The frosts wreaked havoc at Sampo Kaulanen’s new Jänkä Resort.
At Sampo Kaulasen Ylläsen’s Jänkä Resort, frost wreaked havoc.
During the weekend, Lapland’s freezing temperatures caused major water damage at the new luxury resort. Kaulanen opened Jänkä Resort in November 2025, i.e. just a few months ago.
– Now there have been several weeks of severe frosts and because of that, a pipe has now burst from the inside. It is being investigated, where it came from, Kaulanen describes to Iltalehte on Tuesday evening.
The damage was noticed on Saturday, and on Tuesday, January 13, insurance inspectors visited the Resort to assess the damage. Kaulanen himself is currently in the capital region for the Travel Fair.
Entrepreneur Sampo Kaulanen has built the Jänkä Resort holiday village, which is located in Äkäslompolo. Elle Laitila
Next, the inspectors make an official report, which shows the extent of the damage. It can already be stated that a lot of furniture and surfaces will be replaced.
– There were 15 centimeters wet on the wall of the toilet, some of the furniture is completely messed up. You can see it in the video too, that there is so much water that everything that was on the floor and where the water reached, will of course have to be replaced, Kaulanen laments.
– Fortunately, the log wall can withstand water reasonably well. Fortunately, it hasn’t gone to waste. Minttuhan already started complaining that he would have to tear down the whole room. It’s good that the heart didn’t go the wrong way, he continues.
Kaulanen is currently worried about the schedule. The apartments should be put back into use for tourists as quickly as possible, because the season is hot. Financial damages are incurred for every idle day.
– Towards the end of next month, the resort will be full and the entire reserve would be needed. To the extent that it was “lucky in the accident” that we have had a reasonably quiet January, but it will be busy again in February.
– Here it is now a race against time to get the insurance decisions and be able to repair the damage and get them rented again.
This is what the Jänkä Resort looks like, built by entrepreneur Sampo Kaulanen, located in Äkäslompolo in Kolar. There are currently 13 apartments available in the holiday village. The apartments have large windows, which can be covered with electric curtains if necessary. Elle Laitila
Frost damage didn’t stop there. Even earlier, in Kaulanen’s Airbnb apartment, the frost hit even indoors.
– The customers had apparently turned off the heat and that room was completely frozen. Yes, here we are testing whether the guy is serious about the job. It feels like someone is screwing up all the time, he sighs.
Does anything surprise the entrepreneur anymore?
– If I were to say that it would not surprise me, something would come up after the call that would surprise me. I dare not say anything more. Apparently, anything can happen.
Kaulanen is still happy with his new field.
– Here you can see a lot of different people up close and their different operating models. At least this has brought a lot of new events to life. Even though sometimes it feels like you could do with less, Kaulanen decides to.
Sampo Kaulanen previously told Iltalehte that he will invest all his money in the project, and guesses the final amount to be 30 million euros. He said the expenses kept increasing along the way. He envisions more reforms for Jänkä Resort: a sanatorium with its own yoga room and which could function as a retreat center.
– Probably at least 15 million euros have gone into all of this. I received 1.4 million euros in EU support, I took a loan from the bank and I paid the rest myself, he described earlier.
A night at Jänkä Resort costs from 800 euros to more than 1,500 euros. Elle Laitila