An aurora wagon of your own

In addition to its suites, igloo-style cabins and a bedroom crafted from ice, the recently relaunched Lapland resort of Apukka has a new accommodation option – a glassroofed wagon equipped with a sauna on skis, whisked out into the wilderness so guests can hunt for the Northern Lights in total privacy.

Hidden down a snow-whipped trail in a quiet forest clearing, the seemingly isolated resort of Apukka is actually less than five minutes from Rovaniemi’s compact city centre, where you’ll find supermarkets, coffee shops, restaurants, taxi ranks and a railway station. Apukka is also 10 minutes from Rovaniemi’s small international airport.

Despite its proximity to all these services, the Finnish resort has a backdrop of tree-studded wilderness in every other direction. This is a rural hideout, not a chain-style resort, in that every room or cabin has a personal touch, whether it be paintings, rugs or trinkets. For this reason, it strikes an elegant balance between modern and traditional, with rustic wooden sauna huts, stables for the two on-site horses, reindeer-hide throws, tepees and glowing lanterns, alongside smart glass-roofed cabins and ice sculptures. The small team of staff work exceptionally hard to provide excursions from dawn to well past midnight. Standout activities include snowmobile tours, horsedrawn sleigh rides, reindeer interactions, private sauna and hot tub sessions, and guided snowshoe hikes.

Apukka’s “aurora wagon” is undoubtedly the star of the show. It’s a mobile vehicle with a glass roof driven out into the forest, equipped with a double bed, small kitchen and bathroom. Attached to its back is a wood-burning sauna on skis. Guests are driven deep into the forest in the evening, left alone, and collected in the morning. Back at the resort, there are 77 beds in a block of private rooms and apartments. Double rooms are modestly sized and minimalist in style, with bathrooms and kitchenettes.

Apartments can host up to seven guests and include a kitchen and bathroom, as well as their own dining area. Set away from this block are dome-shaped “aurora cabins”, well heated, with double beds and glass roofs for sky gazing, equipped with decent sized bathrooms and drawers, but no wardrobe. Finally, there is also Aurora cabins offer views of the Northern Lights from the comfort of a cosy bed

the chance to spend the night in a small cabin made entirely from ice, with a double bed and blankets.

Fine dining is not yet Apukka’s strong suit. There is a café and lounging area on site that serves a buffet breakfast, lunch, dinner and free coffee all day.

The food is fresh, tasty and locally sourced (expect a lot of stewed reindeer, baked salmon and lingonberry relish on the menu), The writer travelled as a guest of Best Served Scandinavia (020 7664 2241; best-served.co.uk), which offers a three-night Northern Lights Break at Apukka Resort from £1,195 per person, including return flights, transfers, two nights in an aurora cabin on a B&B basis and one night in an aurora wagon, winter clothing, hot drinks, evening snacks and breakfast.