Ranua Resort Holiday Villas

Location is really bad, take one hour drive to the centre

We had the best time here last week!! We did the bed and breakfast option, It gives you more flexibility. There is a restaurant across from where you eat breakfast, which would recommend. 16 euros for the buffet and includes coffee, teas and cold drinks. Then we would eat a main at night in the restaurant. They offer a 3 course meal, but the main was always enough after the lunch. A vegetarian option, along with the dish of the day. There is also a burger menu, that had chicken nuggets on it too. There is loads of snow. The zoo is good to look around. We found it to be very quiet. Yes there are other tourists visiting the zoo, so that why I would avoid the restaurant next to it at lunch time, as it is busy. Staff are really helpful. Jamie one the guides was really helpful with local knowledge. There is also a little bar next to reception which has a pool table Alcohol is limited and more expensive than the uk, but we had some larger which was really nice. Tips, I took tea bags with me. We didn’t bother going to the shop. The restaurant sold us milk. You do get a couple of sachets in your apartment of hot chocolate, and herbal teas. The apartments are very warm, we opened the window in the bedroom at night. The igloos if you stay in them, reception control the heating if you need it turning up or down. They supply a good selection of clothing and boots. Would definitely visit again .

We spent 2 nights are Ranua and it was an average experience. The location and the igloos are stunning but that’s about it. Food is terrible, there is a very bad smell in the restaurant, service is average and they are clearly understaffed. Given the price tag, you’d expect a much better service.

For a resort that’s supposed to be geared up for Santa visits they don’t cater for children!!! Beware of the full board option it’s not worth it! Stayed here for a Santa Lapland visit with my family and found the Resturant to be very poor! It’s buffet during the day, and also caters for the 100s of visitors to the zoo. Lunch was dreadful, if you don’t reserve a table you will struggle to find a place to sit, you will also be queueing with several bus loads of tourists during peak hours!! Which is 11.30 - 3pm! Everyday there was at least 40+ people queuing, just to be met with a poor buffet selection that’s limited with stale bread and over cooked hot food. For the evening, the don’t have a kids menus. There is a 3 course menu consists of a single starter, a main choice of 1 meat dish or 1 vegetarian, and a desert, so if you don’t like it you can have a burger! My kids didn’t want to eat the food, thankfully this did offer us burger or chicken nuggets, which is fine but after 3 days my kids were fed up with them! And wanted something else! No wine list - just 1 or 2 bottles of either red or white at €50 each! You can eat at the other Resturant that’s partly owned by the resort, but you have to pay! They do pizzas and a good variety of food but none of which is included in the cost of your stay!!!

We stayed at Ranua over Xmas. Our first night was in a glass igloo. We didn't see the northern lights but the igloos are superbly equipped for what they are and we arrived late to find meals in our fridge and wine. We transferred the next morning to the villas at the resort which are also very good accommodation. All of the transfers provided by the resort including airport transfers were spot on. We travelled with our 18 month old daughter with no issues. We were full board and the food exceeded our expectations. The only complaint we have is that lunch is served between 11am and 4pm but the resort had huge coach loads of zoo visitors each day who had lunch included so the small onsite restaurant was completely full from 12-2 for the coach groups reserved tables not allowing resort guests to eat which caught us out on our first day and not great when you have a child to feed and you can't sit down and eat. We had to eat lunch later because of this just like all other guests had to which I felt was a little unfair as the coaches were only visiting for the day yet took priority. The staff were all incredibly helpful and friendly. The place is very child friendly. There are little sleighs everywhere you can just pick up and use for luggage or children. There is a shop but it only sells sweets. You would need to go to a local supermarket to get supplies. Reception provide tea and milk sachets. The activities get booked up very quickly so it's probably better to book in advance prior to arriving. Would recommend to families travelling with kids of all ages. The zoo is pretty much empty in winter as all of the animals are hiding and I don't blame them (lol) but the zoo wasn't the reason we booked it.