Star Arctic Hotel

The room is clean and big

It is a place close to the ski resort and a romantic place for couples. The view from the top of the mountain is beautiful. The accommodation is clean and warm.

The hotel is very good overall, recommended

We had two rooms. The girls were in one of the cabins and we were in one of the skylight rooms.

The cabin was great. Could sleep four comfortably. And the ladder/stairs up to the loft was very well designed and thought out and really safe and easy to use.

The skylight room could really use about one more square meter. It was just a little tight even with just two people. The bathroom was kind of small and every time you took a shower pretty much everything especially the toilets just got drenched because there was no glass really or curtain or anything.

The skylight room around also could have really benefited from some way to make it dark. We had extreme cloud cover and so the third night we were not able to see anything of the sky except low hanging clouds that reflected all the light from the lodge behind us. Making the room very bright.

Any negative anything ends there.

The food is quite good, breakfast was extremely approachable even for American children that had pinned country for several days.

Now on to the stars of the show: the activities!

The reindeer experience was very interesting and relaxing. Thank you Anna, Henri, and France for being such great guides.

The dog sledding was a lot of fun. I wish our guy trusted this to go faster than walk. Going uphill was frustrating for us and our teams. I was in the backsled with no passenger, and I pretty much just stood on my brake the entire time. There was no opportunity to get any kind of rhythm or even a moderate speed. When asked her or questioned about this we were just told that this is how it is. I would not do it again had I known. Great for a one-time thing but I wouldn't do it twice unless we had the ability to have a little bit more speed and rhythm and therefore fun. It wasn't great spending all of my brain energy and the leg energy just keeping my dogs out of the sled in front of me.

Other members of our party went on the snowmobiles and said basically the same thing.

The staff at the lodge were super helpful and friendly. Thanks Charlotte and team at the front desk!

Thank you!

3 hour snow mobile safari
We had already had a one hour experience three days ago. The guides were great loved it so much came back for more
Wasn't dissapointed just as good and enjoyed being out longer our guide Tommy
Was really great with us and we were lucky only four of us in the group
We even came off twice which both times feel into deep snow ❄️ needed my husband and Tommy to lift the snow mobile off my leg I was totally OK as it happened so slowly

It made us realise how important it is to be out with an experienced guide who knows what to do where to go and keep you safe

Nikki and Chris Bolton

Very happy with our stay at Star Artic Hotel. We thought the Scenic Suite was good value for money considering the location and time of year. We saw the northern lights during our stay which was great. Breakfast was decent. Didn’t have any other food at the hotel as we had a car and decided to drive to town instead.

We also didn’t do any of the activities thought the hotel as there wasn’t enough snow so the ones we had booked were cancelled but the staff were very helpful around that. As we had a car we found the location now problem but can understand if you don’t have one getting to town isn’t the easiest. Still would recommend though as it was an enjoyable experience.

I mean - we don’t need to speak about nature and the location of the hotel. This is absolutely magnificent.
Nevertheless, I want to share some thoughts and how we experienced it. We can definitely agree to the other comments - we were really unsatisfied with the beds. The mattresses are laid out and the beds can be easily pushed apart while sleeping. For a Hotel of this class I would have expected more quality. Furthermore the room cleaning every day was really poor. The sheets were just placed on the bed not nicely done like we all expect it in a hotel.
Regarding the restaurant - the food in the evening was great, also breakfast we liked but it became less selection during our stay from day to day. Also the service was not the best. We waited almost everyday around an hour from starter to main course.
We experienced a lot of the staff (reception and restaurant) not very courteous which was really disappointing as the Fins are the happiest people worldwide. But definitely a lot were super nice!
Activities - great activities, we can recommend the Lappland experience package! Groups were big, but that’s how it is ;)
Thanks for a lovely stay!

overall:
Definitely the best accommodation in Saariselkä
Geographically located at almost the highest point
We saw the unforgettable Aurora on the first night we stayed 😭🥺
And it’s really obvious! ! ! !
The hotel does not have much unnecessary light pollution
It’s just perfect for taking aurora photos with clear faces.

The room type we booked is a cabin in the building.
Highly recommend everyone to book this room type
The design of the building within the building is really comfortable.
There is also extra space for luggage, so it won’t be too crowded.
Large floor-to-ceiling windows allow you to easily see the entire snow scene
There is also a balcony where you can go out
There are also plastic snowboards to play with outside the door of the room.

Everyone has a smile from the time they check in at the front desk
The service attitude is super good!
After staying two nights we decided to book another night
This time I stayed in a glass house
It’s amazing though!
But I would recommend the cabin more

Oh, there’s more! Be sure to try their sauna
Super big, super comfortable and very reasonably priced

transportation:
I think it is more comfortable to drive by yourself if you come to Saariselkä. Although the ski resort, the entire town and the entire hotel are not far from each other, driving will make traveling much more convenient. It will not be difficult to drive on the way up, and you will see awesome scenery. The view, overall very convenient.

Breakfast: Sufficient portions, all you can eat salmon and various fish, together with beautiful views, the overall experience is very good

Dinner: The hotel provides dinner at the same place in the evening. I personally think it is worth a try. In addition to the atmosphere, the food is also very delicious! It is recommended to dine at sunset, everything is beautiful!

We spent 5 nights in a Scenic View Suite with Sauna. Service was very good and the organization of the activities excellent. We went for the Snowmobile Tour and the IceFishing which was both very well organized incl. equipment etc. The guides were knowledgeable, helpful and very nice! Walking distance to the slopes and the toboggan - do it, it‘s fun!