Have you ever thought about sleeping at a negative temperature – consider a visit to the Ice hotel. Ice hotels are quite a thing in Scandinavian cities and there are several hotel chains to try out. But don’t you need the right weather, right environment and even right mood to experience this to the fullest? This is why Winter and snow are the perfect conditions to visit Ice hotel, Ice bar and have other icy adventures.
Swedish Lapland could be a best region for your visit to the Ice hotel
The ice hotel I visited was the ICEHOTEL in Jukkasjärvi, Sweden. The hotel was found in 1989 which makes it the first ice hotel ever. So there is quite a history of ice related activities in the area. In addition to that, it is also considered as the biggest ice hotel in the world.
The interesting feature about ice hotels is that some of them can be experienced with the ice and snow year-round and experience winter inside – no matter the outdoor temperature. This is now possible in Icehotel 365. The major part of the hotel buildings and interior are being rebuilt every year. For such annual projects the massive amount of ice blocks are needed, and this is the benefit of the Torne River – one of the biggest and wildest rivers in Sweden which provides the natural Arctic ice for the buildings and the sculptures.
Practical information for your visit to the ice hotel
Where to find the hotel and booking prices? Here.
You can visit the hotel without spending the night here, just as a visitor. The price for visiting the gotel during warm season is 295 SEK, there is no newest price for the Winter season yet, but it should be around 370 SEK.
There is a full scale of activities and places to visit in the hotel area:
- Hotel Each – suite is unique and most of the the architecture of the hotel is changed every year. Apart from the ice rooms, there are also heated rooms and warm cabins for more comfort.
- Ice church – is a popular choice for wedding ceremonies.
- Ice bar – the part of the Icehotel 365 which is available to access all year round. Even the glasses in the bar are made of ice, which makes the drinking quite an extreme activity. Ice bar is actually the concept that can be found in more places then ice hotels, more cities, more countries and even more continents.
- Art galery – the most beautiful sculptures from ice.
- Restaurant – a fancy restaurant where the food might be served on the ice plates.
In addition, many Summer/Winter activities can be organized on site, such as snowmobile tours, dog sledding or Northern lights safari.
The most popular question – was it cold?
You probably know that feeling during Summer when you are in a building cooled with A/C, and when you go outside there is a heat wave splashing on your face and body. The same is in the ice hotel. There is a constant temperature of minus five degrees Celsius inside, and when going out of the hotel, you can feel the “heatwave” of 0 degrees Celsius.
It’s cold for sure. I haven’t spent the night in the hotel, as it seemed too extreme, but it was cold to walk inside, take pictures and film.
One more example of better image how cold it is – there are heated bathrooms in the hotel, with warm water and heaters. When I opened the door to the bathroom, there were 6-7 people enjoying the warmth. One of them said to me “Don’t mind us, we are from Australia!”
More of adventures in the Northern Scandinavia can be found in the following posts:
