Spending Winter Solstice at Livo Arctic Resort in Posio (Review)

For some reason, I never stay in Posio. I either visit the area as a day trip from Rovaniemi, or I go a little bit further and stay in Ruka. But given the number of times I visit Posio, I was determined to stay there and make my trip more than just a stop on the way further east.

I believe I first saw Livo Arctic Resort last season on Google Maps. The property seemed different than the rest. Most of the northern lights hotels in Finland are a copy and paste of another (meaning they all use the same manufacturers). I stay somewhere new each month to review them on the blog and honestly… I am so bored.

So when I was looking to get away for a night and realized that Livo Arctic Resort in December was within my budget, I booked it immediately.

In this guide, I will review my stay at Livo Arctic Resort in Posio, Finland. The place ended up being better in person than in photos (including my own!) and the stay was just as unique as I had hoped. Let me know if you have any questions below. Thanks!

About Livo Arctic Resort in Posio

Livo Arctic Resort is located just south of the town of Posio in Eastern Lapland on the shores of Lake Livo. Designed and built by Geometria in 2023, these are a one-of-a-kind cabin and nothing in Finnish Lapland looks remotely similar to this. It was so refreshing.

There are ten circular cabins and each of them comes with a glass ceiling, perfect for viewing the northern lights (more about that soon). Inside, there is a luxurious bathroom, a small kitchenette, a large bed, a sofabed, chairs and a table for lounging, a TV, and more. Each unit comes with a clothing dryer where you can dry off your snowy clothes as you enter.

There were plenty of plates, wine glasses, mugs, and champagne glasses for guests to use (and a dishwasher to clean them). A kettle and a small coffee machine are inside each unit, as well.

Livo Arctic Resort offers an intimate stay in Lapland’s wilderness. One of the best things about the property is that it is family-owned and is also a reindeer farm. I didn’t realize this when I booked, to be honest. Just a short distance away is Valkean Peuran Valtakunta, the reindeer kingdom and hut for breakfast/dinner. You can see more about this below.

At the resort, you can also do an array of activities like feed the reindeer (€25 per person and discounts for kids), take a reindeer safari (€70 per person for 2 kilometers and €43 per person for 300 meters; discounts for kids), go dry floating (€200), enjoy a traditional smoke sauna (€270 for the evening), and more. They also have snowshoes you can use (free) and canoes/rowboats for rent.

Highlights of Visiting Livo Arctic Resort

Normally, I have a lowlights section on these guides, but (most) everything during my stay at Livo Arctic Resort was perfect, so that is not necessary. I do make a small note about breakfast if you’re looking to see something that didn’t meet my expectations.

The Cabin and Location

My favorite thing about my stay at Livo Arctic Resort was obviously these cabins! While I didn’t even bring my drone out (the weather was so rainy and gross… and all the snow was off the trees), I hope to get some better photos next time I am in Posio, so you can see Livo at its best. Either way, the surrounding nature was breathtaking.

The cabin was such a highlight. I am claustrophobic (I do mention it a lot on this blog… whoops) and I like spacious places as a result. This was my dream place. It was incredibly spacious and had a large bed, chairs, a table, a kitchenette, a bathroom, and a sofabed. I could have stayed here for a week, easily.

Another thing I need to mention is that this area is pretty void of light pollution, meaning that it is a wonderful northern lights hotel. There are glass ceilings in the cabins, and yes, you can likely see the aurora from bed if it is strong enough. And I rarely make that claim (you can see my rants about these claims in my guide to glass igloos in Finland here).

While the aurora wasn’t expected when I was staying there, I randomly woke up at 3am and saw stars clearly from bed. Stars = clear skies. So I went outside to see if there was aurora, and sure enough, there was a faint one behind the cabin.

I grabbed a photo on my phone (which is new and I don’t have proper settings yet), and you can see it here. I can’t even imagine how jaw-dropping the aurora must be out here when the skies cooperate.

The Cozy Restaurant

The restaurant is located on the reindeer farm and they source everything right there or locally if possible. I ordered a reindeer fillet with potatoes and vegetables. This is not a fine-dining establishment but the comfort of the home-cooked meal tasted so much better than the stuffy places you often find at resorts around Lapland. It was delicious.

You need to order your food at least a day before your reservation, however. They will send you a menu to choose from and you can book with them via email communications or by calling.

The one small disappointment I had was the breakfast situation. Let me state that everything that was there was well-prepared (I didn’t love the bread, though, and it was quite dry). But there were not a lot of options and even though it was only €15 for breakfast, I stopped at the K-Market in Posio after I checked out and grabbed some food.

I do appreciate places that reduce food waste and this was definitely the case there, but I think it would have been improved with just a few more things on it to round it out a bit (maybe some reindeer blood sausage or additional cold cuts?). I am not sure, but Ed and I definitely felt this was the only thing about our stay that didn’t live up to our expectations.

With that being said, you can easily bring your own breakfast items to your cabin and prepare something easy there in the microwave.

The Hospitality

Something that really set Livo Arctic Resort apart from other places was the hospitality throughout my stay. Usually, when I stay at resorts up here, I do my own thing and have little interaction with the staff.

Livo was different. I saw the same faces throughout the stay and I felt like I was part of the family by the time I left. Darius greeted us upon arrival and showed us into our room, answered questions, and made sure we knew how to reach him if we needed something.

He is usually on-site and available at all times (if he is not there, someone else is). The resort refers to this as a ‘host’. Someone who can make sure you can get a lift to Korouoma Canyon or Riisitunturi if you need one. Someone to make sure your stay is living up to your expectations. It was such a thoughtful thing that I have not seen other places in Lapland do.

The host will also arrange excursions with local partners and will make sure you get to and from the resort with ease. This was such a breath of fresh air and different from many of the resort cash-grabs around the region.

Is Livo Arctic Resort worth it?

I have to say that this has been one of my favorite places I have stayed in all of Lapland. The accommodation was a standout and unique and the hospitality was unmatched. Let me know if you have any questions about Livo Arctic Resort in the comments (or in a message). Thanks!

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