Unusual accommodation: The Swedish ice hotel

Who’s up for a once in a lifetime experience? I’m not talking diving with sharks or watching the sunrise over the Egyptian Pyramids... although that would be pretty awesome. When it comes to fabulous bucket list items, one thing that should definitely be on your list is to spend a night at the Swedish Ice Hotel.

The Swedish Ice hotel is located in Jukkakarvi, Sweden. With over 80 rooms, this hotel is built annually by using the ice from the nearby river, Thorne. Every year, construction begins in October and the entire process uses about 10,000 tons of ice and 30,000 tons of snow. The entire hotel spans over 30,000 square feet, 200 kms north of the Arctic Circle. If you think that’s impressive, the hotel has an ice cinema, an ice family room, an ice chapel and an Absolut Vodka ice bar, where you are electric red and blue drinks in ice glasses!!

This strange concept took shape in 1990, when a French artist Jannot Derid had an exhibition in an igloo in the area. There were no rooms for the visitors to sleep, and hence some of them slept in sleeping bags on top of reindeer skin. This incident marked the start of the first ice hotel!

Living here is a great way to holiday, wouldn’t you agree? The hotel is open from December to April and a room costs around USD 300 a night. Temperatures vary from -8 to -5 degrees Celsius, and guests sleep in comfy sleeping bags on reindeer skin, most of them completely oblivious to the cold.

What makes it special is that since the ice melts and has to be rebuilt every year, no two years have the same hotel design and returning visitors have a new place to come to. The hotel theme varies from the ‘Milky Way’ to ‘Beam me up, Scotty,’ which gives you the sensation of lying in bed in a forest with space ships circling in and above your room.

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Jade D’Sa

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So how exactly does living in an ice hotel work? You’re not supposed to take your luggage to the room as it will freeze, so guests are given luggage lockers and can get dressed in a public dressing room. One can choose to pay around USD 20 and get a private dressing room. These dressing rooms have showers and a dry sauna. A great tip is not to drink too much before bed, as getting out of the sleeping bag and to the toilets outside isn’t fun at all.

While you’re spending a night or two at the hotel, remember to get a taste of the local experiences as well. An overnight dogsled expedition, a reindeer sled expedition and a trip to see the Northern lights are definite must-dos.

You will shiver and tremble as you look around this magnificent man made structure, and laugh at the experience of sleeping in a -5 degree environment. But looking at the soaring blue expertly carved ice and knowing that it will be gone in a few weeks is what will make it a truly unbelievable experience.