Name: The Red House
Address: 1025 Napparngummut B, Tasiilaq, Tasiilaq, Tasiilaq, 3913, Greenland
Rating: 8

Smoke-free property

Heating

Gift shop

General

Non-smoking rooms

Rooms

Laundry

Luggage storage

Services and amenities

Diet menu (on request)

Common kitchen

Meals

Internet access

Internet

German

English

Languages Spoken

Tour assistance

Tourist services

Library

Hiking

Fishing

Sun Deck

Recreation

Free Parking on Premises

Parking

Fax and copy machine

Business

Ski storage

Ski facilities rental

Skiing

Winter sports

Pets Not Allowed

Pets

Location

At the hotel

Kulusuk Airport

The Red House

Tasiilaq

Clean, bright, and incredibly welcoming. Great hostel vibes:  I enjoyed connecting with other travelers from around the globe. I stayed in the “main” building (private room, shared bathroom, full-service meals) and had a lovely stay.

Solo travelers, do you research ahead of time and, as long as you’re able to entertain yourself, you’ll have a great time.

Also for solo or non-group travelers: book the helicopter transfer! The Red House offers a boat transfer, but between ice conditions and the needs of larger group tours, it may not be available. I wound up having to leave a day early because all the boats were spoken for the day I was flying out. Peroni gave me the name of someone I could do a homestay with in Kulusuk, which I appreciated, but I was disappointed to have to leave early.

Overall, a lovely stay. A key Greenlandic word for staying in Tasillaq is “immaqa” - maybe. Be prepared to go with the flow and be adaptable, and you’ll have a great time.

Amazing spot: solo travelers, do your hmwk!

My husband and I have spent 2 weeks in Tasiilaq as independent travellers. Our plan for those 2 weeks was to do 2 multi-day hikes on our own and a couple of boat tours organised by the Red House. We had exchanged emails with Robert Peroni before arrival discussing hiking possibilities (he said we will discuss the details upon arrival to the Red House), the necessity to carry a shotgun for eventual encounters with polar bears and other logistics. 

When we arrived, Robert was busy coordinating groups of tourists that he had in the hotel and hardly found 5 minutes for us. He described the 5 day hike we wanted to do in 2 or 3 sentences. Later on we realised that the information he gave us was actually outdated, specially concerning the current state of a glaciar, that did not reach anymore the valley he told us. This made us get lost later on. Moreover, he didn't have any shotgun left to rent us (despite it was months before we had told him per email that we needed one, and a reminder the week before arrival). It was just luck that we found somebody else in the village (Lars, from Arctic Dream) that could rent us the shotgun and provide us all the information we needed for the hike.

When we then came back from the hike, we wanted to spend 2 or 3 days doing boat tours. Robert had told us before that it was not possible to book much in advance, just the day before the tour. So that is what we wanted to do. On three different days he told us he had no place for us on his boats (crowded with the tourists that were in organised trips). It was again Lars from Arctic Dream who provided us the possibility to do the boat trips we wanted. 

Then, we wanted to day another multi day hike. We asked Robert for advice, and he advised us to climb a mountain and then go down almost 1000 meters over a steep glaciar. When we told him we did not have the gear to do that, he told us that we could also try to do it without the gear (which we did not do, of course, but this is really not responsible advice!)

So, obviously, we do not recommend this place for independent travellers. Just go to Arctic Dream if you are one. 

For organised groups, things are a bit better at the Red House. However, we had the impression that Robert is kind of stuck in the 80s, and also that he is often overwhelmed by the logistics (boats were late, rooms overbooked, and so on). He still explains that Tasiilaq is such a remote place, confort is impossible, so every in the Red House is basic, and so on. This was maybe true 30 years ago, but not today. There are much better options to visit East Greenland than the Red House. And his knowledge on the area is not up to date.

Warning for independent travellers

I prefer the private rooms that are a tiny walk down a steep hill from the main house. Those houses are recently renovated and among the highest standard for a 3 star in Greenland. In terms of how nice and new this accommodation is I was blown away. The view isn't great but I only care about inside my room.

It is close to the airport and it will take about 20 minutes to the grocery store or harbour but you can get a ride.

This is fabulous for the types that like shared bathroom accommodation or expeditions as well since the owner is a well versed explorer in his own right. The prices are very reasonable.

I worked with Axel and I will never forget my time there. I got to see the northern lights on a previous trip. I also went out with Axel to take photos.

I was lucky in that I had someone drive me everywhere. I've heard this isn't always the case when the owner is in town. I'd get that negotiated up front because as I mentioned the nearest ATM and grocery store is far and the hills are very serious here. If you're not in super shape, like me, you will be huffing and puffing and sweaty. If you're mobility limited, you may not want to stay here if the operator is unable to drive you or set you up with a local taxi, of which there are about a dozen. You may be better off staying at the big hotel up the hill if you need someone to drive you.

I would definitely stay here again if I have access to someone picking me up after activities and to the ATM / grocery store.

By the way, you will probably need to pay for your stay in cash. So have a lot on you (several thousand) or go to the ATM. You can't take out more than 2000 or 3000 per transaction but it will be ok to make more than one draw.

The only place I will stay in Tasiilaq, even in winter

The owner, Robert, is a well seasoned expedition man.  His hearing is getting bad, so he may not respond and it's not that he's being rude.  However, he was amazingly helpful, friendly and kind.  And the food is the best around.  He treated us like family and we felt like it.  We spent about 5 days at the Red House, but had pre-booked at the other blue hostel for our final night, which was horrible, stunk of sour vomit, and the food was at best mediocre.

The room was small and basic, but comfortable, with a lot of common areas.  Remember, this is Greenland.  We had full access to the kitchen and even though we didn't pay for meals, he often included us and even gave my daughter and I food for the plane ride.  I will miss Robert.  He's awesome!

Greet food & great owner

So, two years after our first trip, we're back again! The Red Hut was as good as on the first trip. Robert Peroni is a local legend and is extremely helpful in helping you organize the trip you want. We went kayaking for a week and Robert helped with arranging gas, kayaks, shotgun, tents etc. as well as transport by boat (with kayaks) into the Sermilik fjord and then with the pick-up (arranged by sat phone) from the village of Tinit. Something is not available? "Boys, don't worry, let me make a couple of phone calls". He's an invaluable resource, an extremely helpful man and I just wish I spoke Italian so I could read one of his books about Greenland!

We stayed in the small annex in the "Expedition lodge" this time, which is basic but has its own kitchen to make meals and it's fun to stay with some famous explorers and listen to their stories. Dinner at the Red Hut was very good (first time I ate seal) and, as you can imagine from an Italian, the red wines that Robert stocks are of excellent quality.

Other tips: 
-- there are two supermarkets in the town - the small one has long opening hours and is reasonably well stocked. The big one, slightly outside of the town, has anything that you can think of, from pesto to sunscreen to pet food to charcoal for BBQ. For our trip, we brought some fresh meat (steaks), herbs and bread from Iceland as they were better quality, but otherwise you'll find anything you want in the Tasiilaq supermarket.
-- having a sat phone is a good idea if you kayak/hike into the wild - difficult to arrange in Greenland so you may want to rent out before your trip
-- "Destination East Greenland" in the center of the village (just uphill from the small supermarket) is a good place to rent kayaking equipment (PFDs, carbon paddles, sprayskirts etc.); they can also get you white gas for the MSR burner; super friendly and helpful guys

Overall, this is an incredibly beautiful part of the world, and it's hard to imagine it's only a two-hour flight from Iceland.

I love this place

+ nicely located on the top of a hill with a view on the fjord with icebergs
+ the staff is very friendly 
+ Robert, the owner, is the gatekeeper to all trips in east Greenland and knows everything and everybody
+ although east Greenland is developing, the hotel offers a very good standard
+ excellent food - a mixture of traditional Greenlandic ingedients and italian cuisine

Greenland is difficult for veggies and vegans. Either you bring your own food or skip the diet and taste the traditional food (fish, whale, seal)

Best hotel Tasiilaq

We were some friends that came for a dinner, on a lovely summer evening. The view over the bay was fabolous! But the food was quit ordinary: a very small slice of salmon for a starter, and then common pasta with wale (the meat was good). A cake for dessert. One had expected more, especially for that price...

The Red House

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