Snowhotel Kirkenes & Gamme Northern Lights Cabins - Bjørnevatn

Marty Allred

So amazing! Nothing compares to sleeping in what is basically a beautiful snow cave. The northern lights dog sled excursion was the highlight of our trip.
The workers were the most friendly and helpful I've ever seen. Would be nice if it cost less, but it's worth it

Col Bourne

In two minds about this hotel. It is beautiful, but the husky park just made me sad. Keeping the dogs on chains can't be the best life for them. Surely there's a better way.

It is a stunning location, the ice sculptures are amazing. Would have been a real experience to stay there, but I just went for the day. Had a look at the reindeer, only saw a few, but very cool to see them up close. Spent ages playing with the dogs, didn't want to leave them!

Had lunch for a reasonable price in a lovely cabin with an open fire. Staff were friendly. Didn't stick around thanks to a customer playing videos out loud on her phone the whole time, really hate that noise, wish restaurants would ban it.

The cabins looked lovely. Some of them face the ice hotel and wouldn't get the best view, but others would have a lovely countryside view.

I didn't want to do any activities, scared of snow mobiles and don't want to fund husky sledding. But it's still a lovely place to spend a day.

Andrea D

We stayed at the Snowhotel for 2 nights during our winter trip in Norway and loved it! ||The team is friendly and attentive and the facilities are great. We slept one night in the ice hotel. An incredible experience. We were given a warm sleeping bag and trained on how to sleep comfortably in a -4 degrees Celsius environment. ||A unique experience, which we highly recommend. As Honest Travellers we wouldn't say it if it wasn't true! ||We also stayed one night in the cozy Gamme cabin. It has a big window from which you can watch the northern lights dancing in the sky (if you are lucky with the weather). ||There are many activities in the premises. We did a husky ride and used the snowmobile. Incredible adventures, where we had a lot of fun.||Our guides were superb! A special thank to Knut, who took us with the Snowmobile over the frozen sea and into the Taiga forest. He went the extra mile to make sure we had a memorable experience.||We also attended a Sami experience. The Sami are the indigenous people that lived connected with mother nature and adapted to the rhythm of the arctic life. John introduced us to the hotel 4 reindeers, allowed us to feed them and then shared with us the heritage of his people. Such a lovely person and enriching experience. ||Last but not least, the food was great. We had dinner included, in the main restaurant and it was super yummy. They took great care to comply with our dietary requirements. During the day you can have a quick lunch at the Gabba restaurant. We loved the cod fish stew!||Don't worry if you don't have the right attire to handle arctic temperatures. The hotel will provide you with warm coverall. socks and gloves as and when needed.

Janet H

We had a wonderful time! One night in the ice room, not cold at all in the sleeping bag. Two nights in a luxury wooden cabin, which was very comfortable with wonderful views. Excellent food at dinner. We booked the activities package and were kept busy for three days with huskies, king crabs, snowshoes, snowmobiles, ice fishing and hunting for the northern lights (found them!). All the staff were superb and as well as ensuring we were kept warm in the insulated suits made everything exciting and told us so much about the region. Thank you everyone!

F

This place is amazing! There are so many things to do. The staff is very friendly and the business runs as smooth as a well oiled snow mobile. Whether you are spending the night, or just stopping in for one of their expeditions or dinner, you won't be disappointed. I recommend staying in the cabin. If you like adventure, give the snow hotel a try.

Nadine S

From the moment one arrives one is transported to a peaceful state of mind. I stayed in the Gamme Cabin which is very comfortable. Warm, good sized with a stunning window to sit at and watch the snow fall. There is no shampoo or conditioner in the cabin, but soap is available. ||The staff is extremely friendly and helpful.|Loved visiting the slay dogs (hang on to your gloves), patting them and hearing how well they are lived and cared for.||The reindeer are lovely to look at as well.||The ice rooms are magic to look at. Too cold for me but special.||Dinner is a three course menu (enjoyed beautiful lamb rack one night and well cooked fish the next). Breakfast is a small but good selection of dishes.||The cocktails are lovely with dinner. ||Loved the dog slaying and the walks around the property. Did the 2 to 3 hour walk up and around the hill. The snow shoe broke so wasn't great to push through waste deep snow so do take a good big pair for that walk 🙂 ||Loved every moment of the stay and highly recommend this magical place to all nature lovers.

Dolly K

Amazing, educational and absolutely worth the trip! This was the highlight of a lovely coastal Norwegian Cruise. The sleigh ride to hoist King Crab from a hole|in the ice was the beginning, the whole experience turned into much more, too much to write here. The Snow Hotel served the ? up freshly steamed and offered some fun stories as well! So delicious!! Make sure to ask about the ice rooms they are exquisite too!

Fiona B

We stayed here for 3 nights. 1 in the Snohotel, and 2 in the Gamma cabins. We booked the Adventure Package, and were surprised when we checked in to be given a gift for being the first people ever to book that package. The package included transport to and from the airport, the accommodation, breakfast, dinners, king crab safari, ice fishing, dog sled safari, snowmobile safari, snowshoe trip, northern light hunting by bus tour and the Sami experience. ||Overall we enjoyed our time at the Snowhotel. The front desk team, the restaurant staff and our guides were all great. All the activities we did were enjoyable, and we particularly enjoyed chatting with the guide for the Sami experience.||Here is the downside...|1. When you stay in the Snowhotel you don't have a private space to relax. Your luggage is placed in a room with the luggage from all the other guests who are staying in the Snowhotel that night. The room is in the basement of the main restaurant building, along with men and ladies toilets, showers, and the entrance/exit to the Snowhotel. Anyone visiting the Snowhotel/Cabins or visiting the Snowpark have access to this space.|There is a lounge on the top floor of the restaurant reserved for Snowhotel guests, but there is nothing stopping anyone else using it other than a sign, which people ignored.|2. Every morning large tour busses come into the park and unload large groups of tourists to do the activities, walk around the park and use the common spaces.|2. After our first night in the Snowhotel we moved to a Gamma Cabin for 2 nights. Our bags were taken from luggage room at the Snowhotel at about 9 in the morning and we saw them on the porch of the Gamma Cabin we had been assigned shortly afterward. We asked several times during the day if we could have access to the cabin but were told no until 3pm. This meant that we couldn't access our belongings during this time. We felt homeless during this time, and unsettled because there were so many people walking around the park and sharing the space with us. We spoke to several of the other guests who stayed in the SnowHotel during this time and they expressed similar opinions.| 4. With the exception of the Sami Experince and the Snomobile safari, where we were the only participants, every other activity we did started late because we had to wait for tourists from town. We have to wonder why we weren't told later start times, or the people from town weren't picked up in time to be ready for the activities quoted time. We spent a fair bit of time just waiting around.||Ultimately, I don't blame the Snowhotel for wanting to maximize it's business, but it needs to do a better job of separating its day trip groups from its overnight guests. And I highly recommend that they find a way to offer their Snowhotel guests the option of an early check in to the Gamma cabins. We did have fun, but it could have been so much better.