Wilderness Hotel Inari: So Nice I’ve Stayed There Thrice (Review)

Around a year ago, I was traveling from the Varanger Peninsula in Norway back home to Rovaniemi. It made sense to make a stop in Inari for a night, so I booked a glass igloo at the Wilderness Hotel Inari.

Igloo hotels are significantly cheaper in the off-season (this was August), so I was excited to pay a small amount and have the same experience as the winter travelers. Minus the snow. Minus the northern lights. Okay… minus all the reasons people book a glass igloo.

But I enjoyed my stay and vowed to return to Wilderness Hotel Inari & Igloos. Fast forward a year later and I have managed to stay there two times since, and I have had an exceptional stay each time, and have even tested out other rooms on their property.

In this guide, I review my stay at Wilderness Hotel Inari and tell you what I loved, and what I didn’t love about my stay (one small, picky thing). If you don’t have time to read and want to know the real reason I loved Inari’s Wilderness Hotel so much… it was the FOOD.

Let me know if you have any questions in the comments. Thanks!

About Wilderness Hotel Inari & Igloos

Wilderness Hotel Inari sits right on the shores of Lake Inari (Finnish Lapland’s largest lake and the country’s third largest) off the E75 highway that runs north to south. The complex is just south of the main town center in Inari and the closest airport is Ivalo (IVL).

The team at Wilderness Hotels has 9 properties these days and you can find them scattered all over Lapland, from Inari over to Nellim (the original was founded in 2004). Nellim remained Mari and Jouko’s (the founders) only property until 2013, when they opened Muotka, and now they have a portfolio of 9 (as a few are opening this winter).

Nevertheless, Wilderness Hotels has been named one of the Best Workplaces in Finland in 2025 and I think that reflects in how the employees treat the guests when you’re there.

The staff has been sensational each time and I have seen the same staff when there, which says a lot to me about how the company treats its employees.

Wilderness Hotel Inari Accommodation Options

If you haven’t read my post about staying at glass hotels in Finland, you may want to check it out. I have had some weird side quest of staying at as many glass igloos in Finland so I can let people know which ones are worth it and which ones you should pass on.

Many of these glass igloo hotels only offer the igloos and one other style of accommodation. Wilderness Hotel Inari has better options than most places.

Here are the different accommodation options at Wilderness Hotel Inari:

• Aurora Cabin (29m2 up to 4 people)
• Log Cabin (70m2 up to 6 people)
• Inari Arctic Chalet (44m2 up to 4 people)
• Wilderness Room (25m2 up to 2 people)

One of my stays was in an Aurora Cabin (a glass igloo) and the other two stays were in their Wilderness Rooms. Both were spacious and I recommend them. There are 19 Aurora Igloos on-site (and more Wilderness Rooms than that).

I have seen inside the larger Log Cabins and Arctic Chalets on a BBC show called Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby (the entire episode was about Wilderness Hotel Inari!).

What I Loved About My Stay at Wilderness Hotel Inari (Pros)

I loved pretty much everything about every stay, but here are some of my biggest highlights for me.

Restaurant Ukko

Honestly, this is one of my favorite places I have eaten in Finland and it was the primary reason I stayed there on my second overnight trip to Inari. I had to show my partner this place!

Restaurant Ukko is a Nordic restaurant located at Wilderness Hotel Inari that has Lappish cuisine with a modern twist. Seasonality is a key focus here and their menu rotates throughout the year.

But one thing that doesn’t change is how delicious it is. The food is exceptional and I keep going back for their Lappish cheese starter (which I could definitely buy the cheese on my own but it is so much better eating it beside Lake Inari).

I am not sure if Ukko is also in charge of the breakfast at Wilderness Hotel Inari, but if so, they deserve a shoutout for it. It is one of the best hotel breakfasts I have ever had and the reason I refuse to stay in other places when I am in Inari. Though I should give their other Inari location a go one of these days, since I know the breakfast will be good.

You don’t need to be a guest to have dinner at Restaurant Ukko. So, if you’re passing through Inari on a road trip and want a delicious bite to eat… make a reservation and enjoy.

Activities Offered

While I didn’t partake in any activities when there, I am hoping to get up there during the wintertime and do so. They offer an array of activities year-round, including ones included in packages for the hotel.

While I assume most of you landed on this looking for winter information and not summer, here are some of the activities you can book at Wilderness Hotel Inari in winter:

• Northern lights workshop (tips for photographing the aurora)
• Northern lights tour (with activities like snowmobiling, snowshoeing, etc or just by car)
• Cross-country skiing
• Snowshoeing
• Husky safari
• Ice fishing
• Snowmobiling
• Reindeer feeding and sleighing
• E-fatbike tour
• Sámi culture experience (and dinner)
• Meeting Santa Claus

If you happen to be visiting Wilderness Hotel Inari during the summer and autumn, you can participate in activities like fishing trips, e-fatbike tours, river rafting, hiking, and more.

Sauna

It wouldn’t be a Finland without a little bit of sauna. However, not for me. My partner, Ed, did a sauna session when there.

The sauna was extremely affordable at €10 for 30 minutes. If you need to borrow a towel, it is €5 extra. You can make a reservation for the private sauna at the reception and it is situated right on the lake.

Sámi Culture

One of the things I loved the most about Wilderness Hotel Inari was their ability to bring Sámi culture into the workplace a bit to educate visitors staying there. They also employ local Sámi people for cultural programs, to make uniforms, etc. On-site, you can also participate in one of their Sámi cultural experiences:

• Sámi culture with Lappish dinner
• Inari Cultural Day (learn about the Sámi and go to Ukko Island)
• Visit the Siida (Sámi museum and nature center in Inari; guided tour)

What I Didn’t Love About My Stay at Wilderness Hotel Inari (Cons)

When I was there, the wifi didn’t work in some of the rooms. They do note that there is only wifi in the reception, but that is something to note for visitors. This could just be for the Aurora Cabins and the Wilderness Rooms (both of which I stayed in), but it may be different for the others.

I am not sure (but I doubt it). I guess most people are not going on vacation to sit on the wifi, but if you have kids and need it for entertainment, it is best to download programs offline or head to the reception to do that.

The only other thing I didn’t love is that you cannot pick your Aurora Igloo’s location. This is a bit of an odd one, I know, but some of them have good views of the lake and others have views of other Aurora Cabins.

When I stayed in one of these igloos, it was the end of August and there was hardly anyone staying at the entire property since camper van season was over.

They put me in an igloo closest to the main road and the furthest away from the lake, while all the lake ones stood empty. It was a bit odd, so I asked about it. They told me it was an upcharge to stay at one that had a lake view, and you could only book one if it was free when you arrived (and paid the fee).

I found that a bit weird. I don’t mind the fee part of it, I just find it a bit odd to not offer that online, so you can pre-book that. I was a bit annoyed by this, so I refused to pay the upcharge to be lakefront and kept the one assigned.

I guess I wasn’t too bent out of shape by it because I have been back twice since that initial stay! But I do think they should tell people this at the time of booking and give them a chance to pay the surcharge to stay lakeside if there is availability.

Or these igloos should be listed as a category of their own. I am sure they have some logic behind it, so I don’t want to blame them if there is a specific reason for it.

How to Get To Wilderness Hotel Inari

If you are flying in from Ivalo Airport, they offer a shuttle service to and from the hotel. You can directly request it from them (it has different rates for different group numbers).

Do I recommend staying at Wilderness Hotel Inari?

Yes! While the two small complaints above were cons of my time there, I don’t think they are anything in the grand scheme of all that the Inari property has to offer! And the customer service, food, and surroundings were so incredible that it made all of my stays worthwhile.

If you have any questions, please let me know in the comments. Thanks!

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