Kartanohotelli Messilä

Spent a nice long weekend in 2-bedroom cottage there with my family incl. 4 month child. Cottage was rather modest, but had most what you need. Bedrooms were small and beds unusually tiny, so we continually hit ourselves on the walls while turning in bed, but all in all night sleep quality was great. It was quiet outside and no late-night noise from neighbors. Kitchen has all utensils you might need, only thing we felt missing, was toaster. There is clothes dryer cupboard in every apartment, so no worries about snow-wet skiing clothes. Breakfast in the main restaurant was included, serving both hot and cold dishes. On Sundays breakfast and brunch are combined, offering a large variety of all possible hot, cold, sweet and sour dishes already from early morning. Ski-center itself is well maintained. Lifts were running, although at evening only 2 or 3 slopes stayed open, and rest started to close from 5-6PM (depends on weather and light). Slopes are perfect for the beginners, wide and slow, still too short (longest is 700m) and too lame for intermediate and advance skiers. Offpist is not allowed (and not even possible, since thick forest at the side of the slopes). At the beginning (top) of the slopes you can find BBQ tents, where you can warm your frozen nose legs and hand, and as well grill sausages you have taken with you etc. For adrenaline junkies there were few pumpers and downhill cross track. For children there are special area with different fun attractions both for skiing and sledging . Only unpleasant surprise was (not written anywhere in web-pages) that from foreigner ski-rental demands a passport as a deposit. Since traveling within EU with ID card and never take passport with us, as well used to pay with credit card and not having cash (and of course there are no cash-dispenser within few miles), they offered only two options, to leave cash or car keys as a deposit. From local ski-rental accepts ID card as a deposit with no questions asked.