Set on the shores of Lake Norvajärvi, about 20 minutes from the Rovaniemi Airport, Skýra Retreat, a member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World, is built around a converted village schoolhouse whose decades old log walls now house some of the most thoughtfully designed rooms in Lapland.
Accommodation ranges from the cosy Teacher's Chambers in the original building to spacious handcrafted log suites with floor-to-ceiling views and a private sauna, and a lakeside villa with its own ice hole. Every stay includes unlimited access to the Skýra Nordic Spa, daily morning yoga, forest walking sessions, a Finnish folklore sauna ritual and an evening sound bath. The afternoon pullakahvit, traditional Finnish pastries and coffee, is a small touch that captures everything Skýra is about: genuine warmth dressed up in very good taste.