Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort, Saariselkä, Finland

Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort Oy is a holiday village in Sodiselylä's Saariselkä, known for its glass igloos. Glass igloos are hotel rooms or holiday cottages with a domed glass roof, partly excavated underground, which are very suitable for watching the northern lights in winter.

Kakslauttanen was founded by entrepreneur Jussi Eiramo in 1973 as a peat-roofed roadside café. The first glass igloo was built in 2001. Now, in addition to glass igloos, there are log cabins, combinations of log cabin and glass igloo, and a restaurant in the area. In winter, temporary snow igloos are also built in the area. Double-hull turnover has grown rapidly, from € 3.6 million in 2012 to € 13.3 million in 2016.

 

The resort, open year-round except for May, occupies two sites some 155 miles (250km) north of the Arctic Circle on either side of the main northbound Lapland highway to the North Cape, so spectacular and extreme winters are practically guaranteed. Most visitors arrive by flights to Ivalo airport a 30-minute drive away. In the short snow-free summer and colourful autumn, trekkers head for the trails across the upland fells of the adjacent Urho Kekkonen National Park. The Saariselkä resort town is a 15-minute drive from the original East Village.

 

Glass igloos have received a lot of attention in international travel circles and in the media. Guests can enjoy the snug self-sufficiency of their comfortable cabins, the larger versions of which have kitchenettes, on longer visits (igloo occupancy is rarely for more than a night at a time). Facilities are dispersed and it’s a 10-minute stroll or push-sled trip to the restaurant from some of the farthest-flung cabins in the newer West Village.

Spa and massage services are available and the resort sports the world’s biggest smoke sauna accommodating up to 100 bathers at once. Activities from aurora hunting expeditions on snowmobiles and reindeer or husky sleds to horseback riding, skiing and quad-bike safaris are offered for a fee. Winter clothing and equipment rental is available. Multinational and multilingual staff are helpful and eager.

 For more information - Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort