Lapland Hotels Bear´s Lodge

This review is split in 2, one for TUI and one for the hotel. I know this is trip advisor and really should be hotel only but I thought it would be useful to hear about TUI and what you'll get upto as well! Hotel review is further down. TUI This TUI review is SPECIFICALLY for people staying in Bears Lodge - Winter Wonderland Hotel. I'm calling this out as it MIGHT be different if you stay elsewhere. The hotel is really remote and that might impact activities etc. Check in: at Manchester airport was brilliant, Christmas music playing, elves welcoming you on board and festive picture opportunities Flight: 3hrs, Brilliant, singing Christmas songs, colouring competitions for the kids Arrival at Rovaniemi: Great met by the Elves and shown quickly to the bus Snow Gear: On the way to the hotel you stop at a warehouse and collect your snow gear, they provide boots, socks, gloves and snow suit. All of the equipment is really good, kept us really warm the whole time (in -15). We had our own hats, gloves and socks but great all the same. The process was super quick too, on and off really efficiently. (I'm going to review the hotel separately so going to keep talking about TUI at this point) Communication: I know this is a weird thing to call out, but I thought it was particularly bad / confusing and maybe even deliberately so (explained later) We all get an itinerary, but it's REALLY vague, and lacks any specifics, i.e. how long you spend in places, how long it lasts, where the excursions are (Santa village etc)... More detail later Arrival at the hotel: you get there about 2pm and check in isn't until 4pm. It's kind of weird because the TUI reps just kind wander off and you're a bit in limbo as to what the plan is, when evening meals are etc. All the information is on a hotel notice board though so easy enough to find. At this point we put our snow gear on and played in the snow for a bit until we were able to check in TUI Excursions chat: This is the bit about an hour after arriving where they sell you the excursions. This is the bit that was getting on my nerves the most because at this point, you still don't know EXACTLY what your taster day includes so made it a bit tricky to decide. (More in the Day 3 bit below)... So here's the detail about your stay Day 1: arrive (explained above, evening meals and entertainment in the hotel review bit) Day 2: Taster Day Specifics Starts ~9.45am (you get allocated a time based on your flight, more below) Husky Ride: 5/5 Bus arrives and taken to the woods for a Husky ride. This lasts for approx 2 mins but was really good. Snow Mobile: 4/5 Next you hop on a snow mobile for a ride through the woods, this was brilliant, the scenery is amazing and this last approx 5 mins Santa: 5/5 Then you arrive at a small cabin in the woods. Here you meet Santa. This was brilliant and our little girl loved it, we snuck her Christmas list to the Elf on the way in and she was amazed when Santa showed her her exact Christ

We visited here 6 years ago and loved it but came back this Christmas so that our 4 year old son could experience this magical place and it did not disappoint. We travelled with TUI both times and felt the overall organisation was much better this time. We stayed on one of the lodges the hotel had to offer and it was incredible. There was a separate sleeping area upstairs for our children, a jacuzzi tub and sauna in the bathroom, a log fire, a private balcony and best of all, separate sleds for our kids to use! I didn't realise that there was a full kitchen area in the lodge which included, kettle, filter coffee maker, microwave, hobs and all the utensils you need. We stayed half board so had breakfast and dinner each day and the food was excellent with plenty of choice for adults and children. All of the staff we really good with our kids and couldn't do anymore to help us during our stay. We had a great time experiencing the TUI and elves extras including, winter Olympics and the kids club in the evening. If you are thinking of visiting this place please do, you will not regret it.

Overall we had the most wonderful stay at Bears Lodge - Winter Wonderland Hotel. We stayed as a Christmas TUI package so experience of the hotel may be different at another time of year. The location is absolutely stunning and everywhere you look is picture perfect. As soon as you arrive, you are greeted with the most beautiful scenes. It truly is a winter wonderland. Yes, it is far from anywhere but I wouldn’t have changed the location, it was magical. Walking around the lake was lovely. We were even treated to seeing a lady out for a husky trek with her dogs. Sledging was great fun! Tip: take an inflatable ring to sledge on (ice tube) or pack your own snow shovel sledge as a lot of the hotel ones got broken. My children also loved to play in the giant snow mounds from the snow plough and made slides in them. The hotel itself has a lovely cosy lodge feel and the only criticism I have of the reception area is that we struggled to find somewhere to sit. It’s a shame you can’t use the restaurant tables in the evenings. The rooms were basic but perfectly fine and clean. Beds were comfortable and it was cosy and warm. We had a lovely view from the window over the frozen lake. We enjoyed the food and thought the staff were lovely. We also liked the little gift shop, which had some lovely items that came inside a little gift pouch. Great Christmas gifts. Unfortunately some parents let their children run riot and you could hear children racing around the corridors into the early hours of the morning and we did witness a lady being extremely unpleasant to the staff when they asked the children to behave. The staff handled this perfectly, and the impact on the atmosphere and for our children was minimised. Entertainment was in the conference room downstairs which was good for children and for something to do but there were no tables for drinks. The TUI staff did a great job, had lovely voices and were super friendly. Shout out to Sleighbell Sammy, Lively Liv and Angelic Anna. It was so cute that Ginger bread George gave the children Christmas names. We are still using them :). Taster day was lovely and Santa was the real deal! Absolutely perfect! I would have to say that I was completely disappointed with TUI elf school and wish we would’ve avoided it. It actually led to my son (who loved the elves) being suspicious. I felt this could’ve been tonnes better with minimal effort put in or should just be avoided. This brings me to elves. We absolutely loved the elves. Fairy Lights was a favourite and added to the magic of our holiday with her stories and elvish. Woolly mittens was also a superstar and secretly handed the letters to Santa before we went in. The look on my children’s faces will stay etched in my mind forever. It was so special. Santa Claus Village is great but busy, top tip is to get there early and if you would like to eat in a restaurant pre-book! Be prepared to part with money and do not rely on the visit en route to the airport i

Great hotel, in fairness more like a youth hostel so do not expect plush or Al a cart but it works for a family Lapland holiday, isolated position so kids have the freedom to roam, kids club and activities are ok. Food is basic but ok. Plenty of sledging in the day. Negatives are that after the 2nd day get together they take away the ice hockey, football and sledges which is disappointing, also small bar area. One recommendation is bearshill husky experience it is fabulous

Booked through TUI. Value for money. No safe in room! Food ltd options for veggies. Rooms basic but clean. Only one tv channel in English (American news), I forgot to take my fire stick to watch Christmas films!! Bar area very small but was so tired come the evening we hardly used it. Nice open fireplace. Location perfect if you want to be remote Frozen lake surrounded by woods. Pure Narnia! No light pollution so saw the aurora from there on first night. There are a couple of hills which people sledged on. They only had bum boards though so take your own sledge. The kids club in the afternoon provided sledges but then packed them away. Staff friendly and couldn’t do enough for you. Checking in took ages but then it was a coach load in one hit. I can’t comment on kids clubs but the adult evening entertainment was disappointing. It was just a quiz and everything was finished by 8pm and only a handful of people stayed. The festival finale pantomime was 2 reps singing!! They were good singers but wasn’t what I’d call a pantomime. We wouldn’t have stayed up much later as exhausted but a little more adult entertainment would have been good! Laplands for big kids too Would definitely return as the positives definitely out way the negatives. Don’t let bad reviews put you off, it really is a magical place. I didn’t give 5 stars due to evening entertainment. I would have taken off another star for no safes in rooms but in hindsight I should have checked if they kept belongings in hotel safe. €100 each way to Santa Claus village. Which was about a 20-30min drive. I booked a taxi and asked them leave a note that I was happy to share if anyone wants to. Someone else had done the same so that halved our cost. People always happy to share. You’ll have an amazing time at winter wonderland

We visited with tui in December 2022. The hotel was in the most perfect location situated on a frozen llale, staff couldn’t have done any more for you, they was so friendly, Sledges available to use for free, food was lovely and a wide variety. Hotel was very Christmasy and cosy, A can from the hotel to Santa clause village was around 85 euro each way, always people wanting to share. Tui reps was amazing really helped make the holiday. Panto on the last evening was fab. Overall I wouldn’t change a thing! Truely magical place to visit. Thank you to all hotel staff and tui staff xx

We stayed at the Lapland Bear’s lodge for 3 nights. We had a very good time: the staff is really friendly, the food is fine (enough options, could be more variety but if you stay only a few days it is completely fine. There is a possibility to rent ski/snowshoe material, and you can book different snow activities. The activities are not possible every day. The rooms are clean, a little bit outdated. The sauna in the hotel is small and has limited opening hours, there is a mixed sauna, and a sauna for only women and only men. It is a little bit small for the whole hotel but it was nice that it is there, there is also a pool to cool off. The location is the best of all: very nice nature, lots of snow. If you are looking for a stay in the middle of Lapland’s nature, i would recommend this hotel for sure!

The Bears Lodge is in a beautiful, quiet location. The hotels amenities are basic but it is clean and comfortable. Meals are buffet style, limited but tasty and plentiful. Staff are friendly, helpful and seem happy in their work. We enjoyed our visit and would happily stay again. Tip: mini suite, which includes ensuite sauna, is worth paying for.

The star rating is based on the Hotel and not the Tui experience Tui let you check in suitcases night before. But make sure you are there well before 9pm as even the most valid excuse arriving at check in 2 mins past 9 is acceptable. Greeted by some cheerful merry Tui elves at staff next morning which the kids loved. The flight was lovely. Cabin crew were so cheerful and jolly. Organised some singing and competitions for the kids. Suprised that we had to disembark onto a bus down some steps. So make sure you have your snowboots on as it can be quite slippery and cold. Passport control at Rovanemi was the best we have ever experienced - quick, efficient. Luggage collection quick. Plenty of Tui staff on hand to guide you to the correct bus. Thank you to the Tui guy who wheeled our cases for us! After 10 mins on the bus, we stopped at a warehouse to collect some snow suits and boots. 2 adult kit and 1 kid to a bag. Make sure you know your child's height. At the hotel: TUI rep made it very clear rooms would not be ready until 4pm. Then there would be a queue to book in 2 flights worth of people. I was aware of this, so made sure we brought our own outdoor kit to play in the snow, snacks and entertainment for the kids for a couple of hours. TUI rep advised suitcases are kept outside until check-in. There was a walk from the car park to the hotel in the snowup a slight hill. Reception was really crowded, but we went downstairs to where the meeting room was. There were a few big chairs outside the room that the kids napped on. Drinks- because it is all imported,it was so expensive here. We brought our own alcohol from duty free at Gatwick. Loaded up on bottled water back in the UK departure lounge to being with us. Hotel do not allow your own alcohol in public areas. Finnish beer is €7. Bottle of wine €48. Water is available from a jug at mealtimes, so we filled up our flasks and the room kettle with that. You can drink the water from the tap. It is perfectly safe. Tea and coffee available at meal times. Plus apple juice and orange juice at breakfast. Breakfast - continental, toast with jam/butter/choc spread, selection of finnish cereals and rice crispies, porridge was salted but eatable. Hot items - finnish sausages and bacon, boiled and scrambled egg, beans, hot little potatoes. Little cakes and ginger biscuits were wonderful. We took some away in a tupperware box for later. Dinner - soups and bread (especially tomato soup day) were delicious. Vegetarian option such as lentil stew, roasted veg, a meat and a fish in a sauce. Plus chips and sausages for the kids. Salad option too. Desserts were delicious - little cakes and chocolate parfiteroles. There was a fridge with vegan items next to the desserts. Sauna was basic and acceptable. Bathroom - basic but clean and did the job. Tips - bring a suitcase of snacks, crisps, chocolates, sweets, pot noodles, cup of soups. We were so hungry all the time due to such low temperatures. Silk gloves und