Jávri Lodge

What fantastic hosts the owner and his team are. Nothing was too much trouble and with just 13 rooms the personal service was the best we ever experienced. When you got in from your trips (organised by the hotel and included in the package) they put the Sauna on for you ready and helped you get out of the winter gear (also provided by the hotel as it was -29C when we were there). The rooms were lovely and warm with comfortable beds and huge windows to watch the changing colours of the sky and the effect it had on the trees / snow etc. Food is out of this world, prepared by a top class chef (even lunch was a 3 course meal with wine) and there is even an honesty bar for evening drinks by the log fire. We did Snow Mobiling, Cross Country Skiing, Snow Shoe Trek and Husky Trip and had the best time ever, we even saw the Northern Lights. We will certainly be back to visit again and would highly recommend it to anyone.

The people are so nice, and accommodating, that no one wants to say anything negative. But, the staff aside, we had a negative experience. The Lodge is so aggressively priced because they are attempting to deliver an exceptional gastronomic experience. The food was too creative and rich for us, and we went to bed hungry 2 of the 4 nights that we stayed there. The couple of times they did cook something we liked, it was at best a 7 out of 10. They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner (9, 2:30, 8pm). As an example, one day, breakfast was pretty normal. Lunch was beet soup with a shrimp and scallop paella and desert. Dinner was clear beef broth soup, cold asian noodle salad with scallops and caviar, a slice of eggplant with fennel, and sweetbreads as the main course. I did not know that I needed to tell them in advance that I dislike scallops, caviar, and animal intestines. You are not given any options. Either you eat what is served, or go to bed hungry. You are not told in advance what the menu will be for that day. Now, if all that sounds great to you, then you have definitely found your place. Personally, we prefer options, and not having our meal schedule dictated to us. They should post the menu, give you an option, and leave some cheese, bread, and ham out for those who are still hungry. I told my wife the place was actually a fat farm. The rooms are good, not great. But, there are no black out curtains. We complained, and they gave us sleep masks. We had an aurora snowmobile adventure booked. I called their attention to the fact that we did not do that scheduled activity. They said that was an optional activity. The last night was a good night to see the aurora. They said they had a van and asked us, and the other guests, if we wanted to go, which we all did want to go. I thought this was a replacement for the snowmobile excursion. We saw the aurora that night. At checkout they charged us 500E for the van excursion for the two of us. They never said there would be a charge. I got the name of the excursion guy when we went out that previous night. I looked up his company on-line. He charges 150E per person. Needless to say, we will never be returning to this lodge. If you decide to go, bring a sandwich and your wallet.