ICEHOTEL
A totally 'cool' hotel in Swedish Lapland
ICEHOTEL, in the village of Jukkasjärvi, about 17 km from Kiruna, was the world’s first ice hotel. After its first opening in 1990, the hotel has been taking guests each year from late December to early April. ICEHOTEL 365 is a new addition to the original hotel and takes guests all year round.
It is certainly a unique experience, sleeping on reindeer skins inside the exquisitely carved ice rooms. Sleeping bags are included to ensure you are warm and snug during the night.
Adjacent to the cold rooms is a lounge area with facilities, showers and a sauna should you feel the pinch during the night. ICEHOTEL also offers a number of ‘warm’ accommodation options ranging from; double and twin rooms, hotel chalets for 3-5 people - all spacious and comfortable with Scandinavian design.
Each winter, some 50,000 visitors from all over the world come to see ICEHOTEL to experience the tranquility, the northern lights and all of the activities offered in Europe’s last wilderness 200 km north of the Arctic Circle.
ICEHOTEL covers 5,500 square metres and is constructed from 1,000 tonnes of Torne River ice and 30,000 tonnes of “snice”, a mixture of snow and ice that strengthens the structure. Around 100 people are involved in the construction of ICEHOTEL, half of which are artists especially invited to design particular areas of the hotel. The construction is a year-round process.
Between March and April, ice is harvested from the Torne River and kept in cold storage during spring and summer. Construction takes place in November and December and the entire ICEHOTEL is then open between December and mid-April, when everything begins to slowly melt and return to the Torne River.
ICEHOTEL 365
ICEHOTEL 365 is a new addition which sits beside the original ICEHOTEL.
During winter, the hotel will be covered in a blanket of snow, but during the summer it will be kept cool by solar power warmed from the midnight sun, covered with a turf roof and planted with Arctic flowers.
As well as featuring a champagne-themed ICEBAR and a unique frozen art gallery, the new hotel will feature 20 suites - each designed and carved by international artists. Enjoy the first look at some of the suites below!
**Facilities in the ICEHOTEL 365 Deluxe Suites **
Nine deluxe suites will also have a heated en-suite bathroom (four with bathtubs), private sauna and warm changing area adjacent to the ice bedroom. This gives you the chance to combine the adventure of sleeping on ice with the luxury of warm private bathroom facilities.
Deluxe Suite 365 – Don't Get Lost suite by artist Tommy Alatalo, Photo Asaf Kliger