Santa Claus Holiday Village

“Ho ho ho ho - santa clause”

Unbeliveable! Amazing! Like a winterwonderland! Suggested to adults, children, to any ages! Warmful staff! Good tours! Everything was perfact!

“The place is designed to suck as much euros out of your pocket as possible”

Our cottage was nice enough, basic amenities, is some tea, instant coffee supplied, no milk. There’s a coffee percolator and the store sells ground coffee and milk. We found the breakfasts to be good but all the restaurants in the area are pretty poor to average & very expensive, we drove into Rova… more

Our cottage was nice enough, basic amenities, is some tea, instant coffee supplied, no milk. There’s a coffee percolator and the store sells ground coffee and milk. We found the breakfasts to be good but all the restaurants in the area are pretty poor to average & very expensive, we drove into Rovaniemi for dinner. Santas Village is extremely busy, lots of bus loads arrive and the masses flood the stores. They charge for Everything , a simple photo with Santa is 45euros - you arnt allowed to take a photo yourself. the post office is manic there are long queues everywhere- im sure young families with young kids would enjoy all this theme park entertainment but you will need to extend your mortgage for it

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“LAPLAND: TripADeal (100% owned by Qantas Group) – A Disappointment 3 stars, Rovaniemi – Five Stars”

LAPLAND: TripADeal (100% owned by Qantas Group) – A Disappointment 3 stars, Rovaniemi – Five Stars TripADeal: Disappointing - Overall travel experience significantly impacted what should have been a truly once-in-a-lifetime journey TripADeal was a disappointment. Visiting Lapland Rovaniemi Christm… more

LAPLAND: TripADeal (100% owned by Qantas Group) – A Disappointment 3 stars, Rovaniemi – Five Stars TripADeal: Disappointing - Overall travel experience significantly impacted what should have been a truly once-in-a-lifetime journey TripADeal was a disappointment. Visiting Lapland Rovaniemi Christmas Village itself was a five-star experience. It is an incredibly beautiful part of the world and something my family and I would absolutely recommend people travel to and experience - however, we would not recommend booking with TripADeal. Poorly Designed Itinerary The itinerary was poorly designed. Many stopovers felt unnecessary and added little value, often arriving late in the day, leaving minimal time to explore shops, markets, or attractions. Much of the tour was spent on the bus, with meals mainly at service stations. While the guide was knowledgeable, speaking for hours on end became overwhelming rather than informative. The Northern Lights experience was limited due to driver hour restrictions. When considering the total cost of the trip, a second driver should have been provided to give guests a real chance to experience this natural phenomenon. Flight cancellation and Additional Costs Our trip got off to a disappointing start when Emirates cancelled our flight on the morning of departure, citing “unforeseen circumstances.” The replacement flight from Adelaide appeared to combine guests due to low passenger numbers saving the airline money but causing stress and extra costs of around $800 for extra meals, and airport transfers. In addition, because of the flight cancellation, we lost a day in Helsinki. Not only losing one day but we arrived late the next evening which meant we couldn’t tour the city, as shops and markets were already closed, and we had to leave early the next morning. On top of that, two prepaid hotel rooms went unused. When asked for a refund, neither TripADeal nor the hotel were able to provide a clear explanation, stating that the accommodation was part of a “bundle” and therefore could not be itemised or disclosed. As a result, they refused to refund these out-of-pocket expenses. Currency Impact It’s also worth noting travelling from Australia involves a considerable exchange rate difference. At the time of travel, the Australian dollar trade was 44% below the euro plus, despite the favourable exchange rate from AUD to SEK, Sweden is very expensive requiring a significant amount of SEK - as a result, this increases the overall expenses across accommodation, dining, and travel. These additional costs accumulate quickly, particularly for a family of four, making our financial loss even more significant. Insurance Reimbursement When claiming our out of pocket expenses through Qantas Travel insurance (underwritten by AIG) we were reimbursed a total $88. Fine print in the policy effectively blocked any further compensation, denying us a refund for the additional travel costs and lost accommodation caused by Emirates - which is extremely disappointing, especially given that both Emirates and Qantas are large corporations generate enormous profits, with CEOs receiving multimillion-dollar salaries, often at the expense of travellers who spend years saving for a once-in-a-lifetime trip.

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“It was a lovely hotel but the food and some of the staff really let it down”

On a hole the hotel was good but what let it down the most was the food. I'm only talking about breakfast as that's all we had 3 mornings out of the fall they run out of juice and water or the machine wasn't working. The cold buffet was never fresh even when we went first thing before and exc… more

On a hole the hotel was good but what let it down the most was the food. I'm only talking about breakfast as that's all we had 3 mornings out of the fall they run out of juice and water or the machine wasn't working. The cold buffet was never fresh even when we went first thing before and excursion. It was very dry and some of the meats even started to curl. The hot buffet food was always nice and hot The stuff were hit and miss some were incredibly friendly especially the guy on reception with long hair who was always very informative and helpful however some of the other staff were not so friendly and one staff member didn't even know there was a free shuttle bus from the hotel to winter park and almost cost me €50 in a taxi. Aesthetically the hotel was beautiful with Christmas trees and lights even in January so it carried on the Christmas magic for and my family. I would stay again but I would definitely not pay for breakfast

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