Holiday Village Inari

Stayed 2 nights in Holiday Village in hope to see the northern lights. It is a very expensive stay, but the hotel room is top class. The room is quite large for a couple. There are supermarts within walking distance, and a few restaurants as well.

We stayed 2 nights in a panoramic cabin and one in an aurora cabin. While they both had the same view, the aurora cabin is infinitely better. It also costs a lot more. And, they aren't always available. There was nothing really wrong with the panoramic cabin. It has large windows that overlook the lake, a kitchenette with a small refrigerator, stove, sink, and electric kettle, and a small bathroom. The shower is really tiny, but had plenty of hot water and good water pressure. There's no room for more than a toothbrush at the bathroom sink. On the other hand, the aurora cabin really feels luxurious with a huge bathroom, sitting area with two chairs and a couch, and (best of all) heated floors. There is also an area to remove your boots and things when you come in the door. There is no kitchen facility, but there is an electric kettle and tea/coffee. The most amazing thing are the views of the sky from the bed area. The overhead windows are heated so that snow/ice doesn't cover them and we were able to see the aurora as we lay in bed. The office staff were as lovely as they could be. They have some tub-like sleds to haul your luggage to the cabin (really, this helps a lot in the snow). Breakfast was offered in the reception area and there was usually a cheery fire there, too. It was a simple buffet with cold meats and cheeses, bread, oatmeal, yogurt, and different egg and protein dishes each day. There was tea/coffee and juice. However, for dinner, you have to trudge to the Hotel Inari. It's not really that far (1/3 of a mile), but in the snow and cold, it seems pretty far. Because we were on the 1/2 board plan, there was a set menu, but they did ask if we had any allergies or dietary requirements (we didn't, so I can't speak to those offerings). We stayed 3 nights and had different foods each night. I was surprised how nicely they were presented and how tasty everything was. This is a pretty small town and we were essentially a captive audience. We had booked a package with excursions, so a van picked us up and dropped us off for them, otherwise, we would have walked to the excursion office located next to the hotel.

We stayed in a studio cabin here. From the first glance inside, you can see this place is immaculately designed and presented with high end finishes. It was also well kitted out with good bedding, good toiletries and towels, a well equipped kitchen and very clean. The private sauna was lovely and there are huge windows and a furnished balcony perfect for taking in lake views / northern lights. The location right on the lake is great and it’s a short walk to everything in town and siida (museum). On the downside, storage was a bit lacking. There are wall hooks and a boot tray but a bench or luggage rack for a clothes bag would have been welcome. There are also no opening windows or even a ventilation panel. In the winter, this might be fine but for summer, the room feels airless and the air conditioning needs to be used for air flow unless the door is open. I would much prefer free fresh air for ventilation to wasting energy on air conditioning. Our cabin also had absolutely no internet connection whatsoever and we had to be at the reception building to have any connectivity at all which was annoying to say the least. Still a good stay but I think it would be vastly better for winter stays than summer.

We stayed in a studio cabin with sauna for two nights. All the cabins are brand new - so new that some of them aren’t quite finished, and the groundworks are still ongoing. Once we’d figured out the fiddly door key, and the slightly confusing instructions for turning the sauna on/off, it was a great set up. The wifi was strong and reliable. We chose to have breakfast at the nearby Hotel Inari, taking advantage of the €10 per person special rate on offer, but we cooked in the evenings in the small but functional kitchen area. The only things we felt would be useful to supply for guests in the kitchen were filter papers for the coffee machine, a tea towel for drying dishes and some proper kitchen paper. And they desperately need to fit a curtain on the entrance door’s glass panel - the sun was so bright all night it was difficult to sleep. There’s two power points for charging an electric car, but infuriatingly they didn’t work without some kind of (non-payment) card and the staff were unable to help.

We stayed in a chalet which was wonderful with its own sauna. It was a short walk from the main lodge and was near the frozen lake. It was quiet, warm and cosy with plenty of room. We loved it and would recommend it for viewing the Northern Lights. There are plenty of activities to do and the meals are all buffet so you can stroll in to any of the meals when it suits you, within the meal times. The out door suits and boots are great.

We booked two nights in the cheapest cabin (72 Euros per night). I'm not born in luxury, so we took this cabin. When we arrived, we got the key from the hotel 500 meters away. We had to pick it up, after that it was really hard to go into the cabin, because the lock was so old... Then we saw our bed, table and bathroom. There was a letter "Our cabin prepared 'Tipi'. Warmly welcome. But...the bed was not even made. Everything looked really uncomfortable and cheap. Then, the wireless is not working. As we asked at the reception, she said that not all the cabins have wireless. So we walked through the area, but we couldn't find our wireless...many cabins were not booked, so I think it's no problem to give us one woth wireless. I took a shower and I was happy to get wet...it's such a bad shower, there's only a bit water coming out. I'm happy that we didn't use the kitchen, because it doesn't look like usefull. Breakfast was also in the hotel, so we had to take the car or walking by feet for 500 meters. The breakfast was not good...a lot of fast food (fruits, vegetables,...) and it didn't look nice...not appetizing. We cancled our second night and were happy about leaving this place...I recommend you to search another hotel to stay in Inari.

The cabin was comfortable and fine, and Lake Inari is beautiful. But all these ‘holiday villages’ with identical cabins side by side tend to resemble each other to such an extent that it’s hard to stand out in a positive way. So it’s a good place to stop by on your way north/south, but I don’t see myself staying here for more than a night at a time.

The cabins are mostly new, functional yet comfortable, spotlessly clean and well equipped. Although most people seem to spend just one night en route I think this is an excellent base to stay for e.g. a week to explore north-east Lapland. I stayed in a lakeview cabin without the glass ceiling – which in summer is more of an annoyance, and not worth paying extra for. However, in winter the aurora cabins are probably fabulous. One small blemish was that the blackout curtains weren’t really adequate, with large gaps and no blind at all on the window of the entry door. The only other defect was that the bathroom fittings were too small, especially the wash-hand basin, with the shower cubicle also very poky. But for what it is and what one pays, this place is excellent, and it’s 8.3 rating on *********** at the time of writing does not do it justice.