Rachy - ahhh you got me there.... we went to Magic of Lapland (Reindeer Cottage) for the DAY. All the rides and activities were included in the price with not a single added extra... sorry to be of no use whatsoever.

Weve got taster rides included and a visit to santa park but the elf fun day is extra , doesnt matter really but im just curious!

Well what a week we had there. It was PERFECT.
Arrived on Dec 17th (-28 degrees) yes it was cold but bearable.
The snow was thick on the ground and the trees, it was a real winter wonderland. We stayed at the Yllas log cabins which were great. Had a 10-15 min walk to Akas hotel for our meals which was a bit of a chore but hey we were on holiday.
We all learnt to ski, the kids put us to shame because they caught on so quick. We did the reindeer safari and a snowmobile at night. We visited Santa in his house in the village (did'nt go to santapark as we had heard negative comments prior to going). Saw the northern lights one evening, had dinner at Julli's (tried reindeer on our burgers) and just had the best time ever.
Yllas was a lovely village, people sooooooo friendly. On the second to last day our son had an accident on the slopes and the treatment we received from everyone was lovely. He has come home with a broken collar bone and a fractured rib......but it could have been worse.
Met some lovely people. The Akas hotel is also known as the Snow Elf.
Any questions just ask.
When we left on xmas eve they had lit the whole of the main road in the village with candles, it was simply stunning.
Will post a review of the log cabins too (would a lovely moderator help me out please for this)
If you get a chance to visit Lapland at any time in your life.....just do it.
We only had a brief blizzard for a couple of hours on the 19th.
By the 24th there was still snow on the grounds, but yes it had all gone from the trees and some of the mountains were green, and the road had practically melted. The problem was, that we encountered some really mild weather towards the end.
To summarise..........wonderful (as i think you can guess) !!

Hi just to let you know what my trip was like! It was fantastic!!!! We stayed at the winter wonderland hotel and had the holiday of our lives!! I really want to go back.First choice were fantastic and so was the hotel. Loved the taster activities.The extra trips were expensive but wonderful. We went on the reindeer and snowmobile trip.The snowmobile was brill, my hubby loved it!!!
We went on xmas eve and everything went smoothly. Suprisingly there were people complaining but people we talked to were just as happy as us!!Room was fantastic.It was very spacious and also had a balcony which was perfect for the evenings.
We sadly didnt see the northern lights but its a reason to go back again! Plenty of snow and not too cold. The coldest was -18.
Santa was fantastic.The best I've ever seen, my kids 7 and nearly 10 were so impressed that they cant understand why people at home bother to dress up as him now!!
First choice arranged everything perfectly.Ther was no pushing to see santa everyone had there chance to talk to him.
Hope eveyone else had/has a lovely time!

Marissa and theenchanted1- your holidays sound great fun! I have asked for the Yllas log cabins to be added to our reviews. I can't find info on Winterwonderland hotel- is it also called Pohtimo hotel?

yes thats right! It is also known as Arctic hotel pohtimo.Ther is so little info on this hotel and yet it really was beautiful!

just had a look at it- it looks lovely. I have asked for it to be added to our reviews. If you could write a brief review it would be great. I think it is particularly important for Lapland as I have heard mixed reviews of some holidays.

Yllas Log Cabins
Arctic Hotel Pohtimo

Your holidays sounded fantastic - gets us all excited as we go mid February - can you help at all?

Am I right in thinking that the Yllas Log Cabins are different from the Akas Log Cabins. We're staying at the Akas Log Cabins - just wondering if they're basically in the same location as they both use the Akas Hotel.

Thanks folks -

Hi Marissa

Glad you enjoyed the trip too First Choic were excellent weren't they?
We can honestly say its our best ever experience as to date.
Now we are looking into a winter sports holiday in Finland sometime.
Did you do the husky dog excursion too?

Yes sunseeker they were! It was our best holiday ever! I really miss it. We are looking into a ski beginner holiday too.It would be great to go back. No we didnt do the huski trip.

thanks for the hotel review Marissa

Hi Presto,

No, they are different. Your log cabins are situated within the grounds of the Akas, where the yllas log cabins are situated around the village. Apparently they are between a 5 - 20 minute walk from the Akas (which somedays we found rather tiring)!

We met up with some people who stayed in the Akas cabins and they said they were lovely and spacious.....just did,nt have the log cabin effect from the exterior!!!!

Enjoy your time in Feb...........

Hi, thanks for that - am sooooo excited - keep checking the web sites for the weather even now (!) We had thought of staying at the other Akas cabins - I think these were called the Kanerva or something like that, and they were almost like a Butlins Chalet type effect from the front. Was hoping that ours would have a little log effect - never mind, as long as they're clean and warm / cosy inside and not a mile hike everyday for meals --- brrrrrrrrr

And for anyone interested - have just checked on the web cams on the http://www.yllas.fi site and its snowing!

thanks for the review Donna

We are going to return to Yllas and stay over Xmas this year.
If you are going to yllas soon, would someone please if they are going to the suipermarket in the village, check if they are open xmas eve during the day which falls on a Monday this year....... I know it's 11 months ahead but want to be organised
lol

I think presto is off soon ???
Thanks
Donna

YEEEEESSSSSS

The tickets arrived today -

Just under 4 weeks and we're off -

Have just checked the snow forecast web site and there is a lot of snow there this week

YIPEEEEEEE

I have just booked the Yllas log cabins, going with Inghams on 23rd dec 07 and just a warning, they are nearly fully booked, there were no flights from Gatwick and only the little cabins were left, so if you are planning of going out over christmas I would recommend that you sort it out sooner rather than later

appologies for not introducing myself, I am Poe and a mum with 2 kids (9 and 6) and we are off on our first skiing holiday and what a holiday it is going to be, lapland at christmas, I know it's 11 months away and I am not one for booking up early but in this case, it's warrented

Hi poe - welcome to HT!

We are off in 10 days --------------yipeeee

Will post and let you know what its like. We are staying at the Akas Log Cabins at Yllas but its much of a muchness!

Watch this space

Its minus 32 there next week so am getting the thermals warmed up now!

x