We took our kids (8 and 5) on their first ski trip at new year. They both loved it, and as a beginners or kids resort it's great. The small size of the hill meant everything was close by, and most of the Valley side of the hill is a variety of blue runs which were great for the kids to move on to and to gain confidence. By the middle of the week they were even attempting the jumps in the kids park.
For us parents, as intermediates returning after a 10 year break, again the blue runs were confidence building and there was a good smattering of reds to move on to as we got our ski legs back. With 19km of pistes there was enough for us to do for a week and we didn't quite cover the whole hill, but I think it might get a bit repetitive if we were there for longer, and it certainly isn't for those that like a lot of black runs.
We stayed in the Village, which meant a gondola over the hill in the mornings to ski school, and the meeting place was about 100-200m away from the gondola station. The wind can blow, and when it does it blows cold! This can close the gondola, but the ski bus is there and is well timed to get you there in time for ski school.
The scenery is lovely. It isn't mountains like you would get in the Alps, and in fact the views from the top of the hill are nice, but nothing dramatic. However, skiing through trees that are thickly covered in snow that makes it feel like skiing through a Christmas card is fantastic. We even caught a quick glimpse of the Northern Lights, although be warned, most of the time the cloud cover prevents you from seeing them.
The Valley has a number of restaurants which we used for lunch - The Camp was best for us, as the main one always seemed to be full. The Village side is a proper village and has more going on (bars, restaurants, shops) but is a bit more of a hassle to get to during the day because most of the skiing is oriented towards the Valley side. We stayed at the Ruka Ski Chalets (which was an apartment block, not a chalet!) which was in the centre of the village and a short walk away from the lifts and everything else. Other accommodation further out in the Village looked nice, although more of a 10 minute walk into the centre. Cabins out in the woods, between the Village and the Valley, were probably too far to walk to the lifts and you would need to rely on the ski bus.
We went to Santa's cottage which was great, and Lammintuppa where we did husky sledding and a reindeer sledge ride, and which is about 15-20 minutes away by taxi.
Temperatures when we were there were OK - about -15C at worst, but generally between -5 and -10C. That was fine with ordinary layering - thermal base, fleece and ski jacket, plus neck warmer - you don't need more than that unless you feel the cold. However, the week before it had been below -20C, so it can get pretty frosty. The wind also makes things feel colder when it blows, and there is usually at least a breeze. When you're skiing you're amongst the trees so it keeps you sheltered, but once we got to the top of the hill when the wind was blowing and it was like being on Captain Scott's expedition.
The airport transfer from Kuusamo is 20 only minutes.
