Lapland Finland hotels review — 10 best place to stay in Lapland Finland

Determining where to stay when traveling to Lapland Finland is not as simple as traveling to other European cities. With an area as large as a whole country and tourist attractions and places to visit located scattered and quite far from each other, so finding a convenient place to stay here is not easy at all. Thus, I wrote this article to help you choose a suitable accommodation to stay when visiting Lapland Finland on your own! So, where to stay in Lapland Finland, where to stay in Lapland for northern lights (Lapland Finland hotels northern lights)? Let’s check out our Lapland Finland hotels (Finnish Lapland hotels) and Lapland Finland accommodation review to find out where is the best place to stay in Lapland Finland (best places to stay in Lapland) as well as best areas to stay in Lapland Finland).

Where to stay in Lapland Finland: Best areas you should stay and best places to stay in Lapland

The map below suggests some areas which tourists often choose to stay. The most popular of these are:

• Inari-Saariselkä: One of the best places to stay in Lapland to hunting for Northern Lights (Aurora borealis).
• Ylläs-Levi: 2 very large ski resorts.
• Pyhä-Luosto: Ffamous for its resort and Pyhä-Luosto National Park.
• Rovaniemi city: Where Santa’s village is located with its own resort.

You notice at the top there is a village of Utsjoki — this is the most ideal aurora hunting spot because it is closest to the North Pole. However, tourism here is not developed and there are also not many resorts and hotels, so that’s why I recommend you staying in the Inari-Saariselkä area. I list the above areas for you to easily choose according to your needs and conditions. For example, if you want to stay in a remote place to hunt the aurora borealis, you should stay in Inari-Saariselkä, if you prefer skiing, you should choose to stay in Levi or Ylläs. If you want to visit the village of Santa Claus, stay nearby or in Rovaniemi City.

There are many tourists who choose to combine 3 or all of 4 areas above during their trip to have more experiences. Typically, stay one day in a glass igloo hotel to see the aurora borealis, one day to go to skiing, one day to visit the village of Santa Claus. Because the distances between these areas are quite far, you must choose carefully in advance to avoid some inconvenience during the trip. Looking at the map, it seems small, but it’s more than 250km to go from Rovaniemi to Inari-Saariselkä.

Types of Lapland Finland hotels

Unlike in other European tourist cities, in Lapland there are many different types of hotel rooms. Here are some types of accommodation for you refer to and help you easily to decide where to stay in Lapland Finland:

Glass igloo

This type of room is mainly made of glass, which does not absorb water vapor, so you can see the Northern Lights easily without having to go out to see if it appears. Just looking up and seeing the sky. There are two types of glass igloos. A type of full-domed like a turtle’s shell. Another type of half-domed above, below part is still built as usual. Of course, the price of a full-domed glass igloo will always be more expensive than a half-domed igloo.

Ice hotel

Furniture and elaborate decorations in the room are mainly made of ice, including the bed. If you want to sleep here, you need to use a sleeping bag at night :D. You can rent a bed here or there are many hotels that also offer a service that allows you to visit the rooms at the ice hotel without stay. This type of hotel is only open during the winter months and every year the rooms are changed with different designs. Restaurants, bars… also made from ice.

Traditional wooden house combined with sauna

Wooden house (or cottage) is also one of the popular accommodation in northern Europe. All materials, furniture, decorations in the house are made from wood in the most natural way. The wooden house also has a kitchenette or wood-burning fireplace.

Regular room

This is a basic room type that any hotel will provide, including a bed and wardrobe. In Lapland, these types of rooms are also quite a lot, but in hotels, there is an option of sauna bath if you want.

Where to stay in Lapland Finland: Best places to stay in Lapland Finland and top Lapland Finland accommodation in each area

Inari-Saariselkä

Are you looking for best Lapland Finland hotels (Finnish Lapland hotels) or Lapland Finland accommodation but also wish to see the Northern Lights? Saariselka is one of the most popular areas when it comes to this. This is a rather remote area far from the city center, so the opportunity of seeing the Northern Lights is much higher than in other places. Some famous hotels in this area for you refer to.

Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort

A 5-star resort built in the style of glass igloo shelter like turtles lying side by side. Room rates ranging from €400-€1,000/night for 2 people. This can be considered the most ideal aurora viewing spot because this place is quite far from the center of Saariselkä, so there is less light pollution, and the glass igloo is full dome rather than semi-domed, so it is great to see the aurora. However, the downside here is that there is no free shuttle like other glass igloos near Rovaniemi, so your commute will be quite difficult without a self-driving car. Besides glass igloo rooms, there are also traditional wooden houses here. The resort also offers services such as snowmobile, reindeer riding, husky sledding,… This hotel is very famous and has been appered in the international press quite a few times. Check rates on Agoda.com or Booking.com.

Wilderness Hotel & Igloos Muotka

The hotel offers many different types of rooms such as suites, sauna rooms, traditional wooden houses, glass igloo cabins with prices ranging from €100-300 depending on the room type, including breakfast. The glass igloo here is a half-domed type, so of course the view is not as wide as the Kakslauttanen resort above and the price here will of course be much cheaper. Check rates on Agoda.com or Booking.com.

Holiday Club Saariselkä

The budget hotel at a very affordable price compared to hotels in the same area with the price of €80-150/double room with many facilities such as spa, sauna, hot tub, including breakfast and other recreational activities. This hotel offers the regular room types like many others, but the room here is quite new, modern, decorated in a simple nordic style with many other accompanying services. This place is quite suitable for families with young children because it is near the Angry Bird Playground and there is also a separate playground for children in the hotel premises. Check rates on Agoda.com or Booking.com.

Check out more top and best hotels in Inari-Saariselkä on Agoda.com or Booking.com.

Rovaniemi City Center

Rovaniemi city center is about 8km from Santa Claus village. The hotels here are usually cheaper than resorts in the distance because from here you also need to travel a long time to reach the aurora hunting spots. Rovaniemi is the most suitable choice for where to stay in Lapland Finland if you want to stay in a crowded place, with supermarkets and convenient public transport.

Scandinavian Home: Fully furnished apartment, 1.5km from Arktikum science museum and 9km from Santa village. Price is about €70 a night. Check rates on Agoda.com or Booking.com.

The rent for a hostel room is also about €30 per person, so I find it much more convenient to rent an apartment like above for 2 people. You can comfortably go to the supermarket to buy food to cook if you want to save money.

Below we recommend more best budget, mid-range and upscale hotels with good ratings and reviews you can refer to.

• Scandic Rovaniemi City (Agoda.com or Booking.com)
• Lapland Hotels Ounasvaara Chalets (Agoda.com or Booking.com)
• Arctic City Hotel (Agoda.com or Booking.com)
• Original Sokos Hotel Vaakuna Rovaniemi (Agoda.com or Booking.com)

Check out more top and best hotels in Rovaniemi on Agoda.com or Booking.com.

Santa Claus Village

If you choose to stay here, visiting Santa Claus village and take part in some other activities will be quite easy. However, another disadvantage is that although it is farther away than Rovaniemi, less light pollution than Rovaniemi, it is still not an ideal aurora hunting location like in Saariselka.

Santa Claus Holiday Village

This place is not a glass igloo type but like a cottage house decorated in a nordic style with a fully equipped kitchen and sauna room in each house. This hotel is located right near Santa’s village and only 5 minutes from Rovaniemi airport. The hotel offers a free airport shuttle service. The room rate is also quite reasonable compared to other hotels (€120-170). This place is suitable if you go with a large group of people. Check rates on Agoda.com or Booking.com.

Santa’s Igloos Arctic Circle

The hotel is located near the village of Santa Claus, with a free shuttle service from the airport/train station to the hotel. This is one of the good hotels on the free pick up list of tour operators, so booking a room here is also quite convenient. Room rates in the range of €300-500/2 people for a half-domed glass igloo. This is one of the most popular hotels in the village of Santa Claus if you are still not sure where to stay in Lapland Finland. Check rates on Agoda.com or Booking.com.

Arctic Fox Igloos

This hotel is not located in Rovaniemi but is quite loved and popular because it is located right on the shores of Lake Ranuanjärvi in ​​Rauna and 93km from Rovaniemi airport. There is also a free shuttle service and room rates included breakfast, sauna room. Room price about €430. However, I see a drawback here is that the location is quite far to the north, so the chance of seeing the beautiful aurora here is also lower than the hotels above. Check rates on Agoda.com or Booking.com.

Levi and Ylläs

Lapland Hotels SnowVillage

Every year, this hotel will be redesigned according to a different theme. This year the place is designed with the theme of Game of Thrones. Rooms are built underground for €390 for 2 people and €490-610 for 4 people. Price included breakfast. This hotel is quite close to 2 large ski resorts, so it is also very popular. In addition, it also offers other services such as husky sledding safari, reindeer sleigh riding, snowmobile, ice fishing… This is one of the most beloved and popular ice hotels for international tourists in Finland.

With the theme of Game of Throne this year, many world-famous newspapers such as Forbes, CNN, The Guardian also had articles about this hotel. If you are looking for a unique and new experience and don’t know where to stay in Lapland Finland, then choose this accommodation — one of the best place to stay in Lapland Finland. It will meet all your needs: Beauty, uniqueness, and strangeness that are difficult to findn in other cities. Check rates on Agoda.com or Booking.com.

Some itinerary suggestions on where to stay in Lapland Finland

• Day 1: Spend 1 night at a glass igloo hotel to hunt aurora. Of course, if your budget is abundant, I recommend staying at a full-domed glass igloo (turtle shell shaped) rather than a half-domed type. The first choice is the Kakslauttanen resort in Inari-Saariselkä.
• Day 2: Moving down to Kittilä to stay at Lapland Hotel SnowVillage. This hotel is close to 2 ski resorts, so you can spend 1 day here to ski, ice fishing and visit ice hotel.
• Day 3: Moving down to Santa Claus village and stay at Santa Claus Holiday Village hotel in a traditional wooden house. This place is right near the village of Santa Claus, so you should spend a day to participate in activities in the village such as visit husky dog farm, reindeer riding, husky sledding, camping fire…
• If your budget is less, you can consider to staying in Rovaniemi city for €70/apartment and taking a bus to nearby attractions. Or if you want to hunt for the aurora, you can stay at the Holiday Club Sääriselkä that I introduced above for €80/night/2 people.

Above is the 10 of the most favorite, popular and top rated resorts and hotels in Lapland Finland with different prices and various styles. Hopefully, the above sharing will help you easily decide where to stay in Lapland Finland and best place to stay in Lapland Finland. Do not forget to refer to more articles about Finland tourism below.

Some best day tours, trips, activities and transfer services, tickets in, from and to Lapland you can refer to

• Lapland 2 Day Tour from Rovaniemi
• Highlights of Rovaniemi Day Tour
• The Frozen Waterfalls of Korouoma Day Tour from Rovaniemi
• [DISCONTINUED] Lapland Wellness and Relaxation Tour
• Aurora Borealis Small Group Tour with Free Photos from Rovaniemi

Read more: Lapland travel blog — The ultimate Lapland travel guide: How to travel & what to do in Lapland and Finland guide here.