I took my 9 year old daughter to Lapland with First Choice for a 3 night stay. We had a fantastic time and the hotel was lovely. Check in was speedy - which was good after a long day traveling, we just wanted to get to our room. The room itself was of a good size, very clean and we had such an amazing view over the river. The only downside was not having a kettle in the room.. You go into your room to warm up and relax but can't make yourself a cup of tea. Perhaps this is just a British thing, but I can't tell you how disappointed I was. We stayed on a half-board basis. This included breakfast and dinner each evening (except the final evening where we ate at the Gala included in the package). Breakfast was excellent - LOTS of choice which both my Daughter and myself loved. Dinner was a little less choice, but still nice. We did come home feeling like we could never eat another meatball again though! We never had any issues but if we had, Becky (our First Choice/Thomson rep) was on hand. We didn't make use of the swimming pool or the sauna. We were out most of the time playing in the snow, venturing into the shops (which are a very short walk around the corner) or out on organised trips. The staff were always pleasant and friendly. The room was cleaned each day and we were never disturbed by any noise. I did turn the radiators down - they were on full, but this got too much for us and even in -20 temp I left the window open during the night. The Elves on the trip (our being Woolly Mittens) were fabulous - very informative and entertaining. The suits provided by first First Choice were brilliant too - we took thermal underwear and worn leggings and a thermal ski polo-neck top under them and were perfectly comfortable. The boots were very good too. Take hats though! There is a skating rink with an ice slide a short walk away. My Daughter loved this. I paid 5euro for her to play on the slide - there is no time limit. On day 1 we were taken to a park area where we could having a reindeer ride, husky ride and a go on a skidoo. There was also a slide here. It was all lots of fun although the trips were a little short. Unfortunately there were a lot of children which were a tad less than well behaved with wither no parents around to keep them in check or parents that just didn't mind their behaviour. This spoilt things at times - pushing in queues, being very disrespectful to the Elves and generally doing as they pleased. This issue is only something that can be avoided by the parents being responsible though. The second day we were taken to Santa Park for 2 hours.. which was not enough time at all. We didn't get to go to Elf School nor on the Train ride. It was all a rush to get back to the coach and be taken to Santa Village. Due to people being late to the coach from Santa Park, we only had an hour in Santa Village. Which meant we rushed around and had no time for anything. Both parks were really good - I'd recommend staying at Santa Village and getting the bus or a taxi back to the hotel. That evening we enjoyed the Gala meal and the chance to meet Santa. It was all wonderful and my Daughter loved every minute of it. We did opt to pay for the optional Reindeer Ride. It did say it was a 2 hour excursion, however, this is door to door time. We actually only spent 30minutes on the ride. At a cost of 192 euros for myself and my Daughter - I did expect a tad more!! So not sure i'd do that again. There are plenty of excursion organisers in Rovaniemi - I'd check those out next time. I would overall recommend this holiday to anyone.. with or without children. It was the trip of a life time and seeing my Daughters reaction to meeting Santa was worth every penny! If I was to go back - I'd request a kettle!! Thank you Rantasipi Pohjanhovi for a lovely holiday!

I took my girlfriend on a romantic holiday to Lapland as a birthday present, we stayed in a twin room which had everything we needed in it, it was nicely decorated and was clean. Upon check in the staff were friendly and everything was quick, efficient and informative.

The Rantasipi Hotel is situated by the river with stunning views across snowy hillsides and it is in walking distance of all the Bars, cafes, restaurants and shops. We particulary enjoyed the Fransmanni Bar opposite the Rantasipi as it was warm and welcoming although i will mention that it is extremely exspensive to drink alcohol anywhere in Lapland, 20euros for a pint of beer and a whiskey and coke.......

we went with First Choice and were given a price list of exscrusions which will state for example (2hour activity) please note that this is a door to door time and not the actual length of the activity you do as we were very dissappointed to pay 238euros to go on a Huskey trial blazer trip to only actually spend about an hour doing the activity.

I also proposed to my girlfriend and now future wife while we were in Lapland and Becky our Rep from First choice made it a holiday to remember as she brought us personal gifts and a card, decorated our room and the Hotel also left complimentary Champagne and chocolates in our room on our return from the Snowmobile by night trip which i strongly suggest you book while in Lapland.

overall the Hotel was very clean, had everything we needed, everyone was very helpful and i would definately reccommend staying here.

First thing I noticed was the dirtiest common bathrooms in the restaurant areas I have ever seen in Finland. Probably not their fault,since they look like after party dirt: beer bottles and glasses, hygienic paper all over the floors, thick bad smell, but it's probably too little personnel for so much work to do. Same was noticeable during breakfast, tables remained dirty for too long,and being given the high flux of persons when I visited,the impression was again of dirt and crowdiness. Same hold for the sauna, much too small and crowded. The swimming pool area was nice but very cold,both the water and outside,which explains why that part was empty.room was ok,clean,spatious. Mini-bar had very little choices:no juices without bubbles or anything for young ones. Some staff at the reception were rather unpolite and lacking consideration.No doubt because of having so many people and so little personnel.

Me and my family ( a family of 4 ) went to the Rantasipi Pohjanhovi hotel in Rovaniemi back in 2008, and we can honestly say it was one of the most magical, fun and once-in-a-lifetime holiday that we ever had, the hotel was very clean, hotel staff were very helpful and there are a lot of english people to talk to and befriend.
Upon arrival, we were taken to that shop where the snowsuits and boots, etc. were, and we had no issues or problems concerning the equipment, but if we did the staff were always there to help and did their job quick and easy, no hassle what so ever.
The food was okay, nothing special, but my brother is a very fussy eater and he liked the food, so it isnt too bad. If you dont want to eat in the hotel, there are bars and restaurants further down the road, literally a 2 minute walk.
The hotel had internet service which was very fast and kept us entertained, as there was no nightime entertainment, but after the energetic events of the daytime we were too tired to do anything anyway.
The excursions in the hotel were excellent, but they were also quite expensive, but totally worth every penny. We chose to do the husky and reindeer ride then cross the arctic circle, which was absolutely amazing, a once in a lifetime opportunity and we received a certifcate at the end, so i would definitely recommend that excursion.
Everybody throughout the hotel and rovaniemi itself where very friendly and helpful and where always there if you needed them, no problems what so ever.
In the holiday, we met Santa Claus, you go to his post office in Santa's village, pet husky's and reindeers and go to a ice theme park which was amazing, they had ice slides and ring slides, etc. very fun for kids and adults also!
If anyone is looking into booking this holiday, all i would say is go for it! Best holiday we have ever had. :-)