Ski-Inn PyhäSuites

We'd used the sister apartments of the Ski-Inn Pyha Suites accommodation in Ruka resort, so we kind of knew what to expect, in terms of room configuration, standards and comfort. We'd never been to Pyha resort before, but we had a great week there. The rooms are very simply furnished in the typical 'scandi' style, but they are clean and very comfortable. You have your own sauna, which can take a little effort to get it working, but it's great after a day out in the cold on the slopes. There is also a drying cabinet where you can put your gear overnight to dry out and be lovely and warm in the morning when you go out again. The apartments are well equipped, with a dishwasher, coffee maker, oven, 4 ring hob and toaster. It's here where there is an important traveller tip to share and for future customers of Ski-Inn Pyha Suites to consider when booking. We enjoy self-catering when on holiday and, especially in Finland, eating out can be VERY expensive if you're doing it every night. However, customers need to be aware that Ski-Inn Pyha Suites employs a very strict [and IMO unusual] policy when it comes to the smoke alarm in the apartments. If, for some reason, you happen to accidentally trigger the alarm whilst cooking in the apartment and the fire service is called out [as they invariably will be], then Ski-Inn Pyha Suites will expect you as the customer to pay 990 Euros to cover the cost of the call out. They will invoice you accordingly. There are rules on their website relating to "nuisance calls", but these seem to relate more to malicious triggering of the smoke alarm; e.g smoking or vaping in the room, waxing of skis or snowboards. No mention of using the provided equipment to cook a meal. Sadly this happened to us and we received an invoice from Ski-Inn Pyha Suites 4 days after returning from holiday, which we have since been fighting with them to get cancelled. Which it now has, thankfully. However the whole experience has somewhat soured what was, otherwise a really great holiday. We would also have to seriously reconsider whether we book again at Ski-Inn Pyha or Ruka suites [they have the same policy].

After searching for a while for a weeks break in January stumbled across this resort. Firstly we all thought this was great value and the snow reports looked great. Other reviews in general were positive so we thought we’d give Finland a go. Booking for a group was easy enough and we settled for Pyhä suites as it was ski in ski out. We flew into Kittilä from Gatwick and were collected with no issue. Transfer was just under 2 hours but the scenery ate up most of that time. We were greeted by our lovely rep at reception on arrival and given our packs which included lift passes and a map. A short walk to the accommodation which was clean and tidy and ideal for a group of 4. This included fridge, dishwasher, 2 bathrooms and a sauna. Perfect for a weeks getaway. We also had drying facilities for all our kit after a day on the slopes. We walked down on day 1 to the ski hire shop who were very helpful and we were all out on the slopes in no time. The runs are swept and bashed daily so the whole resort was immaculate every morning. Snow was good, around 70cm at the top and 50cm at base. We enjoyed 5 days of powder out of 7 which to be fair was amazing. Main lift opens at 8am and all the others at 10. The resort is open until 5pm but early and late are floodlit as daylight hours are minimal. There are a couple evenings a week with evening skiing too. There’s a good mix of runs for all abilities and some challenging black runs for the more advanced. The runs aren’t huge but we found the place really quiet and didn’t ever wait for a lift. There are 2 gondolas and plenty of T bars and button lifts dotted around. We stopped on piste most days for lunch, hot chocolates or local food which was all very nice and I didn’t feel it was too badly priced when compared to more conventional resorts like Austria or Switzerland etc. The local supermarket is well stocked as we cooked for ourselves most evenings. We found everything we needed however, most of the accommodation is half way up the Fel so it’s a good 15-20 walk back up the hill with shopping. We did see a few taxis but we chose to Walk. We ventured into the main hotel restaurant one of the evenings and the food was excellent. Service great and beers tasty too. There’s also a bar with pool table etc at the bottom of the hill open later which we used a couple of times. There is plenty to do if you want a day off the piste. Skidoo hire, reindeer or dog sledding to name a few. Overall the stay was amazing. All the staff were helpful and pleasant. The skiing was top notch and we’ll definitely return as we didn’t see the northern lights as we had snow and clouds most days so that’s as good a reason as any to return.