Glass igloos in Finland: what they cost, and what to check

What counts as a glass igloo

“Glass igloo” is the name Lapland’s hotels use for a heated room built around a glass roof or a glass wall over the bed, so you can watch the sky without going outside. The name is marketing, and it covers several building shapes. At Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort a Small Glass Igloo is a 25 m² dome for up to 3 people with 2 single beds, a shower, toilet and private sauna, and a Large Glass Igloo is a 38 m² dome for up to 5. Levin Iglut in Levi calls its 27 units on Utsuvaara fell igloos too, though its Suite and Superior Igloos are square cabins rather than domes. Wilderness Hotel Nellim, on Lake Inari, calls its equivalent rooms Aurora Cabins. Arctic TreeHouse Hotel in Rovaniemi has an Arctic GlassHouse, but its own pages describe floor-to-ceiling panoramic windows, and none mentions a glass roof. We call all of them glass-roof cabins, the more accurate name for a normal, insulated room with one see-through surface aimed at the sky.

At the largest end, Kakslauttanen’s Luxury Kelo-Glass Igloo is a 310 m² house for up to 12 people, with three log-cabin bedrooms and three glass-domed bedrooms, a private sauna, a full kitchen and a living room with a fireplace.

Snow on the roof, cloud above it

Snowfall and frost can cover the glass the same way they cover any window, and only one operator told us what it does about that. Arctic SnowHotel in Rovaniemi says its glass roofs carry electric heating that staff switch on as needed to keep the view clear after snow has fallen, alongside floor heating that keeps the room “as comfortable as a normal hotel room”. No page we opened for Kakslauttanen, Levin Iglut or Wilderness Hotel Nellim says anything about it, so ask before you book if it matters to you.

Cloud is another matter. From a glass igloo you see no more through it than from a viewing point outside, and between mid-April and August you see no aurora at all, because the nights in Finnish Lapland are too light. For what has to line up before you see anything, see our Northern Lights guide.

The Aurora Alarm, and watching without staying awake

Arctic SnowHotel gives every glass igloo a free device it calls the Aurora Alarm, which it says notifies guests with a sound when the northern lights become visible, so you do not have to stay awake watching the sky yourself. The pages we opened for Kakslauttanen, Levin Iglut and Wilderness Hotel Nellim mention no such device, so at those three, noticing the lights is up to you and the glass above your pillow.

A night in a glass igloo

Kakslauttanen’s Luxury Kelo-Glass Igloo lists check-in from 15:00 and checkout by 10:00, which gives you roughly the shape of a stay at any of these properties. Many are sold as packages. Arctic SnowHotel’s one-night winter package pairs the glass igloo with a three-course dinner at its Kota restaurant, a buffet breakfast, sauna and hot tub access, a guided tour of the snow hotel, return transport from Rovaniemi, a welcome drink at its Ice Bar and equipment rental, and asks you to confirm your transport at least 24 hours ahead. Levin Iglut includes breakfast with every igloo, and its Suite Igloo adds a welcome drink, a stocked minibar and a porter for your luggage.

What it costs

Prices as published on each operator’s own site. Few of these operators show a nightly rate for every room type. Arctic SnowHotel prices glass igloo stays through a booking calendar, and Levin Iglut publishes only its special offers. Kakslauttanen publishes a rate for its whole house, a starting rate of 501 EUR a night for a winter package with breakfast and dinner, and, when checked again on 25 September 2026, a starting rate for each glass igloo type (in the resort table below).

Wilderness Hotel Nellim’s season runs from 24 November 2026 to 4 April 2027. Kakslauttanen says its glass igloos operate “right through the northern lights season, which begins around the third week of August and finishes around the end of April.” Levin Iglut says the same, and that its 2026 season starts on 1 September. For what else a trip like this costs, see what Lapland really costs.

The glass-roof truth table, resort by resort

Each resort’s own pages, read on 25 September 2026, and nothing else. Where a resort does not state a fact, the cell says so. “Away from town light” is what the resort says about its distance or its darkness; none of them publishes a measurement of the sky. Wilderness Hotels’ three aurora-cabin hotels share one set of terms, so they share a row.

Two names in this market suggest glass that the rooms do not have. Arctic TreeHouse Hotel, near SantaPark outside Rovaniemi, sells suites with floor-to-ceiling panoramic windows and beds positioned for the view, and its Arctic GlassHouse page mentions no glass roof. Nova Skyland Hotel, beside Santa Claus Village, has large windows, and a skylight window in the bedroom of its Aurora Honeymoon Suite (from 140 EUR a night), but no glass roof either. Both can show you the sky from bed through a window, which is a different view from lying under glass.

Two patterns run through the table. Where a resort states a minimum stay, it is longest over Christmas and New Year. And in winter several resorts include dinner in the rate, require half board or sell only packages, so a room rate from one resort and a package from another do not compare.

Where to find one

Glass-roof rooms are sold in most of the main bases. Kakslauttanen is in Saariselkä; Levin Iglut is on a fell above Levi; Arctic SnowHotel is near Rovaniemi, and so are several of the resorts in the table below; Wilderness Hotel Nellim is in Inari, on the shore of Lake Inari, about 45 minutes from Ivalo airport. If you would rather chase the aurora from outside than watch for it from bed, see our guide to Northern Lights tours. For a whole trip built around seeing the lights, see Northern Lights holidays, and for the higher end of this list, luxury Lapland holidays.

Is it worth it?

For one night of the trip, usually. At 239 EUR a night and up, what tends to work is a single glass-roofed night inside a stay otherwise spent in an ordinary room, somewhere you would want to be anyway. You pay the same for a cloudy night under the glass as for a clear one, and adding nights in Lapland raises your odds far more than the roof does. If the aurora is the reason for the trip, spend the difference on more nights instead.