We had 4 nights in December 2011 staying at the hotel with Thomson/First Choice in a family room, which was clean, tidy and quiet and met the description in the brochure exactly. The hotel staff were excellent. They were available and polite and spoke excellent English. The restaurant had self service breakfasts and a buffet evening meal. The food was good quality and plentiful with plenty of recognisable options for our 5 year old (even though there was always an additional Kids 'English' meal available if necessary). The hotel was in easy walking distance of the supermarket, swimming pool and a popular toboggan run. All in all we had a fun relaxing holiday.

I stayed with my wife and five year old daughter at the Reikonlinna, Saariselka, from 21st to 27th Dec 2011 with First Choice / Thomsons. We thought this would be a holiday in a lifetime, but we are already taking about returning because we enjoyed it and Lapland so much.

Firstly Thomsons: the flights were on time, airport transfers efficient, welcome meeting informative aand thankfully short and the reps helpful. However, top billing has to go to the 'Elves' (special mention to the delightful 'Snowdrop') and the Thomson entertainers, Jinglebell Jenny and Gingerbread Greg. There were competitions out in the snow (we were the snowman building champions, twice) and indoors (family quiz and evening entertainment). Trips out included a Santa taster day with a chance for the children to meet the big man himself in a log cabin in the middle of a forest, directed by elves and driven by sledge, followed by snowmobiling, reindeer sleigh, crafts and husky dogs. Of the optional trips, the Elf Adventure was the best with ice fishing, mini snowmobiles, skiing, etc. The reindeer safari was very relaxing. However, the husky dogs sledging was less enjoyable as our sledge was at least two dogs under powered for our weight so the dogs halted at the slightest incline and I had to get off and push the sledge!

On arrival at the Hotel Reikonlinna (Snowflake in the Thomson brochure) we were kitted out with thermal wear. This was excellent, although the mild winter meant it never got below -15° C. The hotel was pleasant and a nice location in the pretty village of Saariselka. The rooms are quite warm, especially if you dress in your thermal gear to go outside. We had upgraded to a superior room with its own sauna. The room was nice but a little tight for space with the bed settee made up as a bed for my daughter. The rooms were cleaned daily, but a little dust built up under the beds during the week. We stayed full board. The food was all buffet style, of reasonable quality, but often limited in choice. The gala dinner was also too crowded, with queues for the food. The hotel has an Aurora Borealis viewing room, but alas no show from one of nature's wonders (some people who went up to the top of the nearby fell saw a small display of the Northern Lights in the distance).

All in all, we had a really good time at this hotel with Thomsons: well recommended for young families. We are looking to return one day, but sadly Thomsons are not currently offering a 6/7 day option for Xmas 2012 and three days over Xmas is just too short with so much available to do.  

From start to finish our Esprit Lapland 3 day break was fantastic and magical. Our children are almost 7 and 5 and they could not believe they were in Lapland let alone going to meet "the Santa".

The check in at Gatwick was a dedicated desk and Easyjet were brilliant - the cabin crews for both flights were welcoming and the children loved them.

We stayed in one of the hotel's apartments which was fantastic in terms of quality, layout and cleanliness. We had a small kitchen fitted with dishwasher and cupboards supplied with all crockery and cutlery and cleaning materials. There was even a small private sauna within our bathroom. On our arrival for having booked early there was a boy and girl reindeer for our children from one of the hotel's gift shops which was lovely and a clever marketing idea.

The food was all tasty and there was a good selection and our children were happy to try the "adult food" and not just the children's option.

The outdoor clothing and boots supplied kept us all warm and snug - we experienced up to minus 9 degrees so you appreciated these extra layers.

The Esprit resort staff and the hotel staff were superb and could not have been more helpful and the activities were great fun. We were unable to go on a husky ride as at the beginning of December 2011 there was not enough snow but they arranged a snowmobile safari instead. We still got to meet the husky dogs and talk to their owners which was great.

Most importantly our private meeting with Santa was magical and the elves helped us to go and find Santa. The look on our children's faces when Santa said their names when we entered his cabin and he read parts of their letters out which were in his hands was wonderful.

It was a holiday of a lifetime for us as a family and the memories our children now have will last forever. I would highly recommend the accomodation, Esprit and Easyjet.

Thank you.

I booked a 3 night 'Santa's Wonderland' trip for myself, husband and son who is 7.
The flight was great, with games for the kids (balloon races and colouring competitions etc), the cabin crew were wearing Santa hats and we all sang carols.
Once we arrived into Ivalo airport we were directed onto our transfer coach and introduced to our very own elf called Cloudberry!! We were advised that we would keep the same coach and elf (!) for the duration of our trip and she was really helpful, telling us Santa tales and giving us infomation about the itinerary and resort of Saariselka.
When we arrived at the resort we (and all the other passengers on our flight) were taken to a conference room for our welcome meeting. This gave the reps chance to introduce themselves, give us instruction for getting our thermal suits and to tell us about all the different excursions we could book. We had assumed that we would be able to book these after doing the 'taster sessions' the following day but we were advised that by then they would probably be fully booked so we decided to book the Husky Trail Blazers. I thought they would be the same price as booking them as part of my holiday package but they were a lot more expensive (£240 to prebook versus 330 Euro in resort).
We were finally taken to the hotel which gave mixed first impressions. The hotel is large and busy and didn't look that traditional. The reception and bar area is small and quite dated (think 1970's) although check-in was quick. Our hotel room was adequate and although it was spotless, it was quite old fashioned with a cracked sink. The beds were comfy though although my sons put me up bed didn't have much of a mattress.
The thermal suits that are included as part of your package are great and really keep you warm. We used our own snow boots, gloves and hats though and had took some thermal layers and fleeces which we did need to keep really warm (the temperatures weren't even that cold either when we were there, about -5 I think).
We were booked half board which was great. The restaurant looks beautiful in the evening and the buffet spread was good although there wasn't loads of choice. There was usually a fish dish, meatballs, salad bar and chicken nuggets and chips for the kids. The hotel seemed to reserve the restaurant for Thomson guests only between 6pm - 8pm so it never seemed really crowded. Drinks prices were really high though which you expect for scandinavia (2 glasses of wine and a coke cost up to 19 Euro and a bottle of beer was 7 Euro).
The next day were were taken to Santa's Resort which is beautiful. You arrive about 9am when it's still dark and it's all lit with candles. You are given vouchers for your taster sessions and a map and left to explore on your own. The place is really well designed and has places where you can go to warm up if needed. We tried snowmobiling twice and went on a husky ride which was really exciting. Lunch was included in a beautiful building in the centre of the resort and was a lovely warming buffet. When it came to meeting Santa we were taken in a sledge into the forest to a little wooden hut and met by an elf who told us Santa stories while we waited. Santa was great, he had a fab beard and twinkly eyes...my son was mesmerised!! We didn't feel rushed and had plenty time to talk about Christmas lists and what he would like leaving out on Christmas Eve (sweets apparently!!
The following day we went sledging in the resort (the hotel has loads of sledges piled up outside reception, you just help yourself). There are gentle slopes are about a 5 min walk from the hotel and are fab (there are more adventurous ones about 15 mins away I think).
In the afternoon we went on our Husky Trail Blazer excursion which was not what we expected at all. We assumed we would be sat in a sledge and been driven through the forest but it soon became apparent we would be doing the driving ourselves which was a bit hairaising but great fun!! We then had some hot berry juice and got chance to cuddle some husky puppies. I wouldn't say the excursion was great value for money but it was certainly an experience you would never have again.
On the final evening we had a Gala dinner followed by fireworks which was a really special end to a special holiday.
Just a few general things:
The resort is small with just a couple of shops and a supermarket (great for buying cold drinks as you have a fridge in your room). Everyone pulls their kids along in sledges (my son thought this was great!)
We didn't experience much of the Thomson entertainment as we were so tired at the end of each day that we were in bed really early but they did loads of activities, games and competitions.
We had booked this hotel as it had a Northern Lights viewing room (which was a bit disappointing to be honest). As it was cloudy when we were there, we didn't see them unfortunately.
When I mentioned the room to the rep she advised that the hotel is planning to upgrade all the hotel rooms (the apartments have already been done).
All in all this was an expensive holiday but it was a once in a lifetime experience which has given us some lovely memories and photos.