Book it for the glass roof and the location, and choose the village and the igloo before the dates. The small igloos sleep up to three and exist in both villages; the larger and the log-and-glass ones are in one of them, and the two villages are a few kilometres apart, so check which one the booking is for. The published prices are package rates per night that the resort does not tie to a particular igloo, so get a quote for the exact one. It suits couples and families who want the aurora from bed; it suits less well anyone on a tight budget or wanting a village around them.
Most people know Kakslauttanen from one picture: a glass dome in the snow with
the aurora overhead. The resort behind it, south of
Saariselkä, is larger and more varied than that
picture suggests, and the choices that matter are made before the dates.
Two villages, not one
Kakslauttanen is split into an East Village and a West Village, about four
kilometres apart.1 The small
glass igloos exist in both. The larger ones are in the West Village only, which
means a booking for “a glass igloo at Kakslauttanen” can put you in either, and
the difference is a short drive rather than a short walk.
Which igloo is which
The resort’s own pages list four kinds of glass
igloo.1
Igloo
Size
Sleeps
Where
Small glass igloo with shower and sauna
25 m²
up to 3
East and West Village
Large glass igloo with shower and sauna
38 m²
up to 5
West Village
Kelo-glass igloo
90 m²
up to 6
West Village
Luxury kelo-glass igloo
310 m²
up to 12
West Village
The small and large igloos each have their own toilet, shower and sauna. The
kelo-glass igloo, built of standing-dead pine with a glass-roofed bedroom, adds
a fireplace and a kitchenette, and the luxury version is a whole lodge of three
log bedrooms and three glass
igloos.1
The igloos are sold through the aurora season, which the resort dates from
around the third week of August, and
glass igloo, aurora cabin or ice hotel
explains why that early start is worth taking seriously.
Tripadvisor ratings, 18 Rovaniemi operators
Highest first
Snowtrail Safaris 5.0
Nordic Odyssey 5.0
Nordic Adventures 4.9
Arctic GM 4.9
Book Lapland 4.9
Bearhill Husky 4.9
Arctic Attitude 4.9
StayLapland 4.8
Wild About Lapland 4.7
Wild Nordic 4.7
Lapland Winter Park 4.6
Safartica 4.5
Nordic Unique Travels 4.5
Apukka Resort 4.4
Lapland Welcome 4.3
Arctic Circle Snowmobile Park 4.3
Arctic Circle Husky Park 4.2
Raitola 3.4
<44.04.55.0
Ratings read from Tripadvisor. The shaded compartment left of the divider holds any score below 4.0. We record the score only; review counts and review text are not part of our comparison.
What a night costs
The resort publishes package rates rather than igloo prices: a winter half-board
rate from €501 a night with breakfast and dinner, and a flexible autumn rate from
€278 a night.1 Neither is tied to a
particular igloo on the page, so treat them as the floor and ask for a quote for
the exact igloo, village and dates you want.
Who it suits
Couples and families who want to see the sky from bed, and who are happy to
spend their evenings at the resort. The larger igloos suit groups and families
who would otherwise need two rooms. It suits less well anyone who wants a
village around them, because the shops and restaurants of Saariselkä are a drive
away, and anyone whose budget is better spent on nights out under the sky than
on a roof made of glass.
Not as part of the igloo itself on the pages we read: meals come with particular packages, such as the winter half-board rate with breakfast and dinner. Read the rate you are booking rather than the igloo description, because the same igloo can be sold on a room-only rate and on a meal package, and in a resort outside the village the evening meal is not something you can easily find elsewhere on foot.
Can we bring children?
The resort's booking form accepts children up to twelve, but the igloo pages do not set out a child policy or say whether children count towards each igloo's maximum. The small igloos take up to three people in two single beds, so a family of four needs a larger igloo or two small ones. Ask the resort how it counts a child before choosing, and whether a cot fits.
Do we need a car?
Not to get there: the resort lists an airport transfer of about forty minutes. Once there, the question is how much of the area you want to see. The resort sells its own activities on site, but the restaurants and shops of the village itself are a drive away. Ask whether a shuttle runs to the village if you plan to eat or shop there.
Lapland Handbook is written by its editorial staff in Rovaniemi. Every price, age limit and group size in a comparison is read from the operator's own page and marked "Not stated" when the operator does not publish it. Each guide names who should not book, and names the operator that suits each kind of group, whichever it is.
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