Lapland Hotels Luostotunturi & Amethyst Spa

Canterbury Travel are keeping the magic of Christmas! We flew with Jet2, faultless, from Gatwick. A coach drive from the airport and we arrived in our log cabin in the Luosto resort. It’s warm, well appointed and while a bit small, it worked for our family of four. Snow outside is a foot deep. -19 today but in the one piece outfits they provide including boots, we are toast ! Great food and lots of it. Booze is not cheap, however. And then there are Elves! They’ve provided energy, fun and laughter, keeping the Magic for our two little ones. Well done Canterbury and Luosto. I cannot recommend highly enough. PS, they accommodated our ASD child with care and understanding.

Had a wonderful, 3 generations, Canterbury holiday. Stayed in the hotel so no getting in and out of snowsuits at meal times. Our room had a fully fitted kitchen, separate bedroom and even a sauna in the bathroom. Everything was spotless. You can use the pool free of charge when staying at the hotel. All meals were buffet style so it was easy to cater for all tastes and plenty of choice. The staff were very friendly and welcoming.

Well Tui did their utmost to ruin our once in a lifetime trip. After paying a good sum for 3 nights, I feel absolutely gutted. We started the trip with me sitting nowhere near my family on the flight out there. I wasn’t the only one. Imagine not being able to see your 6 year old twins faces as they land in Santa Claus land. We brushed that off. Then they drop us off at our log cabins after getting the snow gear ( it’s very heavy). Well they didn’t drop us off at our log cabins, they dropped us a 10 min walk away with suitcases in the snow and a bag weighing a ton. Canterbury travel dropped them on the road right near the cabins. No carts, nothing to help us. I had to leave the heavy bag on the snow by the woods and return with a sled later to see if it was still there. The log cabin was lovely ( the best part of the holiday). We then did the tasters which were 2 mins long and the ‘ huskies’ weren’t huskies, just dogs. The reindeer ride isn’t around any wooded parts, just in a circle. Then the big moment! My boys are meeting Santa. Oh my god. It’s like a school hut! NO MAGIC! I then asked if Santa could give them a £10 present we had brought. Nope. They don’t want other kids feeling like Santa gave them something different. Hang on! This isn’t a school trip. My kids don’t know the other kids. Isn’t that up to us? It was a £10 box of chocolates we were giving them, not an x box. 🤦🏼‍♂️. Canterbury let this happen and really makes it special as it’s off their Xmas list. You know helping them believe. Santa looked like a complete fake. This fake belly and old ragged costume. Wait till you see the pics all over social media. If it wasn’t so depressing it would be hilarious. We then booked a reindeer ride. This has to be good! £510 for a family of four for 2 hours. Then we found out other guests got the same thing booking separately for £250. They wouldn’t let me cancel it because it was one hour into the not told to me 24 hour cancellation policy. Well it’s ok. There are no lights, not Christmassy but the reindeers are lovely. You get a 20 min ride and then 20 mins feeding reindeer who are already full from the group before 🤦🏼‍♂️. They didn’t even provide a soft drink for the kids other than steaming boiling hot berry juice. So we had to pay even more for refreshments. Absolute con when you see what other companies do. The festive finale. Oh dear! In a dingy little room at the bottom of the hotel, no firework display as promised, some out of tune singer from Preston not even dressed Christmassy singing a couple of tunes. I’ve put on better birthday parties for the kids. And then to top it off, we were 2 mins late for the coach home ( 2 mins!) and they drove off leaving my family in minus 10 degree weather to go and wait for latecomers at the hotel where they have a warm hotel to wait in. They waited 10 mins for latecomers at the hotel and left us in the freezing cold. Literally 2 mins late. I walked to the hotel and wasn’t best pleased

It was a good hotel. Room was spacy enough and bathroom was good. Bed is maybe a bit soft side but that is fine. Room also had balcony and fridge which was nice. Everything was clean too. Strange thing was that for some reason our room had a door to adjacent room and through it you could hear pretty much everything that was happening in there, which wasn't nice. Access to spa area was included in the price. Spa is not very big and looked very 90's, but it was still in fine condition and definitely more fun to use jacuzzi and massaging water jets than usual showers. Steam bath was a disappoiment thou, it was cold and not at all steamy. Breakfast was the typical finnish one, that means more good stuff one can eat. Both recepetion and restaurant staff were very nice and helpful.

Earlier I have visited this spa hotel with my family and then we stayed in a hotel room. Now I had a solo trip and I chose a log cabin of the hotel. Actually it is a semi-detached house but it is much more special, more authentic and more individual experience than just a hotel room. However, it is as easy and even more comfortable than a hotel room. So I had an own log cabin or more precisely a private part of a semi-detached house with an own entrance. My private log cabin included a living room with beds, a stylish stone-built fireplace with firewood and a kitchenette (a fridge, a microwave oven, two hotplates, a coffee maker and a water kettle), an own bathroom (a water toilet and a shower), an own electric sauna (including instructions how to use the sauna) with a window to the wilderness, an electric drying cabinet for wet clothes, wireless internet, ventilation windows with insect nets and a parking lot with a heating electricity socket. Actually my idyllic cabin included beds for six people (a massive bunk bed made of logs with four lower beds and two upper beds) and also tableware for six. However, the price was almost the same as in a normal hotel room although cabin price also included the buffet breakfast of the hotel. They also have bigger and a bit more expensive log cabins with two rooms. The breakfast buffet is excellent and it includes some local specialties, e.g. spruce shoot fruitie, bilberry soup and bread cheese. They even have a waffle station where you may be cook your own waffles. Special diets, e.g. gluten free diet, are also available. The only negative thing compared to the hotel room is the fact that in a cabin you have to wash dishes and take the trash out yourself. Otherwise all final cleaning is included in the price. All services of Luosto are located next to the hotel and these log cabins but also hiking trails to Pyhä-Luosto national park and Ahvenlampi recreation area start right next door. Ahvenlampi is a good fishing spot, too, but you have to buy a fishing permit. An outdoor playground is ideal for children. So the location of this hotel is the best possible. You may even see reindeer and mountain hares next to the hotel.

Myself and a friend stayed for two nights in Room 345 (twin beds) in February 2024 (Winter). Our hotel deal included breakfast. Pros: -Clean premises. -Quick check-in at Reception, with English-speaking staff. -Lobby-reception has small shop selling snacks, postcards and Finnish-Lapland souvenirs. Reception sells tickets for Luosto Ski Resort. Free foldable map of Luosto village & its amenities available. -One lift to all floors. -Room 345 ‘superior twin room’ (first floor). Keycard entry. Open hanging area with hangars. Shoe drying rack. Cupboard with shelves, hairdryer, mirror. Luggage stand. Bench & table. Kettle, coffee & tea. Fridge. Wall-mounted LG TV. Sofa bed. Two single beds with bedside table & lights. Good soundproofing. Balcony with bench and view of front car park and main road below. En suite bathroom with walk-in shower, toilet, sink, towels, shaver socket, mirror. -Suites with sauna and log cabins also available. -‘Tunturi’ restaurant (ground floor) - plentiful seating. Breakfast 7-10am - buffet self-service: hot foods, juice machine, coffee jug, cereals, breads, porridge, yoghurt, pastries. Toasters. Waffle maker. Gluten-free options. High-chairs available. Cloakroom for jackets & bags. -‘Rumpu’ bistro/bar (ground floor, by main entrance). -‘Parvi’ restaurant (above ground floor). -‘Karhu’ bar-nightclub (below ground floor). -Large indoor swimming pool with jacuzzi section, plus separate enclosed jacuzzi. Swimming floats/armbands available. Sauna. Steam room. Changing rooms. Take room towel and exchange room key for locker key at Reception. -Gym (below ground floor) with cardio and weights equipment. -Spa and wellness (ground floor). -Games room with pool table (ground floor). -Reading room (first floor). -Free WiFi throughout hotel. -Free, large car park. Charging point for e-cars. -Complimentary sledges. -Checkout 12pm. -Luggage storage available behind Reception desk. Useful as our bus back to Rovaniemi wasn’t until early evening. Cons: -Room - no safe. -Room - luggage storage cupboard handle snapped off. -Room - TV too small for size of room. -Room - shower door handle snapped off. -Room - balcony door handle loose. -Swimming pool - there should be an adults only hour each day, as pool frequently busy with families. -‘Karhu’ bar-nightclub - evening entertainment (karaoke, live bands) costs extra, €3pp upwards. Notes: -‘K Luoston Kauppa’ convenience store sells alcohol (behind Restaurant Vaisko) and a Gift shop are both opposite hotel across the 962 main road. -Hotel is within walking distance of amethyst shop, Ahvenlampi lake (walking, sledging, marshmallow toasting hut) and Luosto Ski Resort. -Local restaurants are all within walking distance of hotel. I ate evening meals at ‘Rumpu’ (hotel) and ‘Puna Kettu’. -I also went snowshoeing and visited the Kopara Reindeer Park.