Santa Claus Holiday Village

“Rovaniemi is magical”

Three night stay in one of the cottages. They were peaceful and fairly well appointed. The three of us were comfortable. We did not go in expecting 5 star accommodation. The village and location is truly magical. You have to experience beautiful Rovaniemi and surrounds at least once! We only visite… more

Three night stay in one of the cottages. They were peaceful and fairly well appointed. The three of us were comfortable. We did not go in expecting 5 star accommodation. The village and location is truly magical. You have to experience beautiful Rovaniemi and surrounds at least once! We only visited the village early in the morning or after the buses left (which you can do when staying in the cottages). All tours left from this location and buses were also readily available. A couple of cons - the included breakfast was awful (think powdered eggs and stale bread), and reception was a LOOONG way from the rooms. It actually does not make sense to have the reception area where it is when there is a suitable building more centrally located to the hotel. There was no room servicing and only one towel per person. This is an issue if you use the sauna. Despite this, we would definitely stay again - even if we had to drag suitcases over the snow for over 100 metres. With the price paid, there should have been luggage sleighs available for use. This was a bucket list trip and was wonderful.

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“Once in a lifetime must do experience!”

We loved everything about Santa’s Village! It’s uplifting the staff are friendly. Meeting Santa was magical. Thankyou for this lifetime memory!

“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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