Lapland, Kakslauttanen Hotel and Igloo Village

Well we have just returned from a week at Kakslauttanen and prior to going we read all of the reviews here, they are a mixed bag and we had a few trepidations and concerns raised after reading them understandably, not least of all because we were getting married there. Before going any further all I need say is that we found none of the difficulties or behaviour that others have described, our experience from beginning to end was perfect, at least in terms of what we were hoping for.

We made our arrangements through Scantours, so first a few words about them. Whilst all of the people we dealt with were perfectly courteous and polite we found ourselves having to chase them for each step and detail to ensure it was completed and very little was followed through on their part until we did. From sending out insurance papers and flight tickets to returning our calls and emails for details about arrangements for our wedding. After being in Kakslauttanen (who were exceptionally well organised and on the ball) it occurred to me that the reps at Scantours were checking with the hotelier on all our basic questions and so weren't able to give answers themselves which was disappointing. Our advice, don't hesitate to book direct with the hotel and Finair and save yourself some money, we will be next time.

Flights and Transfers

We flew Heathrow to Helsinki and transferred to an internal flight to Ivalo. The flights are fine, decent legroom on the aircraft and it was all perfectly fine. On the downside when you get to Helsinki it's only a small window for the transfer so you have to dash through the airport to connect, the fact you don't need a boarding pass if you fly Finair all the way is a big help but make sure your baggage is checked all the way to Ivalo when you check in at Heathrow if you want to see it at the other end.

On arriving at Ivalo we were met by a rather nice lady who held a Hotel Kakslauttanen sign aloft she collected 10 of us from the flight and drove us for about 30 minutes to the hotel. It's a small airport, so no way you will get lost. Also everyone we met spoke perfect English so if your Finnish is a little rusty don't worry.

You might find it useful to Google Helsinki Airport and print off the map to give you an idea of where to go when you land, it saved us a bit of time and faffing around when we landed.

The accommodation

Upon arriving a member of staff came on to the coach and sorted out all the arrangements, cabin allocations and keys saving us the trouble of going out in the cold of the night for just this. The coach took us within a few tems of yards of our cabins and then we were able to settle in.

The cabins are lovely, very clean, larger than I expected even though we opted for the smaller cabin. Large comfortable bed, open fire with logs and matches waiting to be lit, a small kitchen area and some seating around a coffee table. Oh, and there is also a fabulous rocking chair which you can pull up in front of the fire.. The only thing that could be improved would be if a little welcome pack was provided with tea, coffee etc to get you started. They also have a sauna off of a decent sized bathroom.

The cabins are far enough apart that you have privacy and are all set in beautiful woodland which looked fabulous under a meter of snow.

The Food in the restaurant is good, wholesome and prepared well. If you are looking for haute cuisine and acres of choice then this is not the place for you. Breakfast is a buffet affair with cold meats, cheeses, various breads, fruit and cereal along with tea coffee and juices. All perfectly good and its a relaxed affair being served form 8am to 11am.

Dinner is a set menu although we had a fussy eater with us and they were more than happy to prepare meals especially for her. As has been said by others here dinner is advertised as having two sittings one at 6pm and the other at 8pm although its perfectly fine to arrive at any time.

If you are considering a wedding here then all I can say is it is perfect as a venue and they make you feel special from beginning to end. Ruth is the current wedding coordinator there, an English girl who clearly has lots of experience, warm, friendly and extremely organised she had everything in hand and made sure everything we wanted was in place as well as making some great suggestions of her own to make things special. Everything we asked for was there and on time, flowers, photographer, sleighs pulled by reindeer to take us on the short journey to the ice chapel which looks magical all were arranged with an easy proficiency. We married in the ice chapel which was gorgeous with ice sculptures, an alter made of ice , a huge arched ceiling and even a wedding throne made entirely out of ice about 10 feet high, truly stunning. The wedding vows are lovely if short although you add your own vows, poems etc to pad it out if you wish. We took a cd of music we wanted and Ruth arranged for this to be played. Once the ceremony was over Ruth again appeared with hot berry juice liberally dusted with Finnish vodka to keep the chills away while many photographs were taken.

On the point of photographs the photograph was great, and with 24 hours we had a personalised cd with over 100 very high res images for us to select form for our wedding album when we got home. He even took the time to process and refine some of them himself amd created a file on the cd as a mini slideshow of the wedding. Great service.

After our wedding dinner which Ruth arranged in front of a big open fire in the restaurant (there are private rooms if you want them but this arrangement suited us) the owner appeared and gave us a lovely gift of a oak timbered book bound in leather with our names and date of our wedding branded into the inside cover. He gave us a rather lovely speech and thanked us for coming there. Not only was this his only kindness we witnessed we also noticed he was nothing but respectful and professional with his staff contrary to some of the other posts here (I was watching after I read the previous reports).

On our other days we went out to see the northern lights, snowmobiled and took a hour husky safari (do the 4 hour trip you wont regret it)

Overall I cant recommend Kakslauttanen highly enough but if you are going anywhere in Lapland pack appropriately we used boots by Sorel and jackets from Canada Goose which were fabulous and warmer than the clothing given on the trips out. Also silk glove and sock liners are a must (try Ebay for these) and fleece trousers under thick salopets and you are good to go.

We will be going back for our anniversary (and we never repeat our overseas destinations !!) If you go we hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Enjoy