An ice hotel is a temporary hotel made up of snow and sculpted blocks of ice. [1] Ice hotels, dependent on sub-freezing temperatures, are constructed from ice and snow and typically have to be rebuilt every year. Ice hotels exist in several countries, and they have varying construction styles, services and amenities, the latter of which may include ice bars, restaurants, chapels, saunas and hot tubs.
Ice hotels are promoted for adventurous travelers who are interested in novelties and unusual environments and are comfortable with the outdoors. [1] [2] Customers have to be prepared to sleep in beds made of snow or ice, but in the warmth of furs, blankets and sleeping bags designed to withstand extremely cold temperatures. Temperature in the rooms is below zero Celsius, but much warmer than outside. Staying at an ice hotel is expensive as prices for a night range from around US$300 to $3,000. [2] Some ice hotels may be destination hotels. [3]
Lobbies are often filled with ice sculptures, and food and drinks are specially chosen for the circumstances. [1] For instance, glasses in an ice bar can be made of ice and people sit on benches made of ice. [2] An ice bar, sometimes associated with an ice hotel, is a drinking establishment primarily made of ice.
Ice hotels are dependent upon sub-freezing temperatures (colder than 0 °C or 32 °F) during construction and operation. This imposes time constraints on construction and makes the hotel's season short. Construction typically begins between November and March when snow can be compacted and thick levels of ice form. Although constructing an ice hotel is more labor-intensive than a regular building, building materials are cheaper. [2] Ice hotels have to be reconstructed every year. [1] This is not entirely detrimental to the operators; if an ice hotel does not meet its financial goals, the owner can simply let the building melt in the spring and is left with no building to permanently upkeep. [2]
The walls, fixtures, and fittings are made entirely of ice or compacted snow, and are held together using a substance known as snice, which takes the place of mortar in a traditional brick-built hotel. Sometimes steel framing is used in their construction. [4] [5]
The Hôtel de Glace (English: Ice Hotel) first opened in January 2001. 85 rooms are furnished with ice beds covered with deer furs and mattresses and equipped with arctic sleeping bags. [1] It was originally located on the shores of Lac-Saint-Joseph, Quebec, 31 minutes north of Quebec City, but has since moved closer to the city, 10 minutes away from Old Town Quebec. [6] It operates from the first week in January to the last week in March. [7] It has the adjacent Le Quatre Temps restaurant, an ice bar named Absolut Ice Bar, which serves Absolut Vodka and other beverages, sauna and outdoor hot tub. [3] [8] Construction involves the use of blocks of ice and snow. [8] In 2005, construction involved "400 tons of clear ice blocks, trucked in from Montreal, and 12,000 tons of snow produced on site." [8] Beds are constructed of ice, which are topped with "a wooden boxspring and mattress", [3] and mummy-style sleeping bags are provided. [3] The hotel offers paid tours, the participants of which are allowed to use the ice bar until midnight. [3] Ice Hotel was previously the only ice hotel in North America. [3]
Snow Village is a half-hectare village and 30-room ice hotel located in Parc Jean-Drapeau, east of Montreal, in Quebec, Canada that first opened in 2012. [9] It has suites, standard rooms and igloos, an ice restaurant, ice bar and patio, ice chapel and outdoor hot tubs. [9] It is constructed from man-made snow created by snowmaking machines, which is blown onto frames that are removed when construction is complete. [9] This is performed because the density of the artificial snow is greater than that of natural snow. [9] The hotel is equipped with fire alarms that are built into snow walls, as required by the city of Montreal. [9] Initial construction cost $2.1 million, and the Quebec government provided some financial support for its construction. [9]
The SnowCastle of Kemi in Kemi, Finland is the largest snow fort in the world, is rebuilt every winter and has a snow hotel [10] with double rooms and a honeymoon suite. The facility also has a restaurant, chapel, and ice sculptures. [10] It is near the Gulf of Bothnia. [10] The style of the facility, including the theme, shape, size and decorations, changes annually. [10]
The Lainio Snow Village is located 150 km north of the Arctic Circle in Lapland. [11] This snow hotel is built in the winter atop a wood building. In 2007, construction began in November, and in December, it began providing lodging. [11] The hotel has restrooms and a sauna, and the village has a restaurant. [11] Rooms are decorated with artwork created from snow. [11] In 2007, art students contributed to the art with professional artists. [11] In the summer, the village provides log cabin lodging. [11]
The Alpha Resort Tomamu in the Shimukappu village of Hokkaido Island in Japan builds and opens an ice hotel every year. [12] It may be Japan's first ice hotel, and everything in it is constructed from ice. [12] [13] The hotel interiors are typically −3 to −5 °C. Guests dine on ice tables and sit on ice chairs covered with sheepskin. The hotel provides sheepskin apparel for guests to stay warm. [12]
Ice Bar, run by Ice Hotel, is a bar located in downtown Oslo, Norway [14] which serves drinks all year long in an artificially frozen environment.
The Ice Lodge in Norway is part of the Bjorligard Hotel. [15] It is the largest ice hotel in Norway, and its season is longer than other ice hotels due to its 1,250-meter altitude. [15]
The Kirkenes Snow Hotel is located in Finnmark, Norway, the easternmost and northernmost county in Norway. [16] The hotel is 15 km from the Norwegian-Russian border [16] and first opened in 2006. [17] It had 20 rooms and the largest snow dome in Norway (8 metres high and 12 metres in diameter). All the rooms were individually decorated by ice artists from Finland and Japan. The west Snow Hall was decorated by local sculptor Arild Wara. A night in the snow hotel is combined with a special dinner prepared on an open fire. [16] Visitors can get a sauna before or after staying at the hotel. The hotel has an ice bar, [16] a reindeer park, and a husky farm.
Sorrisniva Igloo Hotel, in the outlying area of Alta, [18] has been rebuilt yearly since 1999. [19] It is Europe’s northernmost ice hotel, as it is in the Finnmark region and is approximately 250 km from North Cape. The 2,000 square meter hotel has 30 rooms, including two suites. It is decorated with ice sculptures and ice furnishings, including lighting systems which enhance the different types of crystalline formations. Besides the bedrooms the hotel contains an ice chapel, ice gallery and ice bar where drinks are served in glasses made of ice. Additional facilities include a sauna and outdoor bathtubs with hot water. [20] The ice sculptures at the hotel change yearly. [19] The Sorrisniva Igloo Hotel in Alta has a changing theme every year. In 2004, it was a Viking theme, in 2005, Norwegian fairytales, and in 2006, the theme was wild animals of the region. To stay warm when sleeping, guests use sleeping bags that sit on top of reindeer hides. [18] [20]
Bâlea Lake Ice Hotel, the first ice hotel in Eastern Europe was built in 2006 in Romania, deep in the Făgăraș Mountains, at an elevation of 2034 meters above sea level. In winter, it is only accessible by cable car, since the national road DN7, the Transfăgărășan, is closed in the winter. [21]
This picturesque setting is next to Bâlea Lake, [22] where each year local craftsmen wait for the lake to freeze, before using the ice to build the small 12-room Ice Hotel and its adjacent Ice Church, Ice Restaurant and Ice Bar. [22] Local artists imitate sculptures by Romanian modernist sculptor, Constantin Brâncuși. Typically the hotel is completed in December and is open until it melts in late March or April. [22]
Bedding, furs, specialist sleeping bags are all provided, with bathroom facilities nearby. There are two chalets within walking distance, which also provide accommodation. Activities such as skiing, sledging or riding a snow bike are on offer. Those who are more organised and adventurous can arrange heliskiing.
The Bâlea Lake Ice Hotel is Romanian owned, but has a relationship with a travel company Untravelled Paths Limited, based in the United Kingdom. [23] [24]
Each year between December and April, the Icehotel in the village of Jukkasjärvi is open. It is about 17 km from Kiruna, Sweden, and it was the world's first ice hotel. 80 rooms and suites are available. [1] In addition to the entrance hall, the hotel has a chapel [1] and an ice bar named Absolut Icebar. [25] In 1989, Japanese ice artists visited the area and created an exhibition of ice art. In spring 1990, French artist Jannot Derid held an exhibition in a cylinder-shaped igloo in the area. One night there were no rooms available in the town, so some of the visitors asked for permission to spend the night in the exhibition hall. They slept in sleeping bags on top of reindeer skin.
The entire hotel is made out of snow and ice blocks taken from the Torne River; [25] even the glasses in the bar are made of ice. Each spring, around March, Icehotel harvests ice from the frozen river and stores it in a nearby production hall with room for over 100,000 tons of ice and 30,000 tons of snow. Some of the blocks of ice weigh two tons, and cranes are used to place them. [25] The ice is used for creating Icebar designs and ice glasses, for ice sculpting classes, events and product launches all over the world while the snow is used for building a strong structure for the building. About 1,000 tons of what is left is used in the construction of the next Icehotel.
Each year, for the past 24 years now, the ice hotel has accepted applications from artists around the world to design the world-famous hotel's art suites. In 2013 there were more than 200 applications submitted from a wide range of artists to design and build an Art Suite. These included artists from a variety of creative backgrounds – including theatre and photography, to interior design and architecture. Around 15 applications are accepted with their designs and head there in November to build the suites. [26]
IGLOOTEL Lapland is located in Piteå, Sweden approx. 100 km south of the Arctic Circle. Every winter IGLOOTEL is being built and designed from scratch in cooperation with engineers and designers. IGLOOTEL consists of different IGLOOs, for example Sleeping-IGLOOs, Event-IGLOOs, an Ice-Bar and an Aurora Spa Area with a wood fired Outdoor Sauna and Hot Tubs. The IGLOOs are connected through hallways, which are also made of snow and ice. IGLOOTEL has an inner surface area of approx. 900 – 1.000 m2. [27]
Engravings in the snow and ice walls, illuminations and other art varies and creates a new, individual theme each year. Design students from an Art Academy develop the theme and create unique art work in each of the IGLOOs. Natural materials, for example local woods and reindeer skins are used to establish a comfortable atmosphere. The temperature inside IGLOOTEL is constantly between 0 °C (32 °F) and -4 °C (25 °F). The beds in IGLOOTEL Lapland are built on wooden platforms with mattresses and reindeer skins. Guests sleep in polar sleeping bags. [27] [28]
The ski resort in the village of Gstaad, Switzerland in the Swiss Alps has an igloo village where guests can rent igloos for overnight lodging. [29] In the igloos, sleeping areas are raised, and are "layered with foam, carpet and sheep skins", atop which sleeping bags are provided. [29] Lighting is provided by candles. [29]
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a refrigerator, and other kitchen facilities, upholstered chairs, a flat-screen television, and en-suite bathrooms. Small, lower-priced hotels may offer only the most basic guest services and facilities. Larger, higher-priced hotels may provide additional guest facilities such as a swimming pool, a business center with computers, printers, and other office equipment, childcare, conference and event facilities, tennis or basketball courts, gymnasium, restaurants, day spa, and social function services. Hotel rooms are usually numbered to allow guests to identify their room. Some boutique, high-end hotels have custom decorated rooms. Some hotels offer meals as part of a room and board arrangement. In Japan, capsule hotels provide a tiny room suitable only for sleeping and shared bathroom facilities.
Kiruna is the northernmost city in Sweden, situated in the province of Lapland. It had 17,002 inhabitants in 2016 and is the seat of Kiruna Municipality in Norrbotten County. The city was originally built in the 1890s to serve the Kiruna Mine.
Finland attracted over 6.8 million foreign tourists in 2018, with 53 percent coming from other European Union states. In 2017, the value added by tourism was about 4.6 billion euros, or 2.6% of the Finnish GDP, providing approximately 140,200 jobs.
An igloo, also known as a snow house or snow hut, is a type of shelter built of suitable snow.
Lapland is the largest and northernmost region of Finland. The 21 municipalities in the region cooperate in a Regional Council. Lapland borders the region of North Ostrobothnia in the south. It also borders the Gulf of Bothnia, Norrbotten County in Sweden, Troms and Finnmark County in Norway, and Murmansk Oblast and the Republic of Karelia in Russia. Topography varies from vast mires and forests of the South to fells in the North. The Arctic Circle crosses Lapland, so polar phenomena such as the midnight sun and polar night can be viewed in Lapland.
Enontekiö is a municipality in the Finnish part of Lapland with approx. 1,800 inhabitants. It is situated in the outermost northwest of the country and occupies a large and very sparsely populated area of about 8,400 square kilometres (3,200 sq mi) between the Swedish and Norwegian border. Finland's highest point, the Halti fell with a height of 1,324 metres (4,344 ft) above the mean sea level, lies in the north of Enontekiö, where the municipality occupies a part of the Scandinavian Mountains. The administrative centre of Enontekiö is the village of Hetta. About one fifth of the community's population are Sami people. Enontekiö's main industries are tourism and reindeer husbandry.
Rondane National Park is the oldest national park in Norway, established on 21 December 1962. The park is located in Innlandet county, in the municipalities of Dovre, Folldal, Sel, Nord-Fron, Sør-Fron, Stor-Elvdal, and Ringebu. The park contains ten peaks above 2,000 metres (6,560 ft), with the highest being Rondeslottet at an altitude of 2,178 m (7,146 ft). The park is an important habitat for herds of wild reindeer.
Sodankylä is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the region of Lapland, and lies at the northern end of Highway 5 (E63) and along Highway 4 (E75). The Kitinen River flows near the center of Sodankylä. Its neighbouring municipalities are Inari, Kemijärvi, Kittilä, Pelkosenniemi, Rovaniemi, and Savukoski. The municipality has two official languages: Finnish and Northern Sami.
Jukkasjärvi is a locality situated in Kiruna Municipality, Norrbotten County, Sweden with 548 inhabitants in 2010. It is situated at 321 meters elevation.
Ice sculpture is a form of sculpture that uses ice as the raw material. Sculptures from ice can be abstract or realistic and can be functional or purely decorative. Ice sculptures are generally associated with special or extravagant events because of their limited lifetime.
A snow fort or snow castle is a usually open-topped temporary structure made of snow walls that is usually used for recreational purposes. Snow forts are generally built by children as a playground game or winter pastime and are used as defensive structures in snowball fights. They are also built and used for make-believe games such as "house", "store", or "community", a game where multiple forts are built in a group. Along with the snowman, it is one of the two structures commonly built by children out of snow.
The SnowCastle of Kemi is the biggest snow fort in the world. It is rebuilt every winter with a different architecture in Kemi, Finland. In 1996 the first snow castle drew 300,000 visitors. For several years the snowcastle was located in the Kemi city harbor. in 2017 the location was moved into a nearby park. Current address is Mansikkanokankatu 15.
Levi is a fell located in Finnish Lapland, and the largest ski resort in Finland. The resort is located in the village of Sirkka, Kittilä municipality and is served by Kittilä Airport and Kolari railway station. At a latitude of 67.8° north, it is located approximately 170 km (110 mi) north of the Arctic Circle.
A quinzhee or quinzee is a Canadian snow shelter made from a large pile of loose snow that is shaped, then hollowed. This is in contrast to an igloo, which is built up from blocks of hard snow, and a snow cave, constructed by digging into the snow. The word is of Athabaskan origin and entered the English language by 1984. A quinzhee can be made for winter camping and survival purposes, or for fun.
The Fairmont Le Château Montebello, formerly and commonly known as the Château Montebello, is a historic hotel and resort complex in Montebello, Quebec, Canada. The resort complex includes a large game reserve and a large wooden structure. The wooden hotel structure was developed by Victor Nymark.
Saariselkä is a fell area in Lapland, northern Finland. It is located in the Inari, Savukoski and Sodankylä municipalities. The highest point is 718 meters (2,356 ft) high Mt Sokusti. The range is mostly two-billion-year-old granulite. The last ice age ended 9500 years ago in Saariselkä.
The Ice Hotel in Saint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier, Quebec, Canada is the first and only true ice hotel in North America.
The Icehotel is a hotel in northern Sweden, about 17 kilometers from Kiruna. It is rebuilt each year with snow and ice in the village of Jukkasjärvi and is the world's first ice hotel.
A snow knife or snow saw is a tool used in the construction of igluit or as a weapon by Inuit of the Arctic. The snow knife was originally made from available materials such as bone or horn but the Inuit adapted to using metal after the arrival of Europeans.
The Montcalm Hotels are a group of luxury hotels in Central London, England.
Located at only 10 minutes from downtown Québec City
open from the first week in January to the last week in March.
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