海邊玻璃別墅(Seaside Glass Villas)

Great location with beautiful white birch trees and water. We made a fire and cooked dinner, as the grill and firewood were provided. The outdoor ice castle and indoor ice sculptures were very nice. The town itself was a little grim, but easy walking distance from the hotel. Good access to markets, pharmacies, and restaurants. (Thai, Chinese, pizza, etc). Rooms were clean, with a nice kitchen area.

Stayed three nights at the Seaside Glass Villa in Kemi. We arrived around 8:50 pm after a flight from Helsinki. The property is not very far from the airport and is part of/near to the Snow Castle. Though the actual Snow Castle is only slated to be ready in mid-January. There is an in-door “snow castle” area that is reportedly opened all year. Breakfast was served from 6:30-9:00 when we were there. With the kitchen closing at 9 pm and reception at 10 pm. We ended up getting cup noodles at reception for a late dinner in the villa. We had one of the larger units that has a “living area” and a kitchenette with induction stove top, microwave, electric kettle and coffee maker. And no television set. The beds are in a loft above with a glass, albeit very low, ceiling. Note the stairs going up are rather narrow. Took a little getting used to but once you do, it’s ok. At least for us. The down side of the larger units it’s that it is further away from the sea but much closer to the centre. Temperatures plunged to -12C when we were around. So being nearer is good as one has to walk to the restaurant for meals including breakfast. No in-room safe and please remember to bring adapters for your devices if not from Europe. The “downstairs” is the coolest part of the structure but the sleeping area is fine. The instructions was not to change the setting for the air conditioner. The bathroom has heated floors and is cosy. There’s also a sauna. But needs time to heat. So plan ahead. There are a variety of activities that can be arranged. From husky rides to reindeer etc. Aurora hunt though that might be even more suitable a little further north. All sorts of walks etc. Contact Marko Varpo if you fancy any one of these activities. You can even walk into town. It’s not actually that far away. Other than shopping or eating, there’s also a cafe that you can visit on top of the City Hall building, the tallest in Kemi. Gives a bird’s eye view of the area. Taxis are available but do note it is not exactly cheap. The thing to do here is to get on a real icebreaking ship to go out on the frozen sea. The historic Sampo icebreaker was really something different to do as a half-day tour. A very different type of moving museum. On top of being allowed to walk on frozen sea in the Bay of Bothnia (ie the northern part of the Baltic Sea), one can even float in it. And as guest of the Glass Villa, there’s even a special discount. For us, this is a once in a lifetime trip especially going out on the Sampo. But we do highly recommend it.

We booked premium villa by the seaside. It was warm and clean. Waterheater was bit small because you can have warm shower only 13 min per hour. Beautiful view to the sea and sky. Good bed with comfortable linen. Kitchenette with fridge and microwave.

Wir haben zwei Nächte in den Seaside Glass Villas übernachtet. Wir hatten die Premium-Villa mit Meerblick gebucht. Die Glass Villa ist wirklich sehr schön und der Ausblick unbeschreiblich. Wir haben diese Unterkunft extra gewählt, damit wir für den Ausflug mit dem Eisbrecher Sampo einen kurzen Weg haben. Das Personal war sehr freundlich und das Frühstück war in Ordnung. Das Abendessen im Restaurant Lumihiutale war sehr gut. Die Villas sind schon sehr hochpreisig, aber wir würden diese wieder wählen. Die „Snowcastle area“ ist sehr schön, aber auch relativ klein. Das Wasser in der Dusche fließt in das Badezimmer und Warmwasser gibt es nur für ca. 13 min, aber darauf wird überall hingewiesen, somit war es für uns kein Problem. ;-)