Malangen Resort

At more than 700 euros per person per day, this stay left me regretting the money. We could have spent it on far more activities and better experiences in Tromsø. We came as a family hoping for a relaxing holiday, but left frustrated. This is not the resort experience we expected, and I wouldn't recommend it for older guests or families. We had booked half board, including a three-course dinner, and confirmed the dining time with reception beforehand. Just after our starter arrived, staff told us the restaurant was full for a company event and asked us to finish in the lobby. We ate in an awkward corner alongside other individual guests, which made it feel obvious that leisure guests were a lower priority. Staff were polite, apologized, and said dinner would be free. I asked reception to record the refund before checkout, but three weeks later there had been no refund or follow-up. Our two rooms were around 500 meters apart. Some of the route between them was unpaved, dark, and slippery. One room was surrounded by snow up to our calves, so we spent half an hour shoveling just to get to its door.

The fjord and mountain views are stunning, and there was still enough to enjoy a walk to camp Nikka and try to spot the northern lights. We skipped the activities after reading other reviews. Some things did fall short: check-in was meant to be at 3pm, but our room wasn't ready until 5pm. The heater and washing machine in the room were broken, and the sauna was unavailable.

The dogsledding was fantastic, but the Northern Lights Watch was pointless for us since it takes place on-site. There was no chasing the lights as on other tours, and we saw nothing. The Reindeer & Sami Experience felt like the biggest scam: there was no Sami guide, just a friendly hotel employee feeding reindeer in a small enclosure. It definitely wasn't worth the price. Altogether we paid 21,120 NOK for those three activities, and they were far below expectations. The resort markets itself as one of the best places to see the Northern Lights, but if you don't travel anywhere, your chances seem extremely low. The sauna was broken too. We paid for a family room, but housekeeping only came after the first night, and nobody had told us we needed to request it. The receptionist seemed focused on charging us upfront for activities and rudely refused the resident family discount. The path to reception was icy and dangerous. My kids fell twice. When I asked for sand to be put down, I was told, ‘This is Norway, that’s how it is.’ The service was very poor, the activities overpriced, and the advertising misleading. Be careful before booking. I absolutely do NOT recommend going there blindly.

Amber was great and really nice as our snow shoeing leader. The location and views are lovely, but the service was lacking. Food took too long, and our three rooms were completely separated. The cabins also had poor WiFi. Dog sledding was cancelled at the last minute, so we booked with another company, intonaturearcrtic, which was very good and super nice.