Swedish Lapland in winter: Treehotel or Arctic Bath?

Treehotel or Arctic Bath in Harads? How the two hotels differ in winter, whether December or March suits you better, and when to look for the northern lights.

In December, daylight in Harads lasts only a few hours. Plan outdoor trips for the middle of the day, then leave time for the sauna and a long dinner. Later, if the sky is clear, you might see the northern lights.

Two hotels in the same village on the Lule River are the base for this trip. At Treehotel you sleep in a room among the pines; at Arctic Bath the river's cold water is part of the stay. Which hotel is right for you, and how do you fill the short days? For more on the architecture of both, read “Harads: two houses, one river”.

Treehotel: stay among the pines

You check in at the 1930s Guesthouse, and from there someone shows you to your treeroom. There are nine in the forest, from the mirrored Mirrorcube for two to Oasis, which sleeps five and has its own sauna and hot tub. Oasis was built in 2026 by the architects Nadén & Lind.

The walks in between are part of the stay. Dragonfly, Biosphere, Blue Cone, the 7th Room and Oasis have their own showers. The Mirrorcube, on the other hand, has an incineration toilet, and you shower in the building next door, which also has saunas. For dinner you walk through the snow to the Guesthouse. Here Linus Lejon cooks for Table by Treehotel, preserving ingredients for winter by curing, smoking and fermenting. His tasting menu lasts about three hours. The sauna and hot tub at the Forest Spa are booked separately.

Choose Treehotel if the room itself is the reason for your trip, and you're happy to walk in boots between your room, the showers and dinner in the evening.

Arctic Bath: sauna and cold water

At Arctic Bath the bath is the destination. Bertil Harström and Johan Kauppi designed the circular main building with the river's log-driving past in mind: in summer it floats, in winter it becomes fixed in the river ice. It holds the restaurant and the spa. The spa has two dry saunas, a steam sauna, outdoor hot tubs and a cold bath. The hotel's sauna ritual is called Julevädno, after the Sámi name for the Lule River, and between rounds in the sauna you step into its water. For hotel guests it's included in the room rate.

With twelve cabins, the hotel stays small. Six float along the shore and are reached by a walkway; three suites and three family cabins for up to five guests stand on land. In the evening, head chef David Staf serves a set menu, and the courses aren't revealed in advance.

Arctic Bath is right for you if you want to spend your days between the sauna and the river without going far. To get to know both hotels, split your stay: a treeroom first, then a cabin on the river. Arrange the transfer with the hotels in advance.

December or March?

In winter the region gets between four and twelve hours of daylight, and the months feel very different. In December the few hours of light shape the day; on the coast at Luleå, the sun sets just after 1pm. That suits you if you've come for the long darkness, with the sauna in the afternoon and long evenings. If you mainly want to be outdoors, think about February or March: the days are getting longer again, and Visit Luleå recommends March and April for sunshine, snow and winter sports. You won't miss out on the northern lights either: the season runs into March, and so does Treehotel's winter programme.

Darkness, clear skies, northern lights

You need darkness, clear skies and enough aurora activity. The best chances are between 9pm and 2am. Staying several nights gives you more opportunities, but no guarantee.

At Arctic Bath you can watch from the terrace or the hot tub. From October to March, Treehotel offers a private northern lights hunt from 8pm to 11pm: the guide keeps an eye on the weather and the forecast and heads out when there's something to see nearby. If conditions aren't promising, the guide lights a fire at a quiet spot instead.

Winter outings and booking

Treehotel offers the following guided outings; book ahead and confirm what’s included.

• A morning with huskies: Kim of Laplandhusky in Krokfors takes you through the forest with his team for three hours, with a stop by the fire. The 9.30am departure makes the most of the daylight and leaves the afternoon free for the sauna.
• A day at Storforsen: an hour's drive brings you to the rapids on the Pite River. Lunch, cooked over an open fire, is part of this tour. There is also a museum of forestry and log driving, the history that Arctic Bath's circular building draws on; check whether it's open in winter. In winter the car park is cleared, but the boardwalk to the water is snowy and slippery.
• An evening on the ice: after dark, a guide takes you by sled onto the frozen Lule River and cooks a three-course dinner in a tipi. Step outside afterwards and you're under the open sky – with luck, under the northern lights.

On the way to the airport: Gammelstad

On the edge of Luleå is Gammelstad church town, a UNESCO World Heritage site. More than 400 red church cottages survive. They were built for churchgoers who travelled from far away when church attendance was compulsory, and people still stay in them overnight. The stone church dates from 1492. As you'll be passing through Luleå anyway, it's an easy stop on your first or last day.

Before you book

• Season: Treehotel's winter programme runs from 21 November to 31 March; Arctic Bath's winter season runs from mid-November to mid-April.
• Treehotel, room for two per night including breakfast buffet, depending on the season: Guesthouse from SEK 1,500, Mirrorcube from SEK 6,900, Oasis from SEK 20,100.
• Table by Treehotel: tasting menu SEK 3,450 per person, book before you arrive; three courses SEK 1,250 per person. Forest Spa: two hours for SEK 650 per person, reservation required.
• Arctic Bath: spa included in the room rate, treatments extra. Book lunch and dinner in advance, and tell the hotel about allergies at least 24 hours before you arrive. After several long showers, the hot water in the cabins may take a while to heat up again.
• Treehotel outings, book at least a week ahead: husky ride SEK 3,300 per person, plus SEK 2,400 for the return transfer for two to four people; Storforsen SEK 4,400 per person including transfer and lunch; Ice Dining SEK 3,300 per person. Northern lights hunt, always private: from SEK 12,000 for up to three people.
• Arctic Bath outings, book ahead by email: for example, a two-hour northern lights ride on horseback for SEK 5,750 per person, transfer extra.
• Getting there: fly from Stockholm to Luleå (70 minutes), then a transfer of just over an hour, which both hotels can arrange. By rail, go to Boden C, about 35 minutes from Treehotel.
• Prices and programmes as of October 2026; Arctic Bath's excursion prices are valid until April 2027.

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