Old Levi hotel demolished to make way for five-storey building and expanded spa

Demolition has begun on parts of Levi’s first hotel, the Levi Spa Hotel, to clear space for a new five-storey building with holiday apartments, Finnish public broadcaster Yle reports.

The project marks the first major demolition of older structures in Levi’s town centre, where limited available land is driving a shift toward higher-density construction. Sanna Leinonen, CEO of Levi Spa Hotel, said the move reflects a broader trend as the resort runs out of undeveloped plots.

“Levi’s town centre simply has no free land left,” Leinonen told Yle. “By building upward, we can increase accommodation capacity more efficiently on the same footprint.”

The new building, set for completion next spring, will house Holiday Club’s timeshare apartments. Holiday Club will lease the land from Levi Spa Hotel, with its guests gaining access to the hotel’s amenities, including the spa.

Five-storey limit and future expansion

A zoning change approved in 2023 permits five-storey buildings on the site. Leinonen confirmed that all future constructions in the area will adhere to this height limit for efficiency, with additional buildings and an expanded spa and restaurant complex also in the pipeline.

The demolished structures—low-rise, log-clad hotel buildings from the 1980s and 1990s—are being dismantled by Sakela Rakennus Oy. Site manager Juho Pekkala noted that the single-storey, concrete-framed buildings with log facades were straightforward to demolish, with one already fully removed and a second half-dismantled.

While some interest emerged in reusing the exterior logs, Pekkala said their short lengths made repurposing impractical. However, a separate log cabin on the site will be relocated for use by a local hunting association.

Logistics eased by central but quiet location

The construction site sits in Levi’s town centre but away from its busiest core, simplifying logistics. Pekkala said workers are housed in a building rented from Levi Spa Hotel, with the yard used for material storage.

Kittilä’s technical director, Roni Jänkälä, told Yle that while Levi’s building stock remains in good condition overall, pressure for growth is being addressed primarily through new zoning rather than widespread demolitions.