Staying at the Arctic TreeHouse Hotel in Rovaniemi, Finland

I’ve been wanting to go to Rovaniemi for years now, and when I looked on Booking.com for Rovaniemi hotels I recognized the Arctic TreeHouse Hotel from photos I had seen on Instagram. So I figured it would be the perfect place to spend a night.

It’s funny to think how casual I was about that decision, because when I arrived at my treehouse room I was stunned. Like my jaw actually dropped, along with all the bags I was carrying.

I think because this was just a stop along my road trip I hadn’t fully realized how special the Arctic TreeHouse is. This is definitely one of those places I will always remember. My heart feels full just thinking back to the day I spent there, I loved it so much.

I don’t know if its magic even translates to photos though. Do you get what I’m so excited about?

The Arctic TreeHouse had everything I love: hotel rooms, beautiful views, furry blankets, sheepskin rugs, and amazing buffet breakfasts. Like what more do you need in life? I even ordered one of the chairs I saw there as soon as I got home. I was obsessed.

The Finnish forest is so beautiful in the summer, and again I was surprised by how quiet the hotel was – I guess most people visit in the winter during the Northern Lights season. But even if I didn’t have views of Northern Lights out my window, I did enjoy lying in bed staring into the forest.

The way the treehouses are positioned with the windows facing out into the forest it feels like you’re totally alone in the middle of the forest, even though you actually do have houses next to you on either side.

It’s funny that I managed to fall so in love with this place because I actually wasn’t there for very long at all, and I didn’t actually get to do any of the arctic activities the hotel is so famous for. I definitely need to go back.

You can check current rates and availability at the Arctic TreeHouse Hotel here.

Probably one of the main draws for guests aside from the amazing views is SantaPark, an indoor Christmas theme park complete with an Ice Gallery, cookie decorating house, Elf School, and of course Santa Claus himself!

I actually stayed at Santa’s Village here in July. I really only chose to stay here because it’s just a five minute drive from the airport, but I ended up loving it so much! I stayed in one of their cute Santa’s cabins, and it was so fun having a Christmas themed breakfast in July. I even got to meet Santa, and because I was visiting in the summer I didn’t have to wait in line at all. 

You can see my TikTok from Santa’s Village here. 

I feel like it would be such a fun/funny place to visit with a bunch of friends (and friends, I drove back to Mosjøen in one day, so it’s an easy trip!). Apparently it was voted the top Christmas destination in the world, which now that I think of it is kind of an impressive achievement. Though I’m not actually sure who did the voting.

And then of course they offer lots of the usual arctic activities that I’m always writing about on this blog, like husky sledding, snowmobiling, etc.

Rovaniemi itself is an interesting city. It was totally demolished during World War II so it’s not the most beautiful city now, but it serves as the business center of Finnish Lapland so I’m always hearing about it. It did seem quite quiet when I was there, probably because a large portion of the population are students who were now on summer break.

Getting to Rovaniemi

I arrived in Rovaniemi from Kirkenes, which was about a six hour drive – perhaps a bit longer because there were a lot of reindeer on the road. You can see my full itinerary for this trip here.

And then I drove straight back home to Mojøen from Rovaniemi, which was quite a drive, but also totally manageable. But if you don’t have a car you can fly into Rovaniemi or take the train up from Helsinki, and they also have bus connections to the rest of Finland as well as Tromsø and Tana Bru in Norway.

If you’re visiting between December 1 – March 31 you can also travel around the north with the Arctic Route, which provides a combination of buses and trains between the top Arctic destinations in Norway, Sweden, and Finland. You can check the route schedules and book your tickets on the Arctic Route website.