Ice Hotels

Jukkasjärvi, Sweden

Icehotel stands at Jukkasjärvi in northern Sweden, on the bank of the Torne, north of the Arctic Circle. Blocks are cut from the river in spring, stored through the summer and used to build the winter structure, which is raised again each year to a new design. The winter building stands for one season only and then returns to the river.

The seasonal building is made of blocks and of a mixture of snow and water, with halls, a corridor of rooms and a hall used for ceremonies. The operator also keeps a year-round building on the same site, cooled by solar power in summer, together with heated accommodation and a service house with washrooms, saunas and a restaurant.

Ask the operator directly which parts of the site are open on your dates, since the winter structure runs to the season and not to fixed dates. Sleeping arrangements, bag types and what is provided in the cold rooms are all worth confirming before you travel.

• Category Ice Hotels
• Location Jukkasjärvi, Sweden
• Checked July 2031

Québec, Canada

Hôtel de Glace is built at Valcartier, north-west of Québec City, on the site of the operator's larger resort. The structure is designed anew and built again every winter, so the plan, the vaults and the carved work change from one season to the next. It stands for a single winter and is taken down when the season ends.

Vaults of packed snow carry the corridors, and blocks are used for carved walls, seats and fittings. The building holds sleeping rooms, a chapel and a hall, and warmed service buildings stand alongside it for washrooms and changing. The operator's year-round hotel and its other accommodation are on the same site, a short walk from the seasonal structure.

Confirm the season directly with the operator, since opening depends on the winter and dates are not fixed in advance. Ask as well how the day visit and the overnight stay differ, and what is provided for sleeping in the cold rooms.

• Category Ice Hotels
• Location Québec, Canada
• Checked July 2031

Kirkenes, Norway

Snowhotel Kirkenes stands outside Kirkenes in the far north-east of Norway, close to the Russian border and a short drive from the airport. The snow building is put up for the winter season and built again the following year. On the same ground the operator keeps timber cabins that are open through the year, so the site works in summer as well.

The seasonal building holds sleeping chambers with walls of packed snow, carved work in the corridors and a hall used for meals and gatherings. A heated service building beside it holds washrooms, changing rooms and a restaurant. The operator also keeps reindeer and a kennel on the site, and both are part of the daytime programme.

Ask the operator which dates the snow building is open in the current season, since that depends on the winter rather than on a calendar. It is also worth confirming what sleeping equipment is provided and which parts of the site stay open outside the season.

• Category Ice Hotels
• Location Kirkenes, Norway
• Checked July 2031

Făgăraș Mountains, Romania

Hotel of Ice at Bâlea Lac stands beside a mountain lake in the Făgăraș range in central Romania, above the tree line. Blocks are cut from the frozen lake and the building is raised again each winter beside the chalet that operates there through the year. The structure lasts one season and is not kept from one winter to the next.

The plan is a single hall with sleeping rooms opening from it, and a separate room built in the same way is used for meals and for events. Furniture, walls and fittings are carved on site from the blocks. The neighbouring chalet holds heated rooms, washrooms and a restaurant, and it serves the seasonal building as its service house.

Access in winter depends on the weather and on the state of the mountain road and the cable car, so ask the operator how to reach the lake on your dates. Season, sleeping arrangements and what is provided in the cold rooms should be confirmed in the same message.

• Category Ice Hotels
• Location Făgăraș Mountains, Romania
• Checked July 2031