Yes, that’s right, a whole hotel made of ice. For the last 26 years, the IceHotel on the Torne river in northern Sweden has hosted 50,000 guests which every year commissions 20 artists to help sculpt and build individual hotel rooms – which are either cold (5 degrees) or warm (most people spend a night in each).
ART & DESIGN book 2015, ICEHOTEL, iCelebrate25, Suite 306, "Chess" design by Fernando Inçaurgarat, Nadia Inçaurgarat, Sofia Sol Inçaurgarat
ART & DESIGN book 2015, ICEHOTEL, iCelebrate25, Suite 315, Polar Night design by Hans Abrahamsson och Ann-Louice Abrahamsson.
If you choose to spend a night on ice, surrounded by some of the most exquisite ice artwork you’ll ever see (which only last one winter), you’ll be given a survival course, Arctic sleeping bags and plenty of suitable outerwear to keep you warm. There’s also hot lingonberry juice on tap.
To get warm again pick a Nordic chalet or more traditional hotel room or ditch it all to spend overnight in a wildness camp checking out the northern lights.
In addition to the suites, a bar, a church and a main hall are all created out of ice. The hotel harvests 5,000 tons of ice per year which is processed and stored in a carbon neutral manner and of course it melts every spring and goes back into the river.
ART & DESIGN book 2015, ICEHOTEL, iCelebrate25, The Ice Church “In the glade” design by David Andrén, Johan Andrén, Tjåsa Gusfors.
During the day you can learn how to ice sculpt, go ice skating or fishing in the nearby waters. Dog sledding or tours to meet the native Sami are also on offer.
