Lakeside manor retreat

House of Northern Senses

Ruka · Finland

A restored 1954 school with lakeside saunas.

House of Northern Senses fills the former village school of Virkkula, built in 1954 and later a Finnair retreat for almost five decades, on Lake Pikku-Porontima about 15 minutes from Ruka. It has eight rooms and suites for up to 22 guests and is built around Finnish sauna culture: a smoke sauna, a lakeside wood-heated sauna and a spa floor with an indoor pool.

  • Eight rooms and suites, up to 22 guests
  • Smoke sauna for ten
  • Lakeside sauna 20 m from the water
  • Indoor pool and Finnish sauna for 12
  • About 15 minutes from Ruka