A small hotel and a restaurant are planned next to the RukaValley hotel in Saarua. The couple behind the project own restaurants in Helsinki and Savonlinna.
The plot belongs to Metsähallitus, and the entrepreneurs went to see it in September. The project is still at the planning stage, so there is nothing to book yet.
A new small-scale hotel and a restaurant are being planned for the village of Saarua on the east side of Rukatunturi fell in Kuusamo, Koillissanomat reports. The site is next to the RukaValley hotel, on a plot owned by Metsähallitus between the hotel and the road. Behind the project are the entrepreneur couple Sari Helin and Ilkka Lääveri, who went to see the plot in September.
Restaurateurs from Helsinki and Punkaharju
Helin and Lääveri own Ravintola Metsä in Punkaharju, Savonlinna, where Lääveri is the head chef. Helin’s other restaurant is Le Ankka in Helsinki, which is listed in the Michelin Guide.
Saarua lies between the Ruka slopes and the Valtavaara Nature Reserve. Rukakeskus Oy is building a pedestrian village there with holiday homes and apartments, and according to the company the whole village will take 8–10 years to build. A plot of about 11,000 square metres in the centre of the village has been zoned for a hotel with 200–250 rooms. It is owned by Metsähallitus, which is open to talks about developing the plot.
On 12 May 2026 the Kuusamo city council unanimously approved a change to the local detailed plan covering most of the East Ruka centre. The aim is to develop tourism services in the area and to widen the range of accommodation. The area covers about 7.5 hectares with 32,300 square metres of permitted floor area, and apart from one plot the land belongs to Metsähallitus and the city.
A large hotel is also going up in Ruka village
In Ruka village, on the other side of the fell, the cooperative Osuuskauppa Arina is building a seven-storey hotel with 217 rooms. According to Yle, it will be ready for the 2027–2028 winter season.
The new hotel in Saarua is only a plan so far. You can find the cabins available in Ruka today, with guest numbers and bedrooms, on our Ruka cabins page.