Our family holiday to Lapland this year was great, but I left the accommodation thinking that we should have stayed somewhere else and where would be better if I were recommending somewhere. Here’s why:
- we booked the largest family suite in the Sammal building and the room was spacious. The bathroom was the plus point, with a sauna and separate WC. However, the lighting in the bedroom was depressing! There was no thought to mood lighting and how to brighten up a room. Considering there is only four hours of daylight at this time of year, the lighting didn’t make us want to sit and enjoy the time in the room.
- the food was buffet style only, with the restaurant packed full of other family’s trying to crowd round and feed families within the 90 mins we had for dinner. Again, the lighting in the dining area was either too bright in some places or dim in others. It felt more like a canteen than a restaurant. And the food for children was on par with a fast food provider. There was an option to pay for pizza in a separate area, and an a la carte restaurant that had a menu of two options on it. Given it was a 7 night holiday, the food became boring. I wouldn’t recommend doing half board at all.
- check out is at 11am. The experience after this was a...Our family holiday to Lapland this year was great, but I left the accommodation thinking that we should have stayed somewhere else and where would be better if I were recommending somewhere. Here’s why:
- we booked the largest family suite in the Sammal building and the room was spacious. The bathroom was the plus point, with a sauna and separate WC. However, the lighting in the bedroom was depressing! There was no thought to mood lighting and how to brighten up a room. Considering there is only four hours of daylight at this time of year, the lighting didn’t make us want to sit and enjoy the time in the room.
- the food was buffet style only, with the restaurant packed full of other family’s trying to crowd round and feed families within the 90 mins we had for dinner. Again, the lighting in the dining area was either too bright in some places or dim in others. It felt more like a canteen than a restaurant. And the food for children was on par with a fast food provider. There was an option to pay for pizza in a separate area, and an a la carte restaurant that had a menu of two options on it. Given it was a 7 night holiday, the food became boring. I wouldn’t recommend doing half board at all.
- check out is at 11am. The experience after this was a disaster. Given that we left on a change over day, there was at one point I counted over 100 people (adults and kids) crowded into the reception area waiting for coaches back to the airport. The bar area of the pizza restaurant was closed, but families with young children and babies started to settle in the empty sofas in the bar area to sit comfortably and wait. At which point the staff switched off all the lights around them and said the bar was closed. A further staff member then ordered everyone out of the area and told people to wait in the (overcrowded) reception with stone floors. Children and adults were sat in floors up against the walls waiting. I found the whole experience completely unbelievable. There seemed no care for either the comfort of any guests, nor the appearance of what looked like refugee centre in the reception. Surely if the hotel are going to accept holiday companies to book their guests in at this hotel, they must be prepared for the change over day and the transfer times. They came across as complete novices to this and left many families with a sour taste of the experience.
So, there are some plus points;
- extremely close to the town centre and easy walking distance to the slopes
- the swimming pool was ideal for families, although you needed to bring towels from your room, which meant you ended up with chlorine towels for a day.
- the sauna in the room was a nice touch and needed.
Overall, if I chose the holiday again would I stay here? Probably not if the issues remain. Speaking to other families, those staying at the Crazy Reindeer seemed to have a far better experience.More
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