Octola Private Wilderness
The wilderness in Finnish Lapland might seem like an unusual place for a luxury cabin. But it’s precisely here, where the wilderness cabin, Octola Private Wilderness, attracts its exclusive and very wealthy clientele. The exact location of the cabin is not widely known, as these guests value their privacy. We do know that royals, sports heroes and film stars have spent time at Octola from recognisable photos posted on social media.
Octola is owned by a private travel company Luxury Action, which creates high-end experiences and expeditions across the Arctic. An enthusiastic and innovative founder and CEO of Luxury Action and Octola, Janne Honkanen, has been working exclusively in the private travel sector in the Nordic region, since 1996. He has led the way in experimental travel.
The brand-new dining hall features Victo 4250 and Victo Small 4251 pendants lamps, arranged in a striking cluster of lamps.
Octola’s long, squat wooden cabin, stained in brown, blends beautifully into the Lapland landscape. The place has more than 300 hectares of private wilderness. Guests arrive in private 4x4 cars, private planes or company helicopters. When they step in to the house their feet get world star treatment courtesy of woolen socks knitted for the company by local handcrafters. The atmosphere here is something you wouldn’t normally dream of offering to royals and Hollywood superstars. But local flavours and nature are at the heart of this exclusive travel experience. The guests are very busy people who for once want to be able to focus only on what matters most as well as their loved ones, and they’re willing to pay for it. In return, Octola will tailor each and every visit to perfectly match their guests’ expectations, explains Honkanen.
The founders of Secto Design, Jusélius family, met with Honkanen in the Finnish family business network. Honkanen was looking for high quality Finnish design products for Octola’s interior. Therefore Joakim Jusélius suggested that Octola must have the lamps named Octo in its design, and so the Secto Design lamps became the lighting choice of Octola project.
Owalo 7000 pendant lamps give this luxurious space suitably soft and atmospheric lighting.
Octola has two separate living spaces. In the first one the wide fell landscape stretches into the horizon, rushing into the living spaces through the wide windows. The living space has been equipped with Secto Design’s bold round Octo 4240 pendants, which act as brilliant eye-catchers in the tall space. The brand-new dining hall features more Secto Design lamps, Victo 4250 and Victo Small 4251, arranged in a striking cluster of lamps. Another dining hall has been equipped with Owalo 7000 pendant lamps which give this luxurious space suitably soft and atmospheric lighting. The dining experience in Octola offers magnificent views of the Lapland wilderness through the large windows. Secto Design’s lamps are made of Finnish PEFC-certified birch, which makes them the perfect match for a wooden building and the peace and harmony of Lapland’s nature.
There’s beautiful wooden furniture made by a local artisan and a fire is quietly crackling in the fireplace. It’s peaceful. Joikh, traditional Sami songs, are played through Finnish design speakers. Octola’s own talented chef prepares delicious dishes in the open kitchen. The food, like everything in the lodge, is Finnish and local ingredients are a key part of the luxury experience at Octola. Breakfast includes smoothies made from local wild berries and smoked salmon sandwiches. For lunch there’s of course sautéed reindeer, a traditional Lapland dish. Honkanen has a reindeer earmark he inherited from his grandfather and he owns about 100 reindeer.
Petite 4620 table lamps (not available in North America) create a relaxing athmosphere in Octola's bedrooms.
The trees at Octola grow with beard lichen, which are species of lichen that only grow in the world’s cleanest air. Octola invests in sustainable travel and wants to tell its visitors about the vulnerable arctic environment. Clean nature, peacefulness, safety, snow, the northern lights, and forests, these are the reasons why the biggest stars in the world want to make a trip to the middle of the Lapland’s wilderness. This is where Octola offers a magical experience for travellers who will return home content, rejuvenated and reconnected with themselves and the natural environment, promises Honkanen.
Photo by Petri Teppo, Studio Arctica.
