These Rovaniemi hotels and cabins are perfect for a winter escape
Promising all kinds of adventures in the otherworldly landscapes of the Arctic Circle, the Lapland capital Rovaniemi in northern Finland is fantastically easy to reach for winter breaks due to its international airport – Easyjet flies here from London Gatwick between November and March.
Whether you're looking for an alternative to Iceland's hotels or somewhere other than Tromso to to see the Northern Lights on a snow holiday, you'll want to keep scrolling for our selection of Rovaniemi hotels for a magical winter trip.
The mythical home town of Father Christmas and current setting for Santa Claus Village with festive attractions, Rovaniemi is great for families to experience but brilliant for all ages and a romantic spot for couples, offering an array of outdoor activities in the surrounding epic nature – the likes of Aurora Borealis hunting tours, husky safaris, reindeer farm tours and snowmobile safaris.
It also has the Arktikum museum and science centre and the Science Centre Pilke, with fascinating displays on the Arctic, the history of Finnish Lapland and northern forests.
Accommodation in and around Rovaniemi is almost as thrilling as the setting, whether you’re a couple looking for a chic urban bolthole with spa treatments and hip Nordic design, or a family or group of a friends seeking a lakeside cabin with a full-on get-way-from-it-all feel.
Many of the best Rovaniemi hotels and lodges either run their own activities or can organise them for you. Whether you're looking for Rovaniemi hotels for Northern Lights viewing, city centre hotels or magical glass igloos, we've got you covered with our pick of where to stay in the Finnish capital of Lapland.
Arctic Treehouse Hotel
The Arctic Treehouse Hotel's Rakas restaurant is a dreamy setting for local flavours served beneath pine-cone lamps, and unique experiences include ‘wool sock walks’ – a gentler form of barefoot walking that activates the foot muscles in a new way and improves blood circulation.
Cocoon-like accommodation is in stilted suites on a gently sloping hill, with views over the treetops. Some options, the Arctic Glasshouses, have two bedrooms, a kitchenette, a real fire, a sauna and an expansive deck, while Executive Suites include a nest bed, a bath with scenic views, yoga equipment and a wellness basket.
Apukka Resort
A 20-minute drive from Rovaniemi itself and 10 minutes from Santa Claus Village, this unique resorts sits between two wilderness lakes surrounded by breathtaking Arctic nature. There’s so much going on at Apukka, it’s hard to pick from activities, but choose from an authentic löyly (steam) in one of the traditional saunas, dogsledding, snowmobiling, big tube sliding, walking or kick-sledding on the lake ice and spending evenings under the stars by the nightly bonfire – and that’s just in winter.
The array of accommodation is equally dazzling: think Kammi or Komsio Suites or Aurora Cabins with the chance to see the Northern Lights from your bed, lakeside Kammi Family Suites with kitchenettes, villas with full kitchens and private saunas, or the adventurous Aurora Wagons or Ice Cabins.
Nova Skyland Hotel
On the outskirts of Rovaniemi a short stroll from Santa Claus Village, Nova Skyland Hotel is an oasis of Scandi chic for families, couples and groups of friends alike, offering accommodation in suites and cottages for two to eight people – all with their own sauna for thawing out after your icy adventures, plus fluffy bathrobes to curl up in afterwards.
There are panoramic windows so you can keep watch for the Northern Lights, while the cottages have fireplaces and decks that open right onto the forest so you can sashay out to pick blueberries and say hello to the reindeer. The hotel restaurant is a cosy spot for modern Lappish cuisine.
Arctic Light Hotel
This family-owned boutique hideaway in the heart of the city blends contemporary styling with Lappish heritage to gorgeous effect. Rooms at the Arctic Light Hotel include polar bear motifs to highlight the hotels’ partnership with the World Wildlife Fund in raising awareness about climate change and the threat to polar bear habitats.
This green ethos is also seen in the electric car used by maintenance staff and in the five electric car chargers and one Tesla charger for guests. Th rooms and suites are moodily hued urban retreats for up to four, with espresso machines, and there’s a guest sauna and a restaurant serving Finnish beef, reindeer, moose, salmon and king crab.
LAURI Historical Log House Manor
For an authentic place to stay, this guesthouse occupies an Ostrobothnian dwelling that was relocated to Rovaniemi to serve as the home to a knife factory and handicrafts workshop where artisans worked on local raw materials such as reindeer antler, goat willow's root and curly birch.
Gorgeous handmade knives and crafts including kuksa cups and cake servers are still produced and sold here, while LAURI's accommodation takes the form of simple, spacious studios with wooden panelling and floors – some sleeping as many as nine. Ask about the Aurora Tours taking you to secret spaces in the forest for a campfire barbecue, hot chocolate and stories about Lapland.
HAAWE Boutique Apart Hotel
Right in the city centre, HAAWE Boutique Apart Hotel is a chic offering with just 14 rooms and suites all inspired by Lapland’s natural phenomena and changing seasons. Hanki (‘Snowdrift’), for instance, has all-white decor and an eggshell bath at the end of the bed, while Kota (‘Sami Hut’) is wood-panelled with a tent-like canopy over the bed and a contemporary fireplace at the end of it.
Sleeping up to five, all have kitchens with DIY breakfast supplies including cold-pressed blueberry juice and yoghurt; suites add spa rooms and saunas.
Grand Post Hotel Rovaniemi
A one-time post office built in the 1950s, the boutique-style Grand Post Hotel Rovaniemi offers 33 rooms and suites, some with their own sauna, and some designed specially for families. The decor has a cosy, contemporary elegance, with bare floors and pale woods often by sober greys and dark blues.
Rooms also have handy kitchen areas, and there are good breakfasts with buffet, Continental and veggie options. You’re right on hand for the train station here and within walking distance of the main sights including Rovaniemi Art Museum and the Arktikum Science Centre.
Ounasvaaran Lakituvat Chalets
Surrounded by Lappish nature on Ounasvaara Fell east of the city (you might even see a herd of reindeer strutting across the courtyard), these pretty wooden chalets with two bedrooms, fireplaces and private saunas are on hand for hiking and ski trails, downhill ski slopes, a golf course and the sports and wellness facilities of the Santasport centre.
The company that owns Ounasvaaran Lakituvat Chalets runs Santa encounters, husky and reindeer safaris, snowmobiling (including Aurora eMotion – the world’s first electric snowmobile tours), ice fishing, ice floating and Northern Lights outings.
LakeLodge Kiehinen & Igloos
Swathed in pine forest on the sparkling shore of Lake Norvajärvi, about 18km from the centre of Rovaniemi, these atmospheric two-person cabins and floating AuroraHut igloo boats (which sit on the water in summer or the ice in winter) have access to a bewitching traditional Finnish beach sauna with a terrace Jacuzzi offering sunset and Northern Lights views.
You can also swim in the lake, both in summer and winter (or ice-skate on it when frozen!). Guests at LakeLodge Kiehinen & Igloos can use rowing boats and outdoor games. The entire property can be rented out for a private use, and catering is available.
Villa Wältti
This lovely two-bedroom lodge in superb countryside north-east of the centre lures with its stylish furnishings, indoor and outdoor saunas and alfresco fireplace for toasting marshmallows.
Sleeping up to five, Villa Wältti is also well set up for families, with equipment loan by request. You’re just five minutes from Santa Claus Village by car, as well as within walking distance of the Raitola Reindeer & Husky Farm, with its sleigh rides and animal feeding.
Invisible Forest Lodge
Consisting of only 13 boutique suite cabins surrounded by Arctic forest, Invisible Forest Lodge has several styles of accommodation, including the Invisible Suite, an eco-friendly house for up to four, with vast floor-to-ceiling windows with full-on immersive forest views, a sauna, and a terrace hot tub. The Cozy Log Cabin and Luxury Log Villa also have private saunas, while guests in Aurora Hut Igloos can use the adult-only sauna in the new restaurant building.
Less than 10 minutes’ drive from Rovaniemi centre, this property is great for local activities including Polar Explorer icebreaker cruises – a fantastic opportunity to explore the Arctic sea, with the possibility of swimming in survival suits amidst the ice.
Nordica Design Residence Rovaniemi
The sleek city-centre apartments at Nordica Design Residence Rovaniemi feature homewares from iconic Finnish designers (which you can also buy at a special rate) in options including two penthouses with private terrace and sauna, each sleeping up to five.
Although they’re fantastic for those who want to ‘go it alone’ with a home-from-home set-up, you can also book a butler, a catering team and the in-house transportation service. The Penthouse apartments come with complimentary goodie packages including fresh bread, yogurt, eggs, cheese and berry jam; you can order these as extras in the other apartments.
Santa Claus Holiday Village
Handy for Rovaniemi and its airport, this is a relaxed resort with classic, red-painted wooden cottages sleeping up to four, plus several sleek suites tucked away in the forest for a little more seclusion. A lively choice, Santa Claus Holiday Village has all kinds of activities ranging from ice-floating beneath the aurora-streaked sky to elf-hat-making for kids at Christmas.
The resort is large enough to have several places to eat, including a modern Scandinavian restaurant and a few glass igloos where you can watch out for the Northern Lights as you dine.
Glass Resort
This swish resort within Santa Claus Village has glass apartments inspired by the indigenous nomadic Sami’s kota huts – tepee-like dwellings. An escape into nature, each apartment has an outdoor hot spring spa bath perfect for stargazing or watching the Aurora Borealis. They also have private saunas. There is also a villa available year-round that sleeps up to nine guests.
The restaurant at Glass Resort showcases ingredients from Arctic nature, including reindeer and elk, Arctic char, Arctic Ocean salmon, willow grouse from the Pöyrisjärvi wilderness, and wild berries and mushrooms. All kinds of activities are offered, including day trips on the Gulf of Bothnia on an icebreaker.
Lapland Hotels Sky Ounasvaara
This hotel has a brilliant location for summer cycling and winter sports next to the Ounasvaara Ski Resort, Santasport, and the Lappi Areena. Built from local materials, Sky Ounasvaara has a glowing lobby fireplace to warm up in front of, and the Sky Kitchen & View restaurant serves authentic Nordic cuisine, drawing on local ingredients.
Rooms are designed to make the most of the surrounding landscape but are also nest-like escapes to retreat from the cold, finished in warm colours and comforting textures and with private saunas in over half of them.
Santasport Apartment Hotel
Next to the main Santasport building and near the glorious nature of Ounasvaara, the slick contemporary accommodation of the Santasport Apartment Hotel comes in a minimalist but cosy Scandinavian style. All apartments have their own sauna, balcony, and full kitchen.
The benefits of staying within the Santasport complex include a free morning swim, complimentary use of the spa and gym, and discounts on sports and leisure amenities, including bowling.
Arctic City Hotel
Set in the heart of Rovaniemi, the family-owned Arctic City Hotel offers an evening sauna that's open to all. Go for a Junior Suites if you'd like your own private version. All rooms are warmly welcoming, with plush throws and, in some cases, polished hardwood floors.
The friendly staff will help book seasonal activities and suggest local places to eat and drink. However, there’s also well-regarded on-site dining. Try Monte Rosa for steaks and traditional Lappish cuisine, or head to Bull Bar & Grill for ribs, wings, and other USA classics.
Looking for more European holiday ideas?
- Rotterdam's most stylish hotels
You Might Also Like
