Just got back from a wonderful week in Saariselka, with just one or two bad points!
JOURNEY
Flight to Kittala from Gatwick was half empty so we spread out and had a window seat each! Onward journey by coach to Saariselka also only had 23 people on board so plenty of room to spread out. I can now see why Inghams cancelled the Ivalo flight! Rep says there won%26#39;t be an Ivalo flight for at least the next two years as they are the only operator in Saariselka after the Santa season and there are only around 60-70 Inghams people in resort each week so not enough to fill a plane.
Transfer was very easy as the road is straight and makes for a smooth ride. Drove for 1 hour 15 mins, 20 min break at a service area and then drove for 1 hour 25 mins. There were a couple of small children aged 4-6 ish on board with no problem.
Scenery beautiful if daylight, lovely skies of blue, pink and orange, frozen rivers, forests and the pretty log cabins with candle arches.
If half board a packed tea is provided if you arrive after hotel meal time.
WEATHER
There is plenty of snow, one heavy fall whilst there and snow showers most nights so new white covering every day. Knee deep when you walk off paths! Not icy at all. Temperatures varied between -4 when we arrived and -25 when we left with most days being around -14. The top of the fell though is in excess of -30 and very windy so extra layers needed if going up there to toboggan, ski etc. We saw the Northern lights on two evenings, magical, especially as one of the evenings was New year%26#39;s eve.
Snow powdery so hard to make snowmen, but snowballer was great. Also made ice swans which turned out really well and are in the courtyard of the Holiday Club! Not as stupid as they sound as the Hotel Kieppi has an ice wall decorated with ice birds along the top!
HOTEL
We stayed half board at the Holiday club and I will be writing a full hotel review later. This was our second visit here and there have been several changes. The dinig room has been enlarged and a new a la carte restaurant opened where the row of shops used to be. There is a small general shop near reception now.
The buffet breakfast was very good with a large selection of fruit, yougurt, cereals, porridge, waffle maker, cold meats, cheese and salad. The hot selection was much morer limited than last year, bacon only appeared once all week.
The evening meal buffet was poor and nothing like the good spread offered last year. There were only two main dishes, a dish of creamed vegetables and a potato dish. The starter table only had salad this year, no meats and pates as before. There was always soup. Pudding again only one choice either fruit salad (tinned) or mousse type concoctions and spice cake and biscuits. Again last year there were always choices. There was no children%26#39;s menu this time which had included chips, nuggets, sausages last year and I feel unless your children were very unfussy eaters could be a problem. It looks as though the extended menu was put on for the Santa trips. Evening meal is advertised as 5-8 pm but when we arrived at 7.30 one evening half the food was finished and despite asking had no choice but what was left which had shrivelled up under the heaters. Also beware of reheated food being brought out at successive meals, husband was very ill for 24 hours and suspect food poisoning as no one else has caught a bug and heard another family where the child refused to eat becaused he had a poorly tummy from the restaurant.New Year%26#39;s eve gala dinner was OK and done in marquee in indoor tennis court with fairy lights and decorations.
Rooms are standard travel lodge style and adequate as not in them for long. They now have kettles provided which was good.
Pool area very nice and water was much warmer than last year
RESORT
Saariselka is a small place and not very commercialised, there are some lovely gift shops and a a supermarket that sells just about everything in an amazing jumble, you spot new things each time you visit. There are several restaurants of different standards and do pop into the chapel and look through the glass wall out onto the forest.
The resort was much quieter than when we visited on the Santa trip in Dec 2006 and after New Year%26#39;s day almost empty.
No queues for the ski lift and great ski/ lift hire for 2 or 3 hours when you just want to do a little. Haven%26#39;t come across this before, you are normally committed to a week%26#39;s hire. Free ski bus from resort centre stops at each hotel and goes to the slopes, up to the fell top and further afield so great for sight seeing too.
Cross country ski tracks are beautiful, through the forests. We hired kick sleds from the Siula Building for 5 euros for 24 hours and explored them.
The toboggan run from top of fell back to village is great fun, you just pick up the plastic toboggans that are left lying around everywhere. The cafe and gift shop up at the top are lovely, try and go on a clear day for amazing views to Russia and the beautiful colours in the sky. Whilst up there the sun rose above the horizon and the Finns were very excited as it marked the end of their two months of darkness.
New Year%26#39;s eve fireworks were amazing, some organised displays and the locals just place fireworks in the mounds of snow at the roadside and let them off, no health and safety regs here!
ORGANISED TRIPS
We went on Inghams long reindeer, husky and snowmobile safaris and all were very good and just as described. The reindeer safari doesn%26#39;t go until 5 pm so you are in the pitch black, that could do with being earlier, however it would be great if the Northern lights were out! Snowmobile safari is fast,I found it hard driving one to keep to the pace the instrucor wanted and one of the children in the group aged about 9 was terrified on the back. I would have enjoyed it at a slower pace as the scenery was beautiful but couldn%26#39;t appreciate it as concentrating too hard and hanging on for grim life!
Also visited the igloo village at Kakkslautenen and would consider spending a night in either a glass or snow one another year. Didn%26#39;t have time to go cross country ski ing, snow shoeing or to the action park so will have to return! Local lady told us about the smoke sauna and ice plunge pool at Kiilopaa which can be reached on the free bus and would go there too another time.
Lorna the Inghams rep is excellent, very bubbly, efficient but not pushy re trips etc.
Overall a great time and already looking at returning for a third time next year!
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Wow sounds great glad you had a great holiday.
Would you do the transfer from kittila again?and was it as bad as you had thought before you went?
Also how far was Kakkalautenen from saariselka and how did you get there?
Thanks.
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Yes would do the transfer again, and as I want to return to Saariselka will have to put up with it unless I book independently and the finnair prices are expensive, can%26#39;t beat inghams package. Transfer was not at all bad especially with a stop so no continuous driving longer than 1 hour 25 mins and very straight and smooth all the way. Its just annoying to know that Ivalo airport is just down the road. If I hadn%26#39;t of done that transfer the first time I wouldn%26#39;t have given the Kittala transfer a second thought as many package holidays have transfers of 2-3 hours!
Kakkslautenen is about 10kms South of Saariselka, you will pass it on the transfer from the airport. The free ski bus goes there a few times a day from Saaariselka and the Kakkslautenen hotel also has its own bus that goes 4 times a day to or from Saariselka so very easy to reach. We went on the guided tour of the hotel complex, glass and snow igloos, traditional farmhouse, smoke sauna, ice plunge pool etc for 14 euros pp including return bus arranged through Inghams who can also sort out out a night in a glass igloo 160 euros pp or snow igloo 130 euros pp. It was interesting to have the tour and would now think about an igloo night next year instead of snowmobiles, huskies reindeer which we have done twice now.
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Ok Thanks for the reply.Yes alot of other resorts in Lapland have got a long transfer times but at least travelling upto saariselka you got to take a break which was good and worth knowing.
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I am so impressed with your report. We are only going for a week and already I have every minute of every day fully booked in my head. We fly early sunday morning and we are bubbling over with excitement.
Thanks again for posting all your information.
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