiring to say the least. On a positive note, its the only really negative review I can find, but then it is about the only one posted so far this winter. Can anyone offer any insight into staying self catering in the cabins as opposed to the hotel?
2. How expensive is food and drink in Yllas if you go self catering? And is there much choice available, especially within reasonable (v.cold) walking distance of Akas?
And last but not least, is the gondola open yet? I cant figure it out for sure!
Many Thanks in advance
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I%26#39;d go to yllas instead and stay at the Snow princess. Book with frist choice. Much much better and top rate reps. Read the most recent reviews on tripadvisor.
I%26#39;d not touch Inghams with a barge pole!
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Hello,
Welcome to the mad forum at the moment!
Remember when people leave their reviews it is based on THEIR own personal experiences.
Yes Inghams are not the best tour operator, but again, it is own choice as to how much you use them for. For instance we use them to get out to Yllas and stay in accomodation there. We don%26#39;t book excursions through them and only speak wih a Rep if we need to. We prefer to be left alone, very rarely do we attend the welcome meetings...but that%26#39;s us!
The Akas or Snow Elf as it%26#39;s also known is a 3* star hotel, and yes maybe a bit dated, and from what I understand from listening to people last year when we were there, the rooms and apartments are on the small and basic side, but to be honest you don%26#39;t really spend loads of time in them. (maybe unless you are on a honeymoon)!!
What about looking at the Yllas Log cabins? Lovely log cabins set in Yllas itself and each one furnished individually but very spacious?
I think also that the Akas hotel rooms only sleep a maximum of 3 people?? Whereas with the cabins it is more.
Food and drink is not particularly cheap, but it depends where you eat. There is a fab restaurant called Julli%26#39;s and there pizzas and burgers are heaven. Very reasonably priced and huge portions.
There is a well stocked supermarket which sells all you would need to get through a week out there.
The Finnish people themselves were probably one of the friendliest nations we have ever met, so the review about rude staff I find very surprising!!!
We return back to Yllas next week for xmas and we can%26#39;t wait to get back. We are self catering for the first time as we did half board last year and ate in the Akas Hotel. The food was fine, the kids food was quite limited to chips and something else, but we did%26#39;nt eat there all the time.
Can%26#39;t help you on the gondola question though sorry.
Go with your instinct. There are other accomodation in Yllas if you are not 100%
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Thanks for the reply.
Unfortunately, unless I%26#39;m mistaken, it seems that First Choice is sold out.
Are Inghams really that bad?
I%26#39;m thinking that by going self catering and staying in the cabins, it won%26#39;t really matter who we go with, so it comes down to price. Especially as we%26#39;re mainly in it for the skiing. So my concern is with the self catering options once there, ie number and variety of restaurants and prices for food and drink. Can anyone offer any advice in this area?
Have I got this all wrong :-( ?
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Hi bluebell, thanks for the reply. Somehow I posted before I managed to read your post, its very helpful.
I think I%26#39;m of the same opinion as you. I rarely go on package holidays and want to mix as little as possible with the reps. So yes, I%26#39;m thinking of just using them to get us there and in some reasonable accomodation. I%26#39;m just trying to check that by going self catering, I%26#39;m not going to be stuck with a single restaurant serving Herring for breakfast, lunch and dinner at £50 a head ;) LOL
Will look at other cabins also, but at this stage, its going to be a question of availability.
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You%26#39;ll be fine self catering, we wish we had done it first time round. I hate being tied to meal times, and yes they do tend to eat early for some reason.
There is Julli%26#39;s, also Poro restaurant in Lapp Village and another restaurant which I can never remember the name!! You also have the option of being able to eat in the other hotels as a non-resident if you want to.
Yllas is a great place. Just use the operator to your own advantage.
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Could I be cheeky and ask roughly (in your experience), how much a meal for 2, with a couple of glasses of wine/beer each would cost at somewhere like Julli%26#39;s?
How would this (Julli%26#39;s) compare to eating out at a different hotel as a non-resident?
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Hello
We cam back from Yllas last Sunday and had a wonderful time. Stayed in the Yllas log cabins and ate at Jullis a couple of times. A meal for 4 (children sharing) with drinks cost us around 40 euros. Another nice restuarant is the Poro at Lapp Village which is a little more expensive but really nice. There is another pizzeria but we did not go to it and a restuarant called the Pipola where we had a nice meal but quite expensive and I would have prefered Jullis.
The supermarket is well stocked so self catering is easy.
Yllas is besutiful and stunning. There is not a great deal there which we found perfect and as per previous comments I would agree that the Inghams reps were not good at all but we used them to get to Lapland and kept ourselves to ourselves. We opted out of their Santa trip (sourced our own) and did not go to their christmas meal etc. I would say that the Inghams Super Reindeer and Super Husky were excellent value for money though.
At the end of the day Lapland is magical and the holiday is what you make it - you can%26#39;t really go wrong is such a fantastic place.
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Hi Minus40
Fact is, no matter where you are staying, most of your time will be spent away from your accomodation skiing, walking, snowmobiling, or whatever YOU like.
The Yllas cabins are nice, all different, but all excellent, the Akas hotel is fine, the hotel cabins are very rustic but that adds to their charm.
Pleas read my reply to the post by Pelhams, I also read his review, and if I didn%26#39;t know better, it would make me think twice.
Trev.
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Right, sod it, booked it!
Had to be with Inghams :( and in the Akas cabins. Was literally the only thing left on 29/30 Dec.
Thanks for all the help everyone!
See u in Yllas!
I%26#39;ll be the one eating in Jullis every night asking how much everything is, with an embarassed girlfriend rolling her eyes. LOL.
:D
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Well done, you will have a great time.
At least you%26#39;ve only got 2 weeks to wait until you go, we%26#39;ve had ours booked for 12 months !!
Let us know how you get on.
Merry Xmas
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