RasIOM
Google
Reviewed Jan 22, 2024|This is a great place to stay in Ruka. The location can't be beaten - right in the middle of Ruka Village and literally a few yards from the Gondola and ski hire shops.||We've stayed here four times now and picked the superior rooms to get access to the balcony, as the views on to the skiing area are spectacular. The rooms are comfortable and large, with a sizeable modern bathroom, a drying cabinet for ski gear, a fridge, a safe, a desk and chair and ample wardrobe space.||The "double" rooms are actually twins with two smaller beds pushed together, in the European style. The refurbished room mattresses skated around a lot on the bed bases, but were really comfortable. The rooms are well-heated, even when it's well below zero outside, and we made use of the screened vents and the balcony door to moderate the temperature. Bathrooms are great with hot showers and big mirrors.||There's a 50 inch TV with local and a small number of international channels, along with good information and some extras like workout videos. There's good quality Wifi, and the usual things like a kettle and tea and coffee. We got a refurbished room, which was a mixed blessing - the beds and furniture have been upgraded, but the TV didn't allow the use of the HDMI ports, which are blocked by the entertainment system. In previous years we've used a Chromecast but this year we were told we couldn't use it - after two weeks of Finnish adverts we were terribly bored of the TV and really missing the Chromecast.||Noise was noticeable at night in the deluxe balcony rooms, but not extreme- the IHKU nightclub under the hotel is good fun but kicks out after 3am, so there's a background of thumping dance music and some screaming and shouting at kick-out time. Didn't bother us a lot, but during the light festival there was also loud music from the TV screen at the Piste restaurant, a droning synthesiser piece that repeated and repeated all night, and eventually interfered with our sleep. You'd think it would be turned off overnight !||Although we didn't use them, there are Sauna facilities.||Breakfast is wonderful, a great mix of Finnish and international breakfast food, served in a separate area at the back of the hotel. There's a great restaurant and bar at the front of the hotel that serves local dishes at a cost.||We usually book the half-board option, and the hotel has listened to feedback over the years. We've eaten some great choices there with a local flavour - reindeer salad, lamb stew, white fish, pickled vendace, alongside some more conventional salads, nuggets, pasta, meatballs and vegetarian selections. The hotel has clearly made a lot of effort on the half-board menu, adding in local food, desserts and choice, which is great to see. The quality of the food is excellent, although some fruit for dessert would be nice.||The staff are all great - courteous and really helpful. They can't do enough for you. The rooms are kept spotless and clean, as are the interior areas. We were allocated a ski locker behind reception. which is very handy for the start and end of the day.||The location cannot be beaten. Ruka is split between the Village and the Valley, with the majority of shops, eating and entertainment in the Village. The Scandic is right in the middle of everything and a few steps away from the ski bus, heated parking, gondola, ski facilities, outdoor excursions, shops, cafes, bars, supermarket and several restaurants at various budget levels. The majority of the skiing is on the Valley side, but we definitely prefer the Village, and really enjoy our stays at the Scandic.
