Icehotel In Sweden: enter a luxury kingdom of ice
Torne – a river 520 km long is the longest of the four Swedish rivers. It is one of the few untouched wild rivers in Europe which provides material for construction of Icehotel every year, this being in the Swedish village of Jukkasjärvi which it runs through. This hotel has been built since 1989 and every summer, the hotel melts and the water returns to its source.
Ice and snow in the hands of artists from all over the world
An “ice harvest” takes place from the Rive Torne at the start of spring. The natural beauty and unique story of each cube of ice provides artists inspiration which they could never get from artificially created ice. Around 40 artists work on construction of the hotel every year. They are not required to know how to work with ice, but are chosen on the basis of their original thoughts and ideas. They must above all perceive a great challenge in those several weeks of hard and creative work and the several months of planning and preparations.
Icehotel thus becomes a luxury work of art in their hands, a work in which the beauty of snow, ice and light is reflected.
Icehotel 365 opened for the first time this year, offering the possibility of staying in a luxury kingdom of ice all year round. Suites are equipped with a sauna and bathroom and you can admire original works of art created from ice in the so-called Art Suite. The hotel includes a luxury ice bar which serves champagne and an ice gallery is also open constantly, all of the hotel’s facilities being open all year round. Winter is maintained in Icehotel during the summer months with the aid of solar panels and grass grows on its roof.
A night on ice: Art Suite and Deluxe Suite 365
Spending the night in Icehotel is a surreal experience and a memory to treasure for the rest of your life. You will be woken in the morning with a cup of hot cranberry juice next to your bed and a sauna and hot tub await you before breakfast. Art Suites are available here all year round and artists participate in their creation just like the winter suites.
The temperature inside the rooms is -5 to -8 °C and the outside temperature usually ranges from 20 °C in July to 40 °C in January. New this year is the luxury Carpe Diem bed which guarantees a high level of comfort. The bed is covered in reindeer skins which you sleep on in a thermal sleeping bag.
It is recommended that you combine a cold night with at least one warm night, an option which is of course available in the luxury mountain chalets on site. The toilets, showers and a left luggage facility are located in the warm part of the hotel. You will also find two luxury heated restaurants there.
Daily guided tours
If you don’t feel like spending the night on ice, you can take an interesting guided tour of the hotel during the day which will divulge to you all the secrets relating to construction of the hotel. Between the hours of 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. you can have a look at all of the rooms except the luxury ones. Guests who stay the night can move into their unique ice suite after 6:00 p.m. and are usually woken around 7:30 a.m.
A few facts about Icehotel
Since the beginning, 546 artists have collaborated with the Icehotel project.
1,000 ice crystals broken off by hand were needed for the chandelier which decorates the main hall.
The hotel was built using 35,000 cubic metres of ice mix, this being equal to 700 million snowballs.
Icehotel is the most unique and probably the largest private art hall in Sweden.
