Santalahti Resort is a Finnish family-owned business owned by Jukka Markkola and Katriina Halles-Markkola.
Founded in 1991 – open all year round
We employ 10–40 people depending on the season
We operate responsibly, save energy, support local businesses and pay our taxes in Finland
We were in our twenties when we started our businesses. Jukka became an entrepreneur at Santalahti Holiday Village in 1991, and Kati started Santalahti Minigolf in 1993.
The business was seasonal, which suited us perfectly. Summers meant working around the clock, while winters were our free time – with a brick-sized mobile phone in our pocket and a notebook for taking reservations for the following summer.
During the winters, we worked in Lapland as alpine ski instructors, travelled in the mountains of Central Europe, and Kati also trained actively in show jumping.
Most importantly, we saw, experienced and learned a great deal that we wanted to bring into our own businesses.
This continued for nine years, until we combined our businesses at the turn of the millennium.
That marked the beginning of more than 25 years of active construction and development. We made long-term plans, improved the way we worked and created new services. The expansion enabled us to operate year-round and provide permanent jobs for our employees. And where would we be without our fantastic team, their ideas and support, and the strong team spirit we share?
Our hard work soon began to pay off, and the campsite achieved the five-star status we had been working towards. A few years later, the City of Kotka presented us with the prestigious Company of the Year award. Naturally, this meant a great deal to us and reassured us that we were heading in the right direction.
In 2022, Kotkan Yrittäjät, the local entrepreneurs’ association, also named us Company of the Year.
Because we want to provide our guests with the best possible holiday experience and services, development and construction have continued right up to the present day.
Our latest investments include the minigolf- and disc golf course, Bistro Santalahti’s Sea Pavilion, the luxury event villa Villa Aava, Santa Glass Sauna, Santa Glass Villas and Santa Spa Villas with private outdoor hot tubs, as well as private fenced dog yards at selected accommodation units.
Energy efficiency and sustainability have always been important to us. All our year-round accommodation is heated and cooled using geothermal energy or air-source heat pumps. We use 100% renewable electricity and have two solar power systems.
We also want to offer a wide variety of experiences and services – from charter cruises to the Eastern Gulf of Finland National Park to effortlessly organised celebrations complete with catering and activities.
But what matters most to us is our passion for what we do and a happy guest who, even back home, smiles when looking through their holiday photos.
Katriina Halles-Markkola & Jukka Markkola
18/11/2022
Kotkan Yrittäjät (Entrepreneurial organization of 2000 companies) awarded Santalahti Resort Oy as company of the year 2022.
We have been actively developing Santalahti for over 20 years, and the attention shown by entrepreneurs warms the heart.
23/04/2022
Santalahti Resort’s campsite has been chosen as the most dog-friendly campsite in Finland in a vote of nearly 70,000 SF-Caravan ry members.
The 2019 “Viihtyisä Kotka” certificate of honor has been awarded to Santalahti Resort. The recognition is awarded annually by Kotka Kauppatie ry for active and creative activities to increase the comfort of the city.
This was a really big honor when our work in the development of tourism in Kotka was taken into account. There were more than 3000 companies in Kotka.
Cooperation with the city of Kotka has been active on both sides since the beginning of our business activities. Many people in different organizations are thanked for this!
