Lapland Hotels SnowVillage
Kittilä, Finland
SnowVillage is constructed from scratch every winter near Kittilä in Finnish Lapland, then allowed to melt when the season ends. Each build follows a new theme, so the carved walls, the ice bar and the chapel differ from one year to the next. Nothing about the structure is permanent.
Sleeping rooms hold an interior temperature a few degrees below freezing regardless of the weather outside. Beds sit on ice plinths under insulated mattresses and reindeer hides, and guests use expedition-grade sleeping bags provided on arrival. Bathrooms and changing facilities are in heated buildings a short walk away, as is a sauna.
The season runs roughly from midwinter to early spring, dictated by temperature rather than the calendar. Most guests pair a single night in the snow structure with warmer accommodation nearby — a sensible arrangement, and one the site is set up for. Levi and the Kittilä area supply the rest of the itinerary.