JUKKASJARVI, SWEDEN
Founded in 1989, Icehotel is the first of its kind in the world. The hotel is made of ice and snow and is reborn with a new design every year. The ice used to create this massive structure comes from the Torne River in winter and when the hotel melts in the summer, the water simply returns to where it came from. IceHotel has 80 rooms and suites, an entrance hall, a chapel, and and ice bar called Absolut IceBar. The hotel has been listed as one of Seven Wonders of Sweden. Since it exists only between December and April, the Aurora borealis can also be seen in this location during the winter month. IceHotel is located in the village of Jukkasjarvi, Sweden (200 km north of the Arctic Circle).
QUEBEC, CANADA
Hotel de Glace in Quebec, Canada is the first and only ice hotel in North America. The hotel is built in December and opens in early January. The hotel is made from 30,000 tons of snow, 500 tons of ice and its walls are up to four feet thick. It features 44 rooms and snow art. This ice hotel has been described as one of the “10 dream wedding locations” and since its opening, the hotel has conducted 275 weddings.
FINNMARK, NORWAY
Kirkenes Snow Hotel opened in 2006. It features a hotel, bar and chapel that are built with new designs every winter with the help of the ice sculptors from the well-known Harbin Ice & Snow Festival in Harbin, China. Kirkenes has 20 rooms that were individually decorated by ice artists from Finland and Japan. It has the largest snow dome (measures 8 meters high and 12 meters in diameter) in Norway. It also offers day tours for those who are not so good in handling the cold.
ALTA, NORWAY
Since its founding in 1999, Sorrisniva Igloo Hotel has been rebuilt every year. This igloo hotel has 30 rooms, including 2 suites. Aside from the bedrooms, it also has an ice chapel, ice gallery and an ice bar which serves drinks in glasses that are made of ice. The hotel is decorated with different ice sculptures, ice furnishings and lighting systems which enhance different kinds of crystalline formations. A sauna and outdoor bathtubs with hoter are also in service. To keep their guests from becoming part of the decor while they sleep, the guests are provided sleeping bags that sit on reindeer hides.
BALEA LAKE, ROMANIA
The Hotel of Ice is sits atop the Fagaras Mountains and is only accessible via cable car. The hotel rebuilds its rooms with a different theme every year; it has 12 rooms, 3 igloos, an adjacent Ice Church, Ice Restaurant and Ice Bar. Each year the craftsmen waits for the Balea Lake to freeze before they start using the ice to build the huge ice structure. The hotel is usually completed and open in December until it melts in late March or April. Guests may also enjoy different activities such as skiing and sledging while staying at the hotel.
REMINDER: The hotels provide/use animal fur and thick blankets to cover the beds and couches to keep the guests warm when they sleep, but to keep yourself warm and avoid becoming a part of the decor of these gorgeous hotels, you should wear clothes that are appropriate for 23 °F “room temperature”.
We hope you had fun reading this JustFly Reviews 5 Stunning Ice Hotels in the World and find it helpful in making your future travel plans.
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