Customer Reviews

The hotel isn't the Ritz - but we didn't expect that. I loved the relaxed feel of it - you didn't have to dress up, felt comfortable to walk around in joggers and jumper and even in your socks. Just what you want after a busy day!The hotel staff and guides were fantastic. Our guide Jaakko was absolutely fab - really looked after us and judged the group brilliantly. Plus, he clearly is very…
Read more experienced and knowledgeable about Finland, Lapland and all the activities we did. If you had got lost in the wilderness with him, you'd be fine! The equipment provided was great. My husband and I didn't get cold and our daughter only got really cold once when out at night in -25c looking at the Northern Lights.If you get lucky and the Northern Lights are visible, you won't need to wander far from the hotel to see them, around a 10 minute walk to the river, which is great if you want to nip back to the hotel to warm up.All the activities we did were fab and efficiently organised and mostly started between 9.30am to 10.00am, so not too early either. I wouldn't describe my husband or I as fit, but we managed them without too much difficulty at all. We also went downhill skiing in Levi. The hotel provided free transfers and Jaakko organised a private ski lesson for us and told us how and where to hire all the equipment. It was all very straightforward and easy.On a practical note - there are 2 supermarkets within easy walking distance of the hotel. The S-Market, which we visited, had a good range of foods, including fruit etc in case you have children who don't take to some of the food. But we also found that you can get a couple of dishes in the hotel (at an extra cost), including burger and chips and pizza, which we did get a couple of times when we knew our daughter wasn't going to fancy what was on offer that evening. Usual sort of cereals and toast are available for breakfast and usually soups for lunch. We took some cereal bars with us for quick, easy snacks on the go. All in all a fab trip that we would highly recommend.
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Just returned from a fabulous holiday at the Luosto Tunturi. The family room worked really well for us. I was travelling on my own with two of my sons (ages 13 and 11) but found the hotel, and resort as a whole, a safe place to let them explore on their own. All the hotel staff were exceptionally polite, helpful and their standard of English very good. A special word of thanks and praise for Lorna…
Read more and Peter, the reps, who were on hand to advise and help in any way they could. All of the activities were all amazing! My favourite was the snowmobile trip to the amethyst mine, whilst my sons' favourites were the husky safari and ice fishing. We became ridiculously competitive over who could catch the most fish! The only activity which was less successful for us was the snowshoe trek in search of the Northern Lights. Our group only had my two children in it (the remainder being adults/late teens) and the pace was too fast for my youngest son. Other holidaymakers who did this trip on another night, where there were more children, did not have this problem. That being said , it was still an amazing experience. We were fantastically lucky in a week of heavy snowfall and almost continual cloud cover, that the sky cleared for a few hours on Wednesday night and the Northern Lights put on a magnificent show!! What more could anyone ask ? A truly memorable holiday.
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We returned from our holiday last week and I just wanted to say a huge thank you to you and everyone else at Activites Abroad. Your advice and help from the time we booked to the time we returned was fantastic, and I am so glad we decided to choose the holiday we did.We had the most amazing time - from experiencing -37 temperatures where our noses froze, to the exciting activities of husky…
Read more sledging and snowmobiling, to the most specatular northern lights display on our last night. We were fortunate to see the lights 3 nights out of the 4 but the last night was just amazing. We found everyone at the Wilderness Hotel friendly and helpful, the food was homely and tasty which is exactly what we needed when we'd been out in the cold, we couldn't fault their service. The guides that took us out on our trips were knowledgeable, friendly and always made sure everyone was looked after.The people in our group were great, we all got on really well and had a great laugh together.We couldn't have wished more a more perfect holiday, I travel a lot and this holiday is definitely one of the best I've ever been on. So thank you again.I have already recommended you to friends and colleagues, and hopefully I will travel with you again in the near future.  
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 We enjoyed all the activties but maybe the husky dog ride has the edge over the others. The local guide arranged an individual ride for us as a family because we were not able to leave our son who is learning disabled. The adults were scheduled to have their own rides separate to the children but we needed to be together and that is why we had our own ride which was wonderful as we could do…
Read more it as a family.We had a great holiday. It was very memorable and lovely to be somewhere which was not Commercial.
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Wow. What a brilliant trip. We were initially apprehensive about going on one of these ‘Lapland’ experiences, as a quick search on the internet had rather mixed reviews about the potential experience (notably from other companies!). We didn't want anything tacky, commercial or rushed. We stumbled on the Activities Abroad website and the fact that the holiday only involved small groups, and…
Read more Kuusamo seemed a smaller and quieter place then some of the other places, made us feel more comfortable. We phoned the helpline to ask a few questions, and were impressed that the phone was answered immediately. The gentleman on the helpline had obviously been on the trip before, and answered all our questions with confidence and ease.The booking process was straightforward and a small problem with uploading some details via the website was quickly resolved. Timings of the flights were just ideal for travelling with young children. Not overtly impressed with the choice of lunch on the flight. A sandwich or nothing! Can't blame the company for this, as flight with Finnair and think they seem to be the only airline that flies to Kuusamo.We were met at the airport by our guide and then met our elf on the way out of the airport. This fascinated the kids on the trip. I won't spoil all the fun by saying too much, but each day was well thought out to keep the children entertained and surprised. Guides were fantastic and engaging. Snow outfit/boots were great for keeping warm, and I wish we had brought some back with us to the UK! Nothing felt rushed or commercial.Hotel accommodation was clean and comfortable. Swimming pool (was) a good bonus to keep children entertained in the evening, as well as the playroom, bar games, ten-pin bowling, and of course the snow! Only slight issue at the hotel was that it wasn't obvious that there was a specific menu at dinner we could choose from if you didn't fancy the buffet. A quick chat at reception resolved the confusion.Meeting Joulupukki (Father Christmas) on the penultimate day was really a fantastic experience. We had a whole day of fun and games, with an amazing slope to go sledging down. Best Xmas Turkey I have ever eaten!I would have no hesitation in recommending this trip and this travel company to others (we already have!)
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The most perfect week ever. All of the activities were great. We really enjoyed doing a taster trip and taking part in activities we might not have chosen ourselves.

A totally magical holiday that created amazing lifetime memories. It was everything we dreamed of and more. Still on a high from it!! Great hotel, fab spa pool, loved the jets of water and the Jacuzzi with the twinkly lights on the ceiling. The activities slowly ramped up as the week went on. Very kind patient and understanding guides - Emy was a fab instructress and staff . A very knowledgeable…
Read more man, Pascale at the Amethyst mine who was very funny, we loved him. He was also very generous because someone found a very impressive amethyst and he let them keep it. We were all amazed, she did not have to buy it!The snow chapel outside the Hotel Luosto was a bonus and on Christmas Eve someone carved a beautiful angel outside!! Wow it was so beautiful! Ice pews, alter and frozen flowers on the altar in blocks of ice!! Our hotel room very nice downstairs, but the shelves by the bedside upstairs in the mezzanine in 303 are not finished off. They are bare untreated wood! Also if your children are over 5 foot 4 they will hit they head on the ceiling which is very low upstairs. Our 15 year old who is 6 foot tall kept hitting his head. However it was cosy, clean and the balcony was lovely and large and in the perfect place to see the northern lights which we did see on Christmas Eve.There was no electric kettle in the room, please advise visitors to take one. We came back from our rather heavy going night snow trek quite desperate for a hot drink and after 11pm there was nowhere to get one, as the bar was closed. When the disco down stairs is on it’s a little tricky to get to sleep in 303, but we were so exhausted we did not stay awake for too long!! The lunch time menu in the hotel bar was very good value for money, only 10 euros for a two course meal with drinks- Souvenir shops were very reasonably priced.Father Christmas came to visit us in the restaurant and he went round the chalets on his sleigh with presents for all children 12 and under. It was so very authentically done, not tacky at all. To be near all the delighted children over Christmas Eve and day was fab. There is plenty of time to do your own thing there as well as set activities. We went downhill skiing on Christmas Day and had no problem getting a lesson booked. Food was good quality however, we did get exactly the same meal two nights in a row which was a bit disappointing. Beware... a bottle of wine (house) in the restaurant in the hotel was £25 so future clients watch out!Evening entertainment was good. There was candle everywhere, which was lovely and it does not get light till 10.30, weird but interesting. All the trips especially the husky trip on Christmas Day was out of this world. Puppies and photo opportunities to die for!! Pizza restaurants very good, best pizzas I have ever had but not cheap about £14 for a Margaretta, but worth it.
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This was an extremely special holiday in a magical environment. The accommodation was outstanding. When we ate out, the food was much higher quality than we had anticipated. The activities were a wonderful balance of adrenaline and information delivered in an un-patronising fashion which made us feel we were genuinely learning something.