We stayed in Chalet H15, a 2-storey wooden house, with 2 bedrooms & 6 soft, comfy beds, a dining area, fireplace, TV, CD player, and a fully set-up kitchen (oven, microwave, induction stove, hotwater boiler, coffeemaker... cutlery, utensils... really everything you need). It has 2 toilets, and even has it's own sauna room! The house is very warm as the floorboards are heated (temps outside were between 6 to 0 degrees). The house is clean... there wasn't a speck of dust anywhere! The water pressure is good, making for good hot showers after a walk in the cold outside.
Set near the house, a short 10-min walk away, is a hill-top look-out point just beside the Sky Hotel (which is shut til December as it's undergoing renovations). We were told by a few locals that this spot was a favourite for aurora-chasers. It was high, away from light pollution, and on a cloudless night, you could see the aurora borealis dance in the sky.
We decided to take our chances & not book any tours the first night. We walked up there and was rewarded with a short display despite it being a slightly cloudy night! On the second night, the skies were clear, the stars hung big & bright. And we had a good half hour of watching the wispy strands moving across the sky. Magical ????
The auroras appear as milky white 'ribbons' of clouds that shift & flow. I read that the human eye does not see the aurora the same way a camera lens does. I took the shots using my Samsung Galaxy Note 5 and in the photos, they came out clearer, and looking green.
The Lakutivat chalets are set in the hill, with walking trails where you can see the beautiful Lapland nature. We found a couple of good places with an overview of the river. It was beautiful.
The distance to town is about 1.5km. By cab it's 10 mins away and costed around 15 Euros. There are no groceries nearby, so be sure to buy your groceries before you come up here.
Would come back here to stay if we return to Rovaniemi. :)
