Winter is when most of us to curl up indoors next to a toasty fire with a good book. However, others think it’s always nice on the ice. Here are some (literally!) super cool hotels
Icehotel (Jukkasjärvi, Sweden)
If you’re not familiar with them, ice hotels are, well, exactly that. They’re temporary hotels constructed out of ice and snow. Needless to say, you can find them in several of the world’s cooler regions. This one is among the longest-running on the planet. Every year, a crew constructs Icehotel on the outskirts of Jukkasjärvi, a small town in northern Sweden. Now in its 25th season, the current incarnation of the hotel was built out of 1,000 tons of ice and 30,000 tons of snow. It also includes 61 rooms designed by local artists, a bar, a chapel, and a movie theater. Suite 315, nicknamed “Polar Night,” contains an ice statue of a cougar and a glowing bed made out of ice.
The Hotel de Glace (Charlesbourg Borough, Quebec)
This ice hotel is the only one currently in North America and it’s been around for 15 winters now. Its owners are planning to keep it open until March 15th…provided that spring doesn’t come early. Recent editions of the Hotel de Glace have featured a theme and the 2015 one is “Space Time.” The surreal decor includes “time bubbles” that serve as tributes to things like the Big Bang and space travel. Guests will also find 44 themed rooms, a huge ice chandelier, and the Grand Slide, a large outdoor feature. In addition to hosting around 49,000 overnight lodgers over the years, the hotel is one of Quebec’s biggest tourist attractions, drawing a million visitors since 2001, and serving host to 275 weddings.
The SnowCastle (Kemi, Finland)
The SnowCastle is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. The 21-room hotel is shaped like a castle and its facilities include a chapel and a restaurant with tables made out of ice. What’s on the menu? Reindeer soup, of course. Why that might sound “icky,” guests rarely turn down a toasty bowl of the stuff. Why? Because the temperature inside typically hovers around 23 degrees Fahrenheit. (It is an ice hotel, after all.)