Best Practice Series — Vol. 10: Arctic TreeHouse Hotel — How a Santa Claus Business Became One of the World's Most Photographed Hotels

One of the most recognisable hotel properties in the world — featured on Apple TV, in Architectural Digest, and in the dreams of travellers from over 70 countries — was built by a couple who got their start training to be Santa's helpers. That arc is not a coincidence. It is a business philosophy.
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From Santa's Helper to Hospitality Entrepreneur

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In 1998, a young Finnish man named Ilkka Länkinen was among the first graduates of the school for Santa's helpers in Rovaniemi. His job was to assist Santa Claus in the newly opened SantaPark — a Christmas theme park built inside an artificial cavern on the Arctic Circle. His wife Katja Ikäheimo-Länkinen joined him as a business partner in the early 2000s. Together they built SantaPark Arctic World — a family-owned company that over two and a half decades grew into a multi-brand hospitality ecosystem receiving more than 100,000 guests per year from over 70 countries.

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In 2009 — the pivotal moment in the company's ownership history — they acquired the majority shareholding of SantaPark Ltd from the government and the city of Rovaniemi. SantaPark had originally opened in 1998 as a concept created by a UK company at a construction cost of €6.7 million. Its initial shareholders included Finnair, MTV, Sampo, and the Finnish Ministry of Trade and Industry. After successive ownership restructuring, the acquisition by Länkinen and Ikäheimo-Länkinen marked the beginning of a fundamentally different chapter.

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From the beginning, we didn't want to build just accommodation. We wanted to create an experience. A strong vision of embracing nature and honouring Lapland's heritage drove every decision. — Ilkka Länkinen

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The Design: Pine Cone Cows and the Arctic Forest

The concept design was developed in close collaboration between the couple and Studio Puisto — a Finnish architectural practice. The inspiration came from childhood: pine cone cows — small figures made from pine cones that Finnish children build in the forest. The hotel's shingle-clad suites, standing on stilts on a steep wooded slope, carry the proportions and organic character of those childhood constructions. They appear to wander downhill among the trees. The Pine Cone Cow became the official mascot.

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Each suite features a dramatic panoramic glass wall facing north, turning the Arctic forest and sky into a private theatre. Northern Lights visible from the bed. The Midnight Sun flooding the interior in summer. Reindeer wandering through the trees below. Snowfall in total silence on a December night. The window is not a window. It is the product.

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Three Typologies, One Vision

Across approximately 64 units, the hotel offers three distinct typologies. The Arctic TreeHouse Suites are the signature offering: the original nest-like cabins on stilts, each delivering the core forest window experience. The Arctic GlassHouses add private saunas, generous private decks, kitchenettes, and fireplaces. The ArcticScene Executive Suites are the premium tier: expanded living spaces, outdoor log fires on private patios, bath tubs with forest views, comprehensive spa goodie-bags, and wellness programming. Running through all three tiers: furry throws, Tivoli Audio Bluetooth radios, Nespresso machines, heated floors, and minibars stocked with local products including the hotel's own craft pale ale produced in collaboration with Lapin Panimo.

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Rakas: The Restaurant as Brand Statement

Rakas — Finnish for beloved — is housed in the hotel's main building, designed in the shape of a five-pointed snowflake. The menu explores Arctic ingredients with modern Nordic intelligence: pike perch from the hotel's own lake, reindeer smoked and salted or in cognac sauce, wild mushroom tartare, lingonberry jam, lemon mousse with liquorice. A five-course tasting menu alongside à la carte. The breakfast — included with every room — is consistently cited in guest reviews as among the best in Finland.

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The Ecosystem: Six Brands, One Platform

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The Arctic TreeHouse Hotel anchors a six-brand ecosystem under SantaPark Arctic World: SantaPark itself, Santa Claus Secret Forest — Joulukka (exclusive Christmas experiences for small groups), Lapland Luxury DMC, the Hidden Arctic Cloud Villas (four ultra-luxury forest villas with private chefs), Arctic Forest Spa — Metsäkyly, and Aino Private Island Hotel — an adults-only boutique retreat on a historically significant island in the Kemijoki River, acquired in 2024 and opened in 2025. Over 100,000 guests per year. 70+ countries. Seven international and national awards. Green Key certification. Sustainable Travel Finland certification. Featured on Apple TV's The Reluctant Traveler with Eugene Levy, in Keeping Up with the Kardashians, and across National Geographic, Forbes, Dezeen, and Architectural Digest.

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The Arctic TreeHouse Hotel's greatest strategic achievement is not the hotel itself — it is the ecosystem it anchors. The most resilient hospitality businesses are not single properties but systems of experience, built around a coherent set of values. Here: the purity of Arctic nature, the authenticity of Finnish culture, and the conviction that luxury is best expressed through the quality of a moment rather than the grandeur of a lobby.

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All images are the property of their respective owners and are used for editorial and illustrative purposes only. Image rights belong to the featured brands and their designated photographers. AWAYO® makes no claim of ownership over third-party imagery.