Name: Aurora Nights
Address: Office 8 Empingham House, 1e Uppingham Gate, Ayston Road, Uppingham, Rutland
Rating: 4.88

“The trip from start to finish was absolutely magical. As experienced travellers we rate this in out top 2 breaks. Daily itinerary was at the correct pace. Food and drink fab. Hosts friendly. Rooms and surroundings great. Felt relaxed and at home. We definitely would book again. A real treat and luxury break. We were lucky enough to see the northern lights whilst in the hot tub after our delicious meal. Totally mind blowing. Thank you so much. X”

Helpful Report

Posted 9 years ago

“Overall a most enjoyable trip. Flights on time and plenty of leg room. You have to pay for food which we weren't expecting on a schedule flight. We would probably have bought something in Pret a Manger if we had known as the selection on IcelandicAir was hardly exciting. Hotel Ranga was really good. Staff delightful. Manager enthusiastic. Food good. Really excellent stay. Golden circle tour. Obviously there is nothing anyone can do about the weather. However since we could see nothing outside the van it did seem odd to drive another hour to see a relief map of Iceland and then have to drive 11/2 hours back in the dark when we had already seen the waterfall and the geyser which were really interesting. Also having to stop to top up the steering fluid at intervals didn't fill us with confidence. However we enjoyed the experience. The volcano exhibition was excellent and lunch in the Cow House was really good. The Grand Hotel is a business hotel. Quite a different experience from the Hotel Ranga. Breakfast ordinary. The big advantage was the fact that we had rooms on the 14 th floor. Absolutely brilliant for watching the fireworks on NYE. However if we had been there at any other time I would have much preferred a more boutique hotel close to the city centre. Maurice has already pointed out that there were problems with dinner on NYE. We would agree that we were far too long in a bus. We saw numerous people fall and some people were hurt and it just wasn't worth going out. We would have preferred to eat later and stay in the restaurant. The food was excellent. We actually left at 11.15 and went back to the hotel as we could see it was going to be a nightmare scrum at 12.30 to get the bus. Some people were going down to collect their coats at 11 so that they could get the first bus. It was great going back as we had a fab view of the fireworks from our rooms and totally missed the scrum. Reykjavik was lovely. The lights and fireworks were stunning. We had a gourmet meal on the 30th. Overall the food was fresh,local, beautifully cooked and a wonderful experience. They could teach UK and French chefs a thing or two. Even the toasted sandwiches were described as orgasmic. I wasn't expecting that. Mostly everyone was very pleasant and helpful( except for the few depressives) and all in all it was an interesting and enjoyable short break. Hope you find this helpful being aware that we are of an older age group!!!”

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Posted 9 years ago

Dear Patricia, Thank you for your feedback. I am delighted you had such a good time - particularly as the weather was so challenging on the 29th. The Guide did contact me to say how difficult it had been and they had tried their best despite the conditions. I'm sorry you felt that New Years Eve was a "scrum", but i'm glad you got to experience the meal (which as you said is excellent) and fireworks (if via the hotel rather than at the Perlan). I'm just wondering whether the people that fell were not dressed appropriately? - As you know we always advise to take sensible shoes to change into for that part of the evening and other operators may not advice that. However I am disappointed for you that you did not enjoy it yourself. I will feed back to the organisers. Thankyou for your feedback again and I take your point about appropriateness vs age group. Regards Abigail

Posted 9 years ago

“We were literally given "a la carte" service from the moment we arrived in Swedish Lapland, to the time we were taken back to the airport. All the staff we met were friendly and extremely helpful and although employed by a variety of different companies, working out of different bases, they all worked as a Team for us. This heightened our experience as we just had to sit back and trust them to look after us during our hectic trip; organising our schedule, excursions and transfers - which were all flawless and this made our trip a most memorable one - oh and we even got to see the Aurora on 3 nights out of 4 !! .....Result :-) Thank you ! Michelle & Steve Harper”

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Posted 9 years ago

Hi Michelle Thanks for your kind review. I am delighted that you had such a great time and most importantly had such great sightings of the lights! Abisko really is the place to go! Thank you for traveling with us Kind regards Kevin

Posted 9 years ago

“We had an utterly memorable trip of a lifetime! Weekend a la Carte answered all queries before we went and are clearly experts in their field. Mina and Dick at Abisko Mountain Lodge were so knowledgeable and helpful, giving us a warm welcome and the food was amazing. All our trips were fantastic and we saw the aurora twice on our four night visit - utterly breathtaking. Our expectations were well and truly exceeded!!”

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Posted 9 years ago

Dear Katryn Thank you for your very kind words regarding the New Year Break. Will pass on your feedback to the team in Lapland who will be delighted that they exceeded your expectations. Kind regards Kevin

Posted 9 years ago

“Well what can we say - a fabulous trip that has given us great memories to treasure. We stayed at the Mattarahkka Sami Lodge and the attention to detail there was excellent. All activities were well organised and great fun. All food was excellent with the exception of the one meal at the Arctic Thai which was a disappointment after the high standards that had been set. The itinerary and information given has been excellent and this has been a very special experience that was made even more so by all staff involved.”

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Posted 9 years ago

Dear Susan Many thanks for the wonderful feedback - It gives us great satisfaction when we know that we have exceeded client expectations. We will make the team in Lapland aware of your comments. Regards Kevin

Posted 9 years ago

“A magical trip, the highlight was definitely the husky sledding and of course seeing the Aurora Lights were great too! Fellow guests and the hosts contributed to the delightful experience. The staff were incredibly friendly and accommodating (more like friends)! It so exceeded our expectations. The lodge was very warm and cosy. The only improvement we suggest is apart from Casper greeting us at the airport and explaining he was the guide. There were no further introductions to the staff members and what each individual member's responsibility were, so we felt bad when we just stopped whoever was around to assist. They were all of course all really lovely and helpful. We took lots of pictures which we will treasure forever. Thank you Weekend A La Carte!”

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Posted 9 years ago

Dear Pikkam Thanks for your kind note and we are delighted you had such a great time. We will pass your comments on to the team in Lapland re ' knowing who is who' but i am thrilled their service levels exceeded your expectations. All the best for 2015 Regards Kevin Collins

Posted 9 years ago

“What a great way to spend some quality family time between Xmas and New year - the holiday was everything we'd looked forward to. Huskie sleighing and snowmobiling were brilliant, food was great and the lodge we stayed at was perfect: quiet, unobtrusive and warm enough to get the chill off the toes! Kurina's mine is also worth a visit: extracting 3 Eiffel Towers' worth of iron a day and supplying 98% of Europe's iron - looks like a gigantic cruiser ship at night! reindeer meat is deliciously tender and the guides were both informative and fun. Kids and adults alike would like this, there is interesting stuff for everyone to enjoy.”

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Posted 9 years ago

Dear Dominique Thanks for your wonderful comments and delighted you and the family had such a great time! Regards Kevin

Posted 9 years ago

“Well what can we say - a fabulous trip that has given us great memories to treasure. We stayed at the Mattarahkka Sami Lodge and the attention to detail there was excellent. All activities were well organised and great fun. All food was excellent with the exception of the one meal at the Arctic Thai which was a disappointment after the high standards that had been set. The itinerary and information given has been excellent and this has been a very special experience that was made even more so by all staff involved.”

Helpful Report

Posted 9 years ago

“Booked the 4 night New Years Eve package in Swedish Lapland with Weekend a la Carte and could not be happier. From first contact they were friendly and professional. Booking was simple and when we received our trip package, the information was incredibly detailed and accurate. The trip itself went without a hitch and they clearly have a good set of delivery partners in Abisko who really provided a magical experience in one of the most amazing locations. All this at a pretty reasonable price when compared to the competition. Would not hesitate to recommend.”

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Posted 9 years ago

Dear Rachel Thank you very much for taking the time to review your break and i am delighted you had such a fabulous time . We will pass on your comments to the team at Abisko Mountain Lodge Regards and best wishes for 2015 Kevin Collins

Posted 9 years ago

“The whole experience was excellent. It was well organised from the first booking right through to the wonderful people in Kiruna. Everyone was very friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. The Icehotel visit was brilliant. The dog sledging was great and the dogs were friendly and very keen to run !! The snowmobile experience was great fun and the scenery was out of this world. New Year's Eve was a night to remember. We learnt a lot about the Sami traditions whilst sitting around the cosy log fire in the snow, followed by an exceptionally good 4 course meal and then a trip to watch the fireworks over Kiruna. A holiday with memories that will stay with us for a long time. I can find nothing to fault in the experience. Would recommend it to everyone.”

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Posted 9 years ago

Dear Janet Thank you for your feedback and i am delighted you had such a great time over New Year. I hope the break has set you up for 2015. Kind regards Kevin

Posted 9 years ago

“Excellent, very good value trip with lots of opportunities to see the Northern Lights - weather permitting. Very pleasant accommodation in small, clean, basic rooms with wonderful staff and delicious food. The activities are all fun particularly the dogsledding and the Lights over Lapland photography session. The landscape is breathtaking - endless vistas of snow, frozen lakes and birch trees. A memorable trip over New Year.”

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Posted 9 years ago

Dear Brian Thanks for the review and delighted you enjoyed the break. Abisko is a special place and as you now know there are fewer places better for seeing the northern lights. I will pass on your feedback to the team in Lapland. Kind regards Kevin

Posted 9 years ago

“Excellent experience in every sense. Efficient, friendly booking contact, superb staff and guides on the ground. Worth every penny to go a la carte! Thank you.”

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Posted 9 years ago

Dear Philip Thanks for the review and delighted you felt that we offered good value for money. This is certainly what we try to do and it is rewarding when clients feel we have delivered against this. Happy travel in 2015! Regards Kevin

Posted 9 years ago

“Our main concern on arrival was what would the other people on the trip be like as we ere staying at Matarakah lodge, this concern was soon put to rest upon arrival as everyone else on the trip was great. There was a guide ready to meet at the airport in Sweden and flight timings and transfers were good and smooth. The lodge we were t was absolutely stunning and even in minus 20 was still very cosy sitting outside by an open fire on a reindeer skin rug just looking into the mountains. The rooms in the lodge are perfect and very comfortable for the stay and the sauna and hot tub are a bonus. The snow mobile and husky safaris are must as is a great opportunity to get out and see the landscape and with the clothing they provide the cold is not so much of an issue. Well worth taking a good camera and have a little know how with it for the Northern lights pictures as mine didn't turn out so good but other guests were kind enough to send me some of there's. Really was a fantastic trip is things like this that make working worth while and made some great friends.”

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Posted 9 years ago

Hello Paul Many thanks for your feedback which i think looks really positive however you gave us a 1 star rating despite all the positive comments. Did you mean to do that? The scale is 1 = poor and 5 = excellent. If you would like to re rate the break please advise. Many thanks and regards Kevin Collins Managing Director

Posted 9 years ago

“It was an amazing trip, well organised itinerary and it was great to not have to worry about a thing.”

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Posted 9 years ago

Delighted you had such a super time. Thank you for taking the time to tell us.

Posted 9 years ago

“My sister and I had a wonderful holiday. Every moment of the holiday was filled with new activities which was made extra special by the staff at Mattarahkka. Nothing was too much for them and the atmosphere in the Lodge added to the experiences. We would highly recommend this trip and have been doing just that to our family and friends.”

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Posted 9 years ago

Thankyou for such a lovely review and we are delighted you had such a wonderful time. Mattarahkka is a very special place and I know Mikko and Sophia go out of their way to make you welcome. We will pass on their thanks to them.

Posted 9 years ago

“Outgoing flights meant leaving home at 3am arrived Kirunda 12:30 meeting taxi expected us 13:00. Prefer later start and arrival. Surprised airport taxi to Abisko was 1.3 hrs. Food 5* and hospitality excellant. Sunday morning was disappointing as we were taken to the park mid morning and left to explore on our own with a lunch ticket and taxi pickup. Photo class of the Aurora Borealis was 5*+. Ice hotel and Sami visit was very good. Bus back was delayed to pickup another 2 passengers. We spent 8 hours in 4 days travelling in road transport, more than weI expected. Ice hotel visit 4* was originally planned combined with flight home. Aurora Sky Station visit was very good, meal 3*.”

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Posted 9 years ago

Dear John Thanks for your feedback and we note all your comments. We note your point re length of time in vehicles but we do believe that given the stunning scenery in the area this is the only way to get out an appreciate it to the full. Delighted you enjoyed the aurora photo course - we will pass on your comments to the team on the ground. Kind regards Kevin Colllins

Posted 9 years ago

“This was a very good service. All staff were very kind and helpfully. It could have been even better with just a little more onsight info, for example, following the very excellent photo night, we could have bought a drink ,hot or cold at the hotel bar. As this was not the hotel we were staying in we didn't have any cash or cards with us as we didn't know in advance that we would be anywhere near a facility! This a minor point but we were all very dry after being outside for a few hours at -11. I should say a drink was supplied during the evening but not quite enough. It was a great night tho! Fantastic instruction from Oliver Wright.”

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Posted 9 years ago

Thank you for taking the time to give us feedback, and for your kind 5 star rating. I'm delighted that based on this starring you must have had an amazing time. We appreciate you pointing out the tip re taking some cash with you. We will look to add that to future travel plans.

Posted 9 years ago

Shipping & Delivery
Delivery Methods	Postal Service
On-time Delivery	Greater than 94%
Customer Service
Communication Channels	Email, Telephone
Queries Resolved In	Under An Hour
Customer Service	4.9 out of 5

Aurora Nights Reviews