Houses

Chalet Zen sits alone at the edge of its own small lake, surrounded by pine forest. There are no neighbours in sight and no traffic to hear. Guests come here to slow down, and most of them say the same thing afterwards: that having a whole lake to themselves was the part they did not expect.

The house sleeps four across two bedrooms, one on the ground floor and one upstairs. Inside there is an indoor Finnish sauna, a fireplace in the living room, and a kitchen equipped for real cooking — dishwasher, oven, hob, fridge and a coffee machine. Wi-Fi reaches the whole house.

Outside there is a sunny terrace, a second fireplace for the evening, a barbecue, and two paddle boards pulled up on the shore. The water is clean enough to swim in straight after the sauna, which is the correct way to use both.

A car is necessary. The nearest supermarket is ten minutes away and Imatra is about half an hour, where you will find restaurants, larger shops, horse riding, fishing and zip lining.

The largest of the four resort villas, and the only one with a fireplace — which is what you want here between October and March, when it gets dark at three in the afternoon.

Seventy-seven square metres over two floors: a double bedroom, a second bedroom with two single beds, and a sofa bed in the living room, so it sleeps five without anyone drawing the short straw. The terrace looks onto the garden rather than onto the neighbours.

Inside there is a sauna of your own, a kitchen with a dishwasher, coffee machine and fridge, a flat-screen TV and Wi-Fi throughout. Towels and bed linen are provided, and there is a hairdryer in the bathroom. Parking is free on site.

Guests use the indoor and outdoor pools, saunas and hot tubs at the Imatran Kylpylä resort, and the shore of Lake Saimaa is a two-minute walk. Restaurants are about 550 metres on foot.

Arriving late is fine here — check-in runs until 23:30, later than any of the other villas, and check-out is any time up to 10:00.

The smallest and cheapest of the four, and the right one if there are two of you and you would rather spend the difference on something else.

Fifty-five square metres with one double bedroom, sleeping up to three.

It is the only villa with a barbecue, and one of two with air conditioning. There is a sauna of your own, a balcony, a kitchen with a dishwasher, coffee machine and fridge, a flat-screen TV and Wi-Fi. Towels and linen are provided; parking is free on site.

As with the other resort villas, the indoor and outdoor pools, saunas and hot tubs at Imatran Kylpylä are yours during the stay, the Saimaa shore is a two-minute walk, and restaurants are a few hundred metres away.

Check-in 15:00–18:00, check-out 08:00–11:00.