Santalahti Holiday Resort

The food was good, the staff were helpful and friendly, and there were plenty of activities. We were camping in a tent, though, and for the fairly high price I expected cleaner, better kept bathrooms and showers. The toilets often had no paper, and there were no shelves in the toothbrushing room for our things.

There’s a nice walk into the Forrest, and the neighbourhood is pleasant, but I didn’t find much reason to stay. The beach is under electric wires and isn’t very good, and the place doesn’t look like the resort in the advertised pictures.

The beach is crossed by huge power lines, which felt oppressive, and the sauna is a long walk from the sea. For me, it was too far. The site itself is lovely, peaceful and beautifully set up, with a friendly bar and terrace and clean, tidy facilities. Still, the costs are hard to swallow: €20 for an avocado burger, €90 for a cabin without a toilet, shower or water, Helsinki level drink prices, and nearly €30 for an hour in the sauna. There is one free hour in the morning, but who wants to sauna at 10am? Even so, we enjoyed our stay.

The nature around here is beautiful, and you should definitely go hiking. The beach is a strange place to lie under those high voltage power lines, though. We’ve camped all over Europe, and this doesn’t deserve five stars by any measure. Our “glamping cottage” cost a lot but wasn’t glamorous. Two of the somewhat newer washrooms were just okay, maybe three stars, while the one in the middle feels like it’s from 1950 and isn’t recommended. The restaurant and kiosk fit the overall high price level, so I’d drive the 10mins into Kotka for a meal.