“Perfecte vakantie”

Reis, ligging, inrichting van de vakantiewoning en het ontbijt in het nabijgelegen hotel alles was top. Ideale omgeving om te langlaufen. Perfecte vakantie.

“Fantastische vakantie Kajaani”

We hebben een hele fijne vakantie gehad in Vuokatti, een prachtige ruime bungalow met o.m. sauna, keuken, vaatwasser e.d. Het ontbijt in Hetta was echt geweldig!! Geen nee was er te koop en heel erg netjes verzorgt. we moesten een kilometer lopen en dat vonden we fijn, om vervolgens aan het heerlijke ontbijtbuffet aan te schuiven. we hadden half pension, dus het avond eten was ook geregeld, dit was in restaurant Amarillio, dit restaurant zat in hetzelfde gebouw al waar wij het ontbijtbuffet nuttigden. En dit was ook keurig geregeld, we kregen dagelijks een afwisselende 3 gangen menu voorgeschoteld, Helemaal Top en het personeel was heel erg vriendelijk en vlot. al met met al een fantastische vakantie bij temperaturen van soms wel 34 graden onder nul, heerlijk! Vriendelijke groet Jan & Corry Mosterd en Matsen & Henk Rinsma.

Accommodation was amazing, clean, had everything you would need in the accommodation. The only thing would be not to advertise as bed and breakfast as its quite a walk 20min there and back, the path and roads were so icy at times walking there and back in the dark was treacherous.

It was Christmas there was no Christmas decs, no music or at oshere except on the last night

Dear Customer Relations Team, I am writing to formally escalate our complaint regarding a holiday sold and marketed by TUI, booking reference **********, which departed on, 17/12/2025 and was booked online directly through the TUI website. This holiday was expressly marketed and sold as a Lapland holiday. At no point during the booking process was it made sufficiently clear that the destination was Arctic Lakeland, located approximately 300 miles south of Finnish Lapland. This distinction is fundamental. The geographical location is not a minor detail but a core characteristic of the holiday and the primary reason for purchase. This constitutes a misleading omission and misrepresentation under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, as well as a clear breach of the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018, which require that holidays are supplied exactly as described and that all material information is provided clearly before a contract is entered into. Had the true location been clearly disclosed, we would not have proceeded with the booking. Now due to the area not being Lapland and being more Southernly, the temperatures were much warmer and the snow a lot less/no snow at all. We understand that flights before ours were cancelled, as were flights after ours, as TUI could not guarantee that there would be snow or enough snow for the full experience. We were checking the weather on a daily basis and even though we contacted TUI several times advising that the weather forecast on multiple weather sites, including Finnish weather sites, were showing that there was not going to be much snow. We requested multiple times for our holiday to be moved to Lapland, due to being mis-sold the holiday and due to the lack of snow but each time we were told by the TUI agent that we were going to Lapland and that there would be penty of snow. We constantly argued back telling them that this a not Lapland but we kept being overtalked and being told that we were wrong. The TUI agents we spoke to did not care and blatantly continued the lie that this was Lapland. They advised that we would be contacted 48 hours before our flight to advise if our holiday would go ahead or not. This communication was wholly inadequate given the proximity to departure and the significance of the information being disclosed. We were explicitly denied the opportunity to discuss or resolve the issue directly with a TUI manager, due solely to the fact that accorging to the TUI agent, as our holiday was going ahead, there was nothing that could be done. This left us without effective assistance, clarity or protection at a critical point and caused extreme stress and Anxiety. The situation was further exacerbated by unequal and discriminatory treatment of customers. We are aware that some customers who booked directly with TUI, were offered amendments to alternative, genuine Lapland destinations, including Ylläs, at the same cost or at a reduced cost, as their flights were cancelled but as our flight was not cancelled, we were not offered the same, even though we were not going to Lapland and that there was limited snow. We were not offered the same remedy and had the further stress and Anxiety of going on this holiday and not getting the full experience. As a direct and unavoidable result of this failure, instead of looking forward to a once in a lifetime experience, it was filled with uncertainty, worry, stress and Anxiety. This was incurred solely, because TUI failed to extend equal remedies to all customers who was mis-sold this holiday, despite TUI being responsible under the Package Travel Regulations. This holiday was our children's Christmas present. The late disclosure, lack of support, poor customer service, lies and ultimately being mis-sold this holiday, had taken away all the magical feeling and excitement of looking forward to what should have been a holiday of a lifetime. Our children were emotionally invested for this when we told them their surprise but this was then ruined by everything and caused significant distress. The disruption and uncertainty were profoundly upsetting for our children and have irreparably damaged what should have been a safe, structured and joyful Christmas experience. This impact cannot be dismissed as inconvenience. In summary, TUI has failed in the following respects :- • Misrepresented the holiday destination. • Failed to provide the holiday as described. • Breached statutory obligations under the Package Travel Regulations 2018. • Treated some customers unfairly compared to other direct TUI customers. • Caused avoidable and significant emotional distress. Ultimately, TUI were deceitful, sneaky and underhanded the way this holiday was advertised and sold. TUI knew exactly what they were doing and realised that they could no longer get away with it, especially after this was also highlighted in the media, as around the middle of December, our holiday description in the TUI app changed from Lapland to Finland and your TUI Lapland app changed overnight in December to TUI Santa Trips. This was also the case on your website that all mentions of Lapland were removed for Arctic Lakeland. This was again evidenced by the TUI cabin crew, as on the flight over, the cabin crew kept saying about our trip to Lapland and when we landed were told, \"Welcome to Lapland\" but on the flight home, all the cabin crew referred to our holiday as Finland, saying things like, \"Hope you all enjoyed your trip to Finland\" . So after multiple calls to TUI advising that this holiday had been mis-sold and that this was not Lapland, even though I provided all the evidence required, you still persisted in the lie. Absolutely disgusting and shameful from your Company, which has definitely made us think about ever booking with you again. On our way to our non-Lapland holiday, the flight was not festive in the slightest. This was yet again another disappointment from TUI. On our flight the TUI cabin crew handed out the Christmas packs but there were no games, no fun and no singing. Everything that was promised on the TUI booking regarding the flight was yet another lie from TUI. There had obviously been a lot of complaints, because on our flight back, the TUI cabin crew addressed this with the plane and apologised that there were no games, singing or fun on our flight over. The flight back included all this but this was promised and needed on our outward journey, to get all the children excited for our flight to our destination, so yet again, a real let down from TUI. The bus journey from the airport to our location was not the best. The TUI rep we had was very friendly but they were not in 'character' so to speak. Also, we had an Elf on our coach and they were so unenthusiastic. The Elf fell asleep and the rep asked the Elf if we should play some games, almost as if the TUI rep was trying to wake up the Elf. It all seemed very on the spot, rather than things planned and organised to make the journey fun. This was a very subdued journey, as also the driver did not have any Christmas music and the TUI rep did not always have a working microphone but did try playing Christmas music through it, which was not ideal. The ski suit fitting was stressful. Fully appreciate you need to be quick as possible and the staff were friendly but we felt rushed and it was awkward, as my Wife cannot use her shoulder properly and the staff were coming over trying to dress her, which just added to the Anxiety, even though we mentioned my Wife's shoulder issue to them. We then arrived into the Break Sokos Hotel Vuokatti (we were staying in a cottage) and there was a lot of building and construction work going on with big machinery. I started to think, 'Here we go'! This was never highlighted or mentioned by TUI at the time of booking, no disclosure made at all between the initial booking and our departure and nothing said by the TUI reps. Luckily, the cottage we were staying at, meant we did not have the scenery spoiled by the eye sore of a construction site but we could hear the noise daily and on some days as early as 6:30. This was completely unacceptable and spoilt what should have been such an idyllic setting. As suspected, the weather was terrible. We had snow on the ground for 2 days and it rained for the rest of our time there, with warmer temperatures and leaving us with slush and hardly any snow. This also resulted in the snowmobile excursion being cancelled, which is the excursion we really wanted to do. As well as this, our itinerary pointed out that we would have free days to play in the snow but our free days came whilst the snow was melting, slush and gone. So we could not build a snowman, have snowball fights or go sledging. All of this could have been avoided, if TUI had listened to our concerns and moved us to Lapland. You did not give us the full promised experience and failed in so many aspects. I am also incredibly unhappy and angry that my initial complaint raised on the 20/12/2025 has had no further response from you. The customer service ticket number is **********. This complaint was raised after a TUI rep advised me to do so after raising my concerns to them directly on the day of our excursion. We paid an extortionate amount of money for the reindeer excursion and it was not the experience we hoped or indeed paid for. We were first asked by the handlers in front of everyone, if it was ok if my Wife and I went with the first group and our 2 children went with the second group. We explained to them that we were together as a Family and that they were our children and they just said, \"Yes, can you go separately? \". We naturally said no, as we paid a lot of money and wanted to be with our children for the experience and obviously from a safety element too. They did not seem happy about it, which was not a nice start and it was embarrassing for us in front of everyone. We did then manage to ride together but when we were being led to the last 2 sleighs, the reindeer that would eventually lead my Wife and eldest child, attacked the handler and really hurt them as they shouted out in pain. The reindeer's antler broke off and there was a lot of blood. This was very upsetting to see, especially for our children but it was then clear to see that this particular reindeer should have been either replaced or simply just have that sleigh taken away. If that meant we then had to go with the second group or indeed they had to do a third group, then so be it, as health and safety should be paramount. The reindeer was agitated, aggressive and clearly not happy. The reindeer was parallel to the sleigh I was in with my youngest child and not staying in line behind, which was scaring our children and left my Wife and I incredibly nervous. I had my arm around my youngest child and my hand covering their face, as the reindeer was right next to them and going by the nature of the reindeer and the behaviour it had displayed, I was genuinely concerned about the reindeer's antlers going into my youngest child's face. This also stopped my Wife and eldest child enjoying the experience and looking at the surroundings, as they could not stop looking at their reindeer so close at the side of our sleigh and worried about my youngest child. This completely ruined the experience. When the ride was over, I was told to get out of the sleigh by the handler and the same reindeer bucked and went forwards, slamming the sleigh into my legs, knocking me back into our sleigh, landing on my youngest child and hurting their leg. We were also advised that we would get up close and personal with the reindeers but this did not happen. In fact, we were told not to approach or touch them, which was the complete opposite and a stark contrast to our reindeer experience during our taster session the day before and with previous trips booked with TUI (we have been to the Snow Elf hotel twice previously with TUI and enjoyed similar excursions). Add to this, as described in the TUI app and by a TUI rep the day before, we were supposed to have a blanket over us for the ride, which we did not have and we were supposed to feed the reindeer, which we did not do and this is something we were really looking forward to doing. Our children were actually more excited to feed the reindeer than ride with them and this was taken away from us! So we did not get the full advertised experience and there was a massive lack of care in respect of health and safety and complete negligence. We checked with the TUI rep the day before if there was a lot of snow on the trees and ground as had been described to us by our TUI rep on the coach ride from the airport and had been told yes, as the venue was much further North but there was hardly any snow on the trees and not the wintery wonderland we expected or told about. We were told there would be snow capped trees and it would be like something out of a Christmas movie and this was not the case, as there was no snow on the trees and the snow was melting. Add to this, there were various areas which were dangerously icy and slippery on the foot and it had either not been gritted or done so insufficiently. There was also a watchtower we could go up but we were told it was pointless as it was foggy but it would have been nice for us to make that choice and at the very least, go up and take some photos. So why is it we did not get the full, promised experience as advertised and why was our health and safety put at risk?! This has really put us off ever booking anything with TUI again and this is a shame and regretful, as we have always had really fantastic excursions with our previous Santa breaks and if we are honest, we had by far a much better experience on the taster day itself with the reindeer. I seek full refund and compensation for this. Taking the time in raising this initial complaint about the excursion was not what I wanted to be doing on the last day of a holiday we had worked so hard to save for. In summary, TUI has failed in the following respects :- • Misrepresented the holiday destination. • Failed to provide the holiday as described. • Breached statutory obligations under the Package Travel Regulations 2018. • Treated some customers unfairly compared to other direct TUI customers. • Caused avoidable and significant emotional distress. I am therefore formally seeking :- 1. A considerable discount and money back/refund for our holiday, for it being mis-sold and not providing the full promised experience, as well as not offering to move us when requested. 2. Additional compensation for distress, inconvenience and loss of enjoyment. 3. A full refund/our money back for our reindeer experience due to all the information provided in the initial complaint. 4. A full written explanation justifying the unequal treatment of customers and your reasons for miselling the holiday and your continuation to lie. If this matter is not resolved in full within 14 days, we will escalate the complaint to ABTA, Trading Standards and pursue all remedies available to me under UK consumer law without further notice. We will also take this further with the media if need be and we will be speaking with Citizens Advice and a Solicitor. We expect this complaint to be treated with the seriousness it warrants. Kind regards, Mr. Wayne Evans & Mrs. Anne-Marie Evans.