Camp Ripan

Camp Ripan was an amazing place to stay! Highlights: SPA: We really loved the spa - it was one of the highlights of our time in Kiruna. The traditional Swedish scrubs they give you and the awesome design and facilities were delightful. The spa staff were especially kind. Make sure you book reservations for the spa far in advance because it is very popular. FOOD: We also loved the food - the dinners in particular were some of the best we've had during our 2 weeks in Sweden, and a good value. The waiters were very well informed and extremely nice. The breakfast that was included was also wonderful - they do not skimp! Bacon, sausages, fresh fruit, pancakes, you name it. Because the town is on the move, it isn't easy to get food anywhere else, so it is a good thing their food is both good and reasonably priced :) CABINS: Our cabins were very clean, nice and warm, and the hot water and water pressure were great! There was an awesome drying cabinet in the cabin we were able to use to warm and dry our wet clothes and towels - awesome! MAIN LODGE: The main lodge was nice and big - easily accommodated all of Camp Ripan's guests without feeling crowded and had a nice design. Also nice: a store onsite where heavy winter clothes from Fjallraven and other outdoor brands could be purchased in case you may not have brought enough appropriate clothing for the Arctic winter. There were even places where we could work upstairs when we had to open our laptops for a few hours one day! It is about a 10-15 minute walk from the main lodge to the bus station (very easy without luggage, but make sure to get a taxi to and from the airport). They had a very convenient phone guests could use to arrange taxis in the lobby of the main lodge. They also have little sleighs you can use to push your luggage through the snow from reception to the cabins, and other complimentary things for guests to use like sleds and ice skates.

The mattresses could use an upgrade/be higher quality.

Camp Ripan was very clean and the cabins with 4 beds were really cute. The location was great and the breakfast (Which was included for us) was wonderful. the spa was good too and they gave you bathing suits in case you forgot yours.

The restaurant/bar closed at 9:30 pm and after that, there was no place on the property to get food or drink. Our TV didn't work and the hotel lobby was locked at night with no one available to fix it. Our telephone in our room did not work- which apparently the phones do not work, but no one told us that upon check in. If there was an emergency, we would not know how to reach anyone. The check in staff was very friendly, however, offered no type of help re:activities (when our tour was cancelled) or helping arrange taxis. There was no concierge service.

Brilliant breakfast Cabin did not include a sofa, which would have ben nice, but otherwise clean and great. Excellent staff - always helpful It was great with access to the spa, padel and mini golf.

The windows could not open - only the door. They said for safety reasons (cabin on a hill), but this could easily be solved. The curtains were not black-out curtains and also did not entirely cover the windows, so light would come in. In summer, this is a problem. Ripan Camp knows it so they sell eye-covers in the reception.... smart way of earning a little extra money, rather than fixing the problem. The mini-golf course is there :-), but not of great quality, making the game a bit off. The restaurant is very high quality, except for the vegan Napolitana, which was really not nice.

The staff is wonderful and very helpful. The Spa and Restaurant are absolutely incredible, top notch. The food for breakfast is also exceptional - really exceeded expectations! I'd recommend going in winter as there seem to be a lot more activities in winter. Rooms are spacious and clean, lots of trails and open space. Just a lovely getaway in nature.

I'd recommend having a car here as the area is a bit remote, and there is only 1 taxi company (very expensive). Since they are moving the town due to the mine, the buses are a bit irregular (not the Camp's fault) but just something to keep in mind, given their location. One thing to mention is that the wifi in my room kept cutting out, and I was trying to work, so that was a bit inconvenient.

We flew into the airport and caught the bus. It will wait till everyone has picked up their luggage. It will not leave till then. Which is great as you are past the arctic circle and you have to look out for others. The driver explained to us that he will not leave till all the visitors have cleared. He shouts out the hotels as he stops and told us ours was the last stop. Google maps took us to the site about 8 minute walk. The bus was about 12.00 Euros for two, they took cards. The double bedroom chalet was warm in August with the sun streaming in. The midnight sun is something to experience. There is a walk that you can take near the chalet. It takes you around the ski mountain. The signs are so so. You just need to use commonsense and walk counter clockwise. This is free and amazing sight of the local area. You do climb up and then get to see some amazing views. It helps if on the day the sun is out and it's warm. Why pay when it's on your doorstep! We got to the top of this small mountain, a large hill thinking we were good only to see four women runners come by at different times! The local restaurant is good but a treat for two people, three course meal with no alcohol. It came to 120 Euros. So one off. There is a Burger King in town and they do vegan burgers if you need to budget. On the second night we went to the local co-op close and bought basic food. The camp site has a section for cavarans and campers and this is busy. The staff are helpful. You can do some activity but in summer pretty much everything is closed, winter is the big tourist season. I tried to book three mining tour but it was sold out. I emailed their tourist information and they were most helpful in suggesting trips. All we wanted was to walk in the countryside and the midnight pathway at the camp delivered that for us. Personally the other tours are very expensive.

I wish they had YouTube.

Beds comfortable and nice to have the small kitchen area and table to sit at. Shower very good, especially after hiking for the past week! We ate at the restaurant for dinner which was delicious and the breakfast was fantastic, so much on offer! We also booked to use the spa which is well worth it, good value and very relaxing. Would stay again if in area again in future.

Nothing specific, not the hotels issue per se but Google maps took us a strange way to walk from bus station to the hotel and felt a bit derelict of a route and path wasn't managed. Maybe something that can be improved? But also may not actually be on hotel land.

Camp Ripan has a good and central location in Kiruna close to the old city center. The cabins have a basic interior with a tiny kitchen. The bathroom is also quite small. The rooms were very clean and tidy and perfectly fine for a two nights stay with two children.

Unfortunately, the cabin was quite warm, without air conditioning, and the windows to vent the cabin cannot be opened. This is a bit of a drawback. Also, the location of the cabins is close to a residential area with multi storey houses. It look much more romantic on the marketing pictures than in reality.

First the staff was great, the property itself is really nice, the spa is excellent and the activity desk/rental shop is great and very informative. The restaurant was great. The room was comfy and there is an area nearby with no light pollution. We were lucky enough to see excellent northern lights.

The check in is LATE, like 4pm. There is no option to check in early (most of the rooms aren't ready in time) so if you are only staying for a night then don't expect to spend a lot of time in the room. Between the spa and dinner we probably spent less then an hour or two in the room besides sleeping. We would have preferred more time to relax in our room but what can you do.

Rooms were basic but clean

We didn’t make a reservation for dinner so we went early around 6.30 pm and were told they couldn’t fit us in as they had two big parties of non residents due to arrive. The nearest food place we knew of was about 15 mins away. Thankfully, as we were leaving the waitress advised there had been a cancellations so they could fit us in. The food is very good here which is probably why non residents choose to dine here, so make sure you make a reservation in advance.

Cabin was very warm, cozy and clean. The view from it was excellent. Location was very nice and breakfast was delicious! The spa and activities offered were great fun - definitely recommend them!

The bathroom sink kept getting stuck cause of the high water pressure. We also ran out of soap and toilet paper but the staff didn't bring us any after we asked. They did randomly barge in on our last day there (without knocking or anything, just let themselves in), but apologized and left right after. Probably some misunderstanding. For the hotel restaurant, we had the tasting menu and the waiter who was serving us was not familiar with it so she didn't know how to describe the food we were getting at all. That was quite disappointing as we had no idea what we were eating. The food was very good though.