Santa's Lapland Avis 745

Our holiday was truly memorable and everything was exceptionally well organised.
The staff at both the hotel and activity centre went above and beyond. Nothing was ever too much trouble, and their friendliness and enthusiasm made the whole experience even more special.
Our day at the Santa's Magic centre was fantastic. There was such a wide range of activities to enjoy, and we never felt rushed. The children absolutely loved the husky sled ride and seeing the elves. Meeting Santa was a genuinely magical moment for all of us.
It was a wonderful holiday and one we will always treasure.

Our family enjoyed a magical, snowy adventure to find Santa. We couldn't have asked for a more thrilling experience with the elves, reindeer, husky's and the never ending sledding. We made lasting memories with our grandchildren which we will treasure forever.

Potential customers: Be aware of dynamic pricing risks (quotes aren't locked without crystal-clear warnings), and if booking via a third-party agent like Santa Claus Trips, complaints can get complicated with blame-shifting. Push for direct booking or explicit written confirmations if possible. The trip might deliver magic once there (many say it does), but this lack of transparency and support has been a big disappointment.

I booked what should be a dream family trip to Finnish Lapland through Santa Claus Trips, but the pricing process has been hugely frustrating and has dimmed the excitement before the trip has even begun.

Santa's Lapland is the tour operator - they fully control the entire package, including exclusive charter flights from UK airports, transfers, accommodation in Saariselkä, activities, thermal snowsuits, and everything else bundled together. I have been told by Santa Clause Trips that as the operator, they set and control all pricing, including their use of dynamic/live pricing.

I received a personal quote from the Santa Claus Trips rep with no explicit warning that it was subject to immediate live/dynamic pricing changes. The quote simply said "subject to availability," which after the rep confirmed plenty of availability appeared to refer to spots/rooms, not real-time price fluctuations. No validity period was stated, and nothing in conversations or writing indicated the price could jump from minute to minute before confirmation.

A few days later, when proceeding to pay the deposit, the price had risen by £528 (with plenty of rooms still available online for our dates). This felt particularly unfair and trust-breaking for such an expensive, once-in-a-lifetime family Christmas experience.

Santa Clause Trips customer service stated that 'I agreed to proceed with the booking' - at the updated rate. In reality, I felt I had little choice but to confirm the booking after setting our hearts on the trip for two main reasons: firstly, I was genuinely concerned that the live pricing could increase even further if I delayed, given how quickly it had already risen; and secondly, I was advised that I couldn't raise a formal complaint unless I was already a customer. This put me in a difficult position - so agreeing to proceed seemed the only sensible way to both protect against a potential bigger hike (after we'd set our hearts on this trip) and preserve my ability to challenge the situation later. It wasn't an enthusiastic acceptance of the new price, but rather a necessary step under the circumstances. So it feels a bit unfair to accuse me of willingly agreeing without issue!

When I tried contacting Santa's Lapland directly (as the operator in control), they refused to speak to me, insisting all communication must go through the agent. Santa Claus Trips, meanwhile, blames Santa's Lapland for the pricing decisions and has only partially refunded the shortfall. I'm completely stuck in the middle, with no meaningful escalation despite my requests.

Fantastic - from the moment you board the plane until you return home it was seamless. The attention to detail is outstanding, all the reps were brilliant, friendly, helpful and nothing was too much bother. My son is autistic and both the reps/staff and elves were beyond accommodating which was wonderful. The hotel we were in was newly opened and brilliant, the food was excellent with plenty of options for kids which was much appreciated. The Santa day and activities were excellent, all the reps/staff took the time to be engaging with kids, there was so much to do and it was all well thought through. The setting is stunning and even just playing in the snow was wonderful. Honestly the best trip I have been on from start to finish, would thoroughly recommend and we will be back!

I've no words.... For how incredibly beautiful this trip was, it really is breathtaking. Soak everything up as much as you can. Take as many pictures and videos as you possibly can. You have to experience this to understand. Highly recommend.

We had a fantastic overall experience at Santa’s Lapland — truly a once-in-a-lifetime trip that our 5-year-old twins absolutely loved. The activities were brilliant, especially the husky ride and the mini skidoos, which were real highlights for our family. The staff throughout Santa’s Lapland were friendly, helpful, and great with the children, which made the whole experience feel very special and well organised.
The only downsides were the accommodation and food. The hotel rooms are in need of an update, and the food was quite basic and repetitive. We were also a bit disappointed with the festive dinner buffet, which didn’t quite live up to expectations.
That said, the magic of the experience, the activities, and how much our children enjoyed it far outweighed the negatives. Overall, it was a great holiday and one we’ll remember forever.

Our third time visiting Saariselka with santas Lapland and as always they did not disappoint. Everything ran seemlessly and nothing was too much trouble. We will be back.

Fantastic staff go above and beyond. They made our Xmas so so special and one to remember. Festive spirit in bounds!!! Food was nice but needs a little more to really be a Christmas dinner. Eg: pigs in blankets, gravy and Yorkshires. Plus more festive puddings. The hotel is beautiful, we stayed in room 110 & 111 and they’re lovely.

•The Santa’s Lapland team are amazing, they are the only thing that made it feel atmospheric and Christmassy, apart from the country, snow, reindeer and husky’s.

•Hotel team, we felt extremely sorry for, particularly the restaurant/breakfast team. The hotel set up is poor to facilitate so much (very poor quality ingredients) food, for so many guests. Buffet style, extremely dated, with no investment from the corporations who are receiving the money, pretty disgraceful. Whatever the business model, whoever is taking the profits, the hotel itself needs better organisation to provide an updated, quality offering.

•Still awaiting our “traditional Finnish Christmas Dinner”, don’t believe turkey is a Finnish tradition.

•Hotel rooms, they were alright, disappointing that a £3328 for three nights and there on Christmas Day, could not offer a gesture of decoration within the hotel rooms. Clean and well presented, sauna was a welcome service.

•It is not hospitality when embarrassed bar staff are having to serve and empty the full bottle or full can into a pint glass. As a woman, I don’t drink from pint glasses. Neither does our nine year old. Team members knowing this is wrong and feeling like they need to apologise. Whoever the silly people making decisions are, learn some basic fundamentals of what hospitality should be, along with a huge amount of refinement for those of us still expecting it.

•The Santa’s Lapland team were all great, with huge effort put in to creating atmosphere and enjoyment. Silk purse from sows ear springs to mind on much of the facilities, the team did brilliantly. No criticism from us of them.

•Luckily, as young children, they “miss” the blatantly obvious observations we make, due to their age and excitement of what the experience means to them.

They’re in the moment, in the feeling of magic they’ve created and dreamed of and which we as parents have contributed to, over several years of Christmas’s made magical by us all.

We as adults also want to see that magic, for us, for our enjoyment, but it’s not there, because as corporates, the heart and soul is dead. Instead it relies heavily on passionate individual personalities to shine through.

It’s tough on them too though, because, like the hotel staff, once they see through the fragile facade of what is attempting to be delivered, they too lose their passion and excitement for what they’re doing and it really shows. This is not the fault of the teams, this is plainly and simply down to the organisations dictating this whole joke.

Our friends, family will be told how poor it is, authenticity and integrity are key, and the corporate organisations running this, are taking the mick out of each and every one of us who can see it for what it is.

If they vastly improved the quality of the food ingredients and the rubbish, bag in box, naff Coca Cola owned poison that everywhere serves, which many of us DO NOT WANT, we would have given a higher rating; and to provide 500ml bottles of still water for 4.50€, wow! Says it all.

Create a valued environment for the hotel team to work within. Then, many of the disappointments of the guests may be overcome, even overlooked, because the passion and enjoyment of the teams, both kitchen and front of house, would feel the value and pride in what they are given to serve to their valued, paying guests.
Shame on these huge organisations who are dumbing hospitality down.
•Everything written is without anger or frustration, simply from a place of honesty, compassion for the teams, animals and guests, along with the hope that those who read this are able to make informed decisions when spending their money wisely.
Much love.

Everyone in the team was extremely helpful, friendly, and always willing to go the extra mile to make our visit special. From the moment we arrived, we felt very well looked after.
A special mention to Hot Chocolate Harry, who was consistently cheerful and proactive. He was always happy to help — whether it was carrying our bags, offering clear information, or simply checking in to make sure everything was going well. His positive attitude and genuine enthusiasm really stood out and added to the magic of the experience.
Overall, the staff played a huge role in creating such a memorable and enjoyable visit for both the adults and the children. Thank you to the entire team for making it such a wonderful experience.

From airport and back we were looked after and children encouraged to feel special and christmasy
Great hotel - clean tidy - wilderness Kieppi
Reps everywhere to help and answer questions

Most magical core memories made with Santas Lapland. They organise everything for you as part of the package so you can focus on enjoying your holiday. Highly recommended!

This was a truly magical experience for the children in our party. I have never before been on a plane with organised games and songs.
The holiday was extremely well run, nothing was too much trouble for the elves who looked after us. The day at the Arctic Circle was brilliant. Lots of well organised activities, our favourite was the husky sledge ride. We had a sleigh mobile ride to find Father Christmas, assisted by elves. Our visit wasn't rushed and it was just our group at the cottage. The children thought it was amazing! The hotel (Riekonlinna at Saariselka) was comfortable with buffet style food, good for adults and children. Drinks expensive.

À frantic fun filled trip - 6 and 7 year old boys were mesmerized. Daughter and son in law were swept away with it all - even organised a hockey match for the children and fathers. Highlight for me was the dog sled ride but so many things to do and see as long as you wore the right clothing. Couldn’t believe how much we fitted in to a two night stay. Organised is key. Obviously a very nice Father Christmas visit was also a highlight for the boys and us- unfortunately son in law didn’t get the Porsche he asked for - maybe next year!

I wanted to share our feedback on the trip so that it may be helpful for your future customers.

The accommodation was very basic. The rooms, particularly in the glass villas, were not suitable for more than a couple, if that. There was no adequate storage for clothing, as there were no closets or shelves. Additionally, the toilet and shower were positioned directly next to each other with no separation, which further reduced comfort and practicality. The location of the glass villas next to the parking area was also problematic. Whenever a car or bus arrived or departed, the vehicle lights would disturb us, particularly during the evening and night. The common area of the hotel had limited space and we found ourselves on numerous occasions not being able to sit.

Overall, the experience felt extremely rushed, with very rigid schedules requiring us to be in specific places at exact times, together with approximately 50 other people. This made the experience feel impersonal and more like an assembly line than a premium, family-oriented trip.

To be specific:

Traditional dinner
The “traditional” dinner included French fries and chicken nuggets. While there was also minced meat, there was no accompanying pasta. This did not meet our expectations of a traditional local dining experience.

Reindeer ride
The reindeer ride lasted approximately one minute. While we could laugh about it afterward, in reality it felt like a complete joke and added little value to the experience.

Husky ride
This was genuinely lovely and well done. It was one of the highlights of the trip.

Meeting with Santa
I spoke with several representatives in advance and explained that my daughter had written her letter in Greek. I was advised to provide a short translation for Santa, which I did. I handed in both the original letter and the translation exactly as instructed.
Unfortunately, when we met Santa, he had not read the translation and only had the Greek letter. As a result, he asked my daughter to read the letter to him because he did not speak Greek. This was particularly disappointing given the effort made to prepare in advance.

To top it off, our snowmobile ride was scheduled for 08:00 with no possibility of adjustment, and checkout was fixed at 10:00, again with no flexibility. This further reinforced the feeling that the experience was designed for operational convenience rather than guest enjoyment.

I am not a difficult customer, but I do expect a certain level of service, especially considering what we paid. Unfortunately, the overall experience fell well short of what it should have been, which is a real shame given the potential of the trip.

We visited Lapland with Canterbury Travel last year and Santa’s Lapland this year. It’s hard not to compare the two, but I wanted to give fair and constructive feedback.

Santa’s Lapland (2-Day Magic Adventure) was good and enjoyable overall. However, Canterbury Travel’s 3-Day Magical Interlude was simply amazing and, in our experience, superior in many ways. I appreciate they are different trips at different price points.

Canterbury really excelled in the build-up and attention to detail — sending backpacks with games and books beforehand, a song to learn, allocated coach seating to keep families together, and staff fully dressed as elves and in character throughout. These small touches made a big difference to the magic.

One of the biggest disappointments with Santa’s Lapland was the gift from Santa. Every child appeared to receive the same gift regardless of age — whether they were 3 or 9. Our 9-year-old received a generic reindeer teddy, which felt impersonal and age-inappropriate. In contrast, Canterbury allowed us to arrange a specific gift in advance, making that moment far more special.

Accommodation isn’t a direct comparison, but although we expected basic standards, our apartment was very tired and in need of refurbishment. We later learned other families were upgraded after complaining, which in hindsight we probably should have done.

Food at breakfast and dinner was on par with last year and perfectly fine. The excursions (reindeer and husky rides) were similar, though noticeably shorter. One area where Santa’s Lapland did excel was flexibility — choosing when to do excursions made the schedule feel more relaxed compared to Canterbury’s more rigid structure.

Overall, Santa’s Lapland was enjoyable, but more personalisation, better accommodation consistency, and a more age-appropriate Santa experience would really elevate it.

Amazing experience all round. Staff were fantastic and the excursions were top notch!! The food and accommodation however were shocking. Especially as we paid a lot of money for the holiday.
It felt like a hostel and food was cold/unappealing. There weren’t clear allergen signs at the hotel too, so for my wife who is celiac, was a nightmare to navigate and the staff and cooks didn’t know what she could and couldn’t eat. So she resorted to lettuce leaves and tomatoes… not what you want for nearly £7k for a day and a half trip!!!

What an amazing trip which is almost single handily down to the Santas Lapland staff. Every interaction with their team was superb and they went the extra mile every time to make sure you have a great holiday. Their energy is infectious and they don’t stop trying to entertain and please for a second. We went with our 9 and 7 year old boys who had an amazing time. The Santa day was unbelievable with loads to do and very well organised and thought out. There were rooms and tents to warm up in with refreshments in which was a nice touch. There are sledges all over the village which you can just grab and the boys loved going on! We also did the northern lights snowmobile tour which although was good I’m not sure it was fantastic value for money for an hour trip at £500 for 4 of us when the adults shared a snow mobile and the kids were in a sleigh being pulled at the front.

However, I would say that the Hotel Tunturi was very disappointing. My expectations were that it would be a basic 3 star but that rating is probably generous. Room was small and dirty (sticky floor, hair in beds) and barely enough room for 2 suitcases. Rooms weren’t cleaned whilst we were there so rubbish piled up. Food at the hotel could at best be described as an average 90s school dinner. Hotel staff were uninterested and unhelpful when highlighted to them which was poor considering the amount of money we paid at the festive dinner the waiter wouldn’t serve our drinks at the table until I’d paid (it was table service) which was odd and we were unable to get a second round of drinks at dinner despite my best efforts and asking staff if we could order more drinks.

In conclusion I’d say 1,000,000% travel with Santas Lapland as you’ll have an amazing experience but just stay in one of the other hotels!

Outstanding in every way- from booking to check in to the organisation to flights- totally magical. The whole experience was fantastic and exceeded my expectations- hotel superb- food really excellent - the reps were wonderful all the time- well-organised and The activities designed to create the maximum of magic. Family friendly and huge fun. Quality thermal suits so nobody was cold and the indigenous Finnish folk a delight. If you can afford it then take your child/grandchild- around 5 or 6 seemed the perfect age although younger children loved it too.

Just come back from the Lapland trip what can I say from start to finish It was seamless
The staff was superb with the children. There was always someone to help and if you had an issue, they could sort it.
The actual Santa today again was caught less from start to finish both my grandchildren 10 and 6 said it was the best day of their lives
The highlights for us without hesitation was Santa and the husky ride,
The fact that someone got to drive the Huskies just added to the experience
We had no up selling to us, which is amazing. We could do our own thing. We are already thinking if only we could go back again..
I would definitely 100% be telling everybody about this and saying yes it’s not the cheapest experience but we felt the value for money and what we had was outstanding
All credit to your staff, they all deserve the praise for making it extra special thank you