We booked the tour to be able to see the Snow Hotel while staying in Kirkenes town. The minibus transfers were very efficient and the wooden cabins on site (gamme) look like a great place to stay for a spare night. But the tour package was rather forced and drawn-out. It seemed aimed at discouraging people from staying in the icy cells - and certainly worked with us. Other than seeing some clever ice sculpture, we could see no reason to stay there. The dinner was slow to start and disorganised - three different waiters came to take a drinks order and the food service was painfully slow. The website had led us to expect an option of different menus. But no, there was no choice. A tasty but only vaguely warm beetroot soup was followed by an OK piece of cod and finished with a ‘chocolate two ways’ mediocre dessert. It was a menu I might have expected included ‘free of charge’ in a 3-star Norwegian hotel deal, and certainly far short of the extortionate cost charged here. The evening was made worse, as others have commented before, by having to rush the dessert which was served late while a guide briefed the whole room, in minute detail, how to use a sleeping bag in the ice cells. If you are tempted, just don’t do the tour; stay in town, save money and have a 5* meal at the Thon Hotel.
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