Ice Hotels

Kakslauttanen is in Finnish Lapland near Saariselkä, far enough north that the polar night and the midnight sun are both part of the calendar. Its best-known accommodation is the glass igloo — a small heated dome with a transparent shell, built so that a guest can lie in bed and watch the sky, which between roughly late August and April is the practical reason most people come. Alongside these the resort runs traditional log cabins, snow-built structures in season, saunas and a large outdoor area given over to husky and reindeer activity. The surrounding landscape is Urho Kekkonen National Park country: pine, fell and a great deal of snow for much of the year. Weather governs everything here, including whether the aurora appears at all, and the resort is transparent that it cannot promise it.