In October 2019, we were fortunate to spend a night at the Northern Lights Ranch in Finnish Lapland.
Located roughly 180km north of Rovaniemi, and a few kilometres outside of Levi, the Northern Lights Ranch is situated in it’s own small part of paradise.
It’s wonderful location, set well away from towns and cities, makes it one of the best places in Finland to see the northern lights.
And of course, it isn't just the location of The Ranch that gives you such a good chance of seeing the Aurora Borealis, but also the unique and inspiring design of the rooms.
Let’s take a better look at what you can expect to find here ...
The accommodation you will find here are known as Sky View Cabins.
Each cabin is located separately from the others, and comes with room for between 2 and 4 people.
The most striking feature of each cabin are the large glass paneled roofs and ceiling around the beds.
These glass panels and the beds all face north, so you can lay in bed and gaze up at the stars and, hopefully, the Northern Lights.
As an added bonus, the beds are all motorised, meaning you can adjust your viewing angle in complete comfort.
We stayed in a Sky View Cabin Deluxe, which came with a separate small sofa and TV area, a large bathroom and, best of all, our own private outdoor hot tub ...
This was by far my favourite feature of the room and it was from here that I saw the Northern Lights for the very first time!
We were lucky enough that on the night we stayed the skies were completely clear, so we lounged for about an hour in the hot tub just staring up and appreciating the array of stars on display.
After a while, once our eyes became fully adjusted to the dark, could we see some hazy clouds in the distance, which eventually turned into the Aurora Borealis.
Below is a picture of the lights that we saw, honestly it was such an exciting moment! We didn't have a tripod set up, hence why the quality is low! It took us by surprise!
Following our relaxing session in the hot tub, we went to the main dining area where we experienced one of the nicest meals we had in Lapland!
It just so happened that no other guests were staying that night (being that the season hadn’t yet started), so we had our own private 3 course meal.
The chef truly is a master, and we thoroughly savoured every last mouthful of all 3 courses, which included:
Each course was perfectly complemented by the chef’s choice of wine, and the ambience was truly unforgettable.
With a modern, yet authentic Finnish interior, complete with a log burning fire in the background.
The spread for breakfast was equally as impressive, with an assortment of juices, hot drinks, freshly cooked hot food, as well as cold meats and cereals.
I’m not exaggerating when I say that you should consider staying here for the food alone!
Once again, my compliments to the chef.
As you’d have guessed by the name, one of the main reasons to stay here is to give yourself the best chance of witnessing the Northern Lights.
There are a number of factors that go into the Northern Lights being visible.
Many of these are completely out of your control, including cloud cover and a low KP Index (the strength of the Northern Lights on that particular day).
However, there are a lot of things that you can do to increase your chances, such as:
Well, at the Northern Lights Ranch, you achieve all of these.
It is located far enough north that the lights are often visible on multiple nights a week.
Also, the comfy beds and hot tub make for a nice warm place to sit and patiently wait for them to come out.
Ultimately, those looking for a luxurious and comfortable way to experience Finnish Lapland and to hopefully see the Northern Lights.
It certainly costs more than an average night stay elsewhere, but offers an abundance of luxury offerings that few other places can offer.
It is particularly well suited to those who don’t have long in Lapland and want to make the most of their stay.
Finally, there is quite a romantic atmosphere to the place, making it a great place for couples to spend a night or two away on their own.
Funnily enough, while we were there, they had just started work on constructing an ice chapel!
They build it every year and it is usually available between December and March, when the weather is at its coldest.
They hold a number of ceremonies here throughout the year so, if you’re thinking about getting hitched, this might well be the place to do it!
If you have any specific questions to ask, such as for large bookings or perhaps for hosting a wedding or other event here, then the best pace to find out more information is their website.
If you want quick access to availability and pricing, then I recommend checking them out here on Booking.com.
Overall, we really did enjoy your stay here and found the staff in particular to be incredibly helpful, and going above and beyond in making our stay memorable.
If you have any more questions about our stay, then just drop a comment below and I will be happy to help where I can!
Once again, here are their links:
**Thank you to the Northern Lights Ranch for hosting us during our stay. As always, all views expressed here are our own.**
Leave a comment
Let us know what you think!