Santa's Hotel Aurora & Igloos

We had a wonderful stay at Santa's Hotel Aurora. The staff member at check-in was exceptionally friendly and helpful, quickly accommodating our request for a breakfast box ahead of our early departure and arranging a prompt replacement for a faulty fridge. Our room was spacious, beautifully designed, and featured a private sauna—a real treat. Despite warm weather, fans were provided to improve air circulation, and the bed was very comfortable with high-quality sheets. The peaceful surroundings added to the relaxing atmosphere, and we even enjoyed drinks outside in the company of a friendly reindeer! We’d gladly stay here again if visiting the area.

I read some of the other reviews and was pretty nervous about having booked a glass igloo in poor condition and terrible service. I understood it was high season so our pricing will be… high. I actually found the service to be decent by the front desk and breakfast staff and the igloo comfort to be quite adequate. Ours was clean and I did put in a request for the one that was farthest from lights. I think if we had clear skies and strong aurora, we would’ve seen it but I do question the location of these igloos. The town is pretty well lit, which is good for walking around but really not good for aurora watching. I ended up walking to Ahvenlampi for somewhere more removed from lights and I did see some faint aurora but even there, there was light pollution. Breakfast was fine too and I particularly liked their yogurt and berries. If you want a chance to see aurora from your igloo, I recommend choosing somewhere else where it’s darker. Igloos were still cool but a bit of a gimmick if you ask me.

Overall we found the staff to be pleasant and attentive, loved how close the hotel was to the slopes, and found the breakfast to be both plentiful in choice and for a variety of tastes. That said, the shower doesn’t really get proper hot, just warm, and they do not clean your room unless you specifically ask. Additionally, it snowed and rained a lot during our stay- making the pathway to our igloo quite treacherous, and we found it strange that they did not have the ice cleared or salted or graveled to make it less slick and more safe. That said, the staff was very helpful when we asked and were able to provide us with walking sticks so be sure to ask for those if you have similar conditions. A few things we found deceptive were the wording of “all hotel rooms” having saunas, because the igloos are not counted in that; the photos of the igloos made them look much more spacious and closer to the woods; the bathrooms are cramped and the floor floods when you shower because it is not properly enclosed; the “mini bar” in the room is an empty mini fridge; and their “aurora alarm” is actually an app you install on your phone meaning that you have to have phone notifications on to get the alarm. As others have mentioned, there is simply one soap meant for body and hair, so bring your own shampoo and conditioner if you wish; the beds are rather firm and are two twins pushed together which don’t stay together super well if you move at all in your sleep; the igloos might be nice to see the aurora if the index is high, but they are quite close together and near a well lit hotel so there is a lot of light pollution preventing much from being seen in less ideal conditions. We were able to see the aurora very clearly one night we were there, but the windows were so dirty from the melted snow that we had to go outside to enjoy them and for the most part the outside lights and dirty windows also prevented us from seeing many stars.