Press Releases

Lapland Hotels, Finland’s largest private hotel chain, has raised the appreciation and standard of hotel restaurants in Finland and around the world with its long-term efforts. The hotel chain is known for its many high-quality restaurants, which promote Nordic food culture and appreciation of high-quality Nordic ingredients. For example, the award-winning Sky Kitchen & View restaurant in Rovaniemi was selected by professionals as Finland's 43rd Best Restaurant in 2024.* Lapland Hotels’ breakfast, however, was voted the best hotel breakfast in Finland in last year’s TOPtravels survey. The breakfast also received an honorary award in the national Hungry for Finland 2024 competition.

The Chef Academy is the hotel chain’s own training concept, which aims to coach chefs interested in competing and succeeding in the industry aiming for even better competitive performance.

"We have a tremendous amount of professional competence and a strong competitive background, and now this expertise can be utilised more extensively at the entire chain level. Several of our professionals have achieved great success in the industry’s competitions, and the aim is to continue to grow new talents among Finland’s top chefs. At the same time, we will further increase the appreciation of northern food," says Tero Mäntykangas, Head Chef at Lapland Hotels and the person behind the idea of the Chef Academy.

"We offer the best hotel breakfast in Finland and use great ingredients from the Nordic region, from breakfast to dinner and meeting products. An essential part of our food philosophy is continuous development and the strengthening of each person’s own competence. The Chef Academy supports this goal very well," says Mäntykangas.

Annual coaching

The Chef Academy is a year-long training programme that will be launched for the first time at the beginning of 2025. The application process began at the end of last year. In the future, around a dozen chefs from Lapland Hotels’ restaurants around the country will be selected for the Chef Academy every year.

"The Chef Academy is a great opportunity for chefs who want to develop in their careers. The most important criterion is the applicant’s own enthusiasm and passion for the industry and competing. The applicant also needs recommendations from their unit’s kitchen manager or master chef," Mäntykangas specifies.

Top experts in the field are in charge of the coaching

Kim Slotte, Chef at the restaurant Saivo at the Lapland Hotels Arena, is the Chef Academy’s main coach. He has participated in the Chef of the Year and Young Chef of the Year competitions and participated in national team activities. With Slotte, other successful chefs from Lapland Hotels’ competitions, such as Kultá Kitchen & Bar’s Head Chefs Benjamin Frostell and Sanna Rahkonen, will also serve as assistant coaches.

Ismo Sipeläinen, Chef of the Year 2015 and Finland's representative for the 2024-2045 season in Bocuse D'Or, the world’s most prestigious industry competition, will join as a visiting coach.

"It’s great to have had the opportunity to be involved in such an interesting project from the start. I am excited to see the results of the Chef Academy and what opportunities it will open up for the people being coached," says Sipeläinen.

*) The Top 50 Restaurants in Finland is based on a national vote by industry professionals, to which approximately 1,500 professionals from the hotel, restaurant and catering industry, beverage and food business and restaurant and food writing sectors were invited last year. The vote for the Top 50 Restaurants in Finland was held for the 16th time in 2024.

Images: https://lapland.emmi.fi/l/gHjbtWsfSjvk
Image rights: Lapland Hotels & Safaris

Additional information:

Tero Mäntykangas, Head Chef, Lapland Hotels, +358 40 089 1544, tero.mantykangas@laplandhotels.com

Lapland Hotels & Safaris tourism services offers Nordic experiences for all the senses. It consists of Finland’s largest private hotel chain Lapland Hotels, the Nordic countries' largest event service company Lapland Safaris and Lapland Ski Resorts.The Group has approximately 1,950 employees.

Lapland Hotels has 20 hotels, more than 2,600 rooms and apartments, as well as over 11,000 restaurant seats all over Finland: in Ylläs, Levi, Saariselkä, Rovaniemi, Olos, Luosto, Kilpisjärvi, Pallas and Hetta, Helsinki, Tampere, Oulu, Kuopio and Haikko Manor & Spa in Porvoo.

Lapland Safaris offers unique outdoor activities in five destinations in Lapland: Rovaniemi, Ylläs, Saariselkä, Levi and Luosto. Lapland Ski Resorts comprises five ski centres located in Ylläs, Luosto, Olos, Pallas and Rovaniemi.

www.laplandhotels.com, www.laplandsafaris.com, www.haikko.fi 

Lapland Safaris and Liikenne O. Niemelä have been cooperating for more than 10 years, so there is already a solid foundation for the bus transport business. After the acquisition, the bus transport business will continue under the same business name, and its 18 modern buses will be transferred to Lapland Safaris. Liikenne O. Niemelä's personnel will continue working at Lapland Safaris as existing employees.

– "With our own transport services, we can, in conjunction with Lapland Hotels, provide our customers with a full service package that includes accommodation, restaurant services, experiences and transport in an even more flexible and cost-efficient way. Passenger transport services are Lapland Safaris' largest subcontracted set of services after reindeer and husky services. We have been looking into opportunities to include passenger transport services as part of our own services for a long time," says Rami Korhonen, CEO of Lapland Safaris.

The acquisition covers the bus transport business of Liikenne O. Niemelä. Lapland Safaris will also be providing services to Niemelä's other transport contract customers without any changes. The acquisition does not cover the tanker business. Esko Niemelä, the CEO of Liikenne O. Niemelä, will remain as an advisor to Lapland Safaris for a fixed term. Kristian Tahvanainen has been appointed Director of the Transport Unit.

– "We see potential, especially in year-round tourism as well as in tours in Lapland and northern Scandinavia. We are excited about the upcoming peak season and thinking about new ways to build our services around high-quality transport services. We are also looking forward to serving all of Niemelä's current customer base," Korhonen says.

Liikenne O. Niemelä's history will be honoured

Liikenne O. Niemelä's roots are in Lapland, and the company started operating in 1951 with regular bus services between Rovaniemi and Sodankylä. Since then, Niemelä’s green buses have become well-known in Finland, and even in Central Europe, transporting schoolchildren, conscripts, sports clubs and tourists. Entrepreneur Esko Niemelä has led the 70-year-old company for 43 years. Liikenne O. Niemelä has been Lapland Safaris' main transport subcontractor in Rovaniemi and Luosto.

– "Lapland Safaris has been our most important partner for more than 10 years. I'm happy to sell the bus transport business because I know that it will continue in good and competent hands for a long time to come. Our employees will be transferred to Lapland Safaris, and operations will continue even stronger. In the future, my company's operations will focus on the tanker business," Esko Niemelä says.

– "Niemelä has proven to be a reliable and high-quality company in terms of both the professional skills of its personnel and its fleet. The aim is to continue Niemelä's honourable traditions with the current business name and operating model, while respecting the current employment and customer relationships. Niemelä's name will remain on the side of the green buses," Korhonen says.

For further information, please contact:

Rami Korhonen, CEO, Lapland Safaris, +358 400561607, rami.korhonen@laplandsafaris.fi

Esko Niemelä, entrepreneur, +358 50 452 1512, esko.niemela@liikenneniemela.fi

Lapland Hotels & Safaris tourism services offers Nordic experiences for all the senses. It consists of Finland’s largest private hotel chain Lapland Hotels, the Nordic countries' largest event service company Lapland Safaris and Lapland Ski Resorts.The Group has approximately 1,950 employees.

Lapland Hotels has 20 hotels, more than 2,600 rooms and apartments, as well as over 11,000 restaurant seats all over Finland: in Ylläs, Levi, Saariselkä, Rovaniemi, Olos, Luosto, Kilpisjärvi, Pallas and Hetta, Helsinki, Tampere, Oulu, Kuopio and Haikko Manor & Spa in Porvoo.

Lapland Safaris offers unique outdoor activities in five destinations in Lapland: Rovaniemi, Ylläs, Saariselkä, Levi and Luosto. Lapland Ski Resorts comprises five ski centres located in Ylläs, Luosto, Olos, Pallas and Rovaniemi.

www.laplandhotels.com, www.laplandsafaris.com, www.haikko.fi, www.liikenneniemela.fi

Meeting guests have noticed changes in the services of Hotel Haikko Manor & Spa since early autumn. Lapland Hotels renewed its meeting concept to be consistent across all its units in autumn 2023. Now also in the hotel chain's newest entrant, Hotel Haikko Manor & Spa, food products according to the concept and a higher quality service package have been introduced. Lapland Hotels acquired Haikko at the end of 2023.

– Haikko’s services will be harmonised to match the quality of Lapland Hotels’ concept. In the early summer, the catering options were renewed, followed now by meeting services. In the future, we will be able to offer meeting services at Lapland Hotels Arena in Tampere as well as Haikko, for example – of course, the different environments make all our properties unique places. At Haikko, we naturally emphasise the manor-like environment and locality, which is reflected in the use of local ingredients," says Leena Turunen, Area General Manager at Lapland Hotels.

The food product for Haikko’s meeting guests has already undergone a major change with the renewal of the meeting lunch.

– In the future, the meeting lunch will be served at a buffet table, which includes a high-quality and versatile salad table as well as several warm main course options and a small sweet dessert. We have sought local flavours and small home-made treats for morning and afternoon coffees, with health and versatility highlighted. After just the first few weeks, our new meeting services have received a lot of praise from our customers," says General Manager Marja-Liisa Karhu.

Meeting rooms accommodate up to 400 people

The reforms of Haikko’s meeting services will continue during the rest of the year, and particular attention will be paid to the service path: how meeting guests are received, for example, and the technical skills of the personnel. Smooth service ensures that the customer does not have to worry about anything on the day of the meeting, with everything planned in advance. Haikko can host large meetings of up to 400 people. There are approximately 20 different meeting rooms, from a festive mansion to beach saunas.

The fantastic environment of Haikko Manor allows meeting customers to come there not only to work, but also to take a break from their everyday lives and stay overnight. The manor is surrounded by 14 hectares of nature, which offers a great setting for sports and various outdoor activities, for example.

– Conference days in Haikko can be accompanied by a wide range of different programmes, such as boating, padel, disc golf, cycling, yoga or relaxation in the spa and various treatment centre services. The history of the site and the manor environment is particularly fascinating, and we are happy to tell these stories to our customers. The cooking school and wine tasting are also our guests’ long-term favourites," Karhu says.

For the summer, Lapland Hotels updated Haikko's culinary options – the menus of the manor breakfast and the restaurants. The selection of the Spa Café will be renewed during the autumn. The reform of the food product was carried out with respect for history. The table settings have the ambiance of an old manor and, among other things, the old table silverware has been brought back to use.

– The aim of the reforms is to further highlight Haikko’s fantastic and very special opportunities. Haikko will continue to retain its distinctive look and the spirit of the old manor environment," says Turunen.

Images: https://lapland.emmi.fi/l/dMrtDdG8bMK6
Image rights: Lapland Hotels & Safaris

Media contact:

Leena Turunen, Area General Manager, Lapland Hotels, tel. +358 44 545 0545, leena.turunen@laplandhotels.com

Marja-Liisa Karhu, General Manager, Hotel Manor & Spa, tel. +358 50 388 3348, marja-liisa.karhu@haikko.fi

Lapland Hotels & Safaris tourism services offers Nordic experiences for all the senses. It consists of Finland’s largest private hotel chain Lapland Hotels, the Nordic countries' largest event service company Lapland Safaris and Lapland Ski Resorts.The Group has approximately 1,950 employees.

Lapland Hotels has 20 hotels, more than 2,600 rooms and apartments, as well as over 11,000 restaurant seats all over Finland: in Ylläs, Levi, Saariselkä, Rovaniemi, Olos, Luosto, Kilpisjärvi, Pallas and Hetta, Helsinki, Tampere, Oulu, Kuopio and Haikko Manor & Spa in Porvoo.

Lapland Safaris offers unique outdoor activities in five destinations in Lapland: Rovaniemi, Ylläs, Saariselkä, Levi and Luosto. Lapland Ski Resorts comprises five ski centres located in Ylläs, Luosto, Olos, Pallas and Rovaniemi.

www.laplandhotels.com, www.laplandsafaris.com, www.haikko.fi