Located in the village of Jukkasjärvi with distance more than 200 km from the Arctic Circle, IceHotel is the first hotel in northern Sweden is made of snow and ice. IceHotel attracts thousands of visitors every year to come and enjoy peaceful and cool sleep at -5 degrees Celsius.
Originally launched in 1989 and now, after 27 years of construction and reconstruction in every winter, IceHotel has officially operated smoothly throughout the year thanks to using solar-powered cooling technology, so It also known as IceHotel 365. According to The Sun, every year there are about 50,000 visitors from around the world visit this hotel. With the hotel put into operation all year-round, the number of visitors is expected to be much higher.
Using the source of ice from the Torne River, the constructions of 2,100-square-meter are made of two layers of walls: the ice wall of the inside and the concrete wall of the outside which covered by snow and ice. To keep the temperature at -5 degrees Celsius, IceHotel uses a natural cooling system with steel pipes drilled straight down to the freezing layer 5 meters from the ground. With this technique, the constructions will be completely separated from the surroundings, so the cool air can not escape to the outside and the hot air can not penetrate into the inside.
To keep rooms cool enough during the spring and summer, the hotel uses solar energy from April to August. Electricity will help the “cold pipes” inside the ceiling keep the temperature of hotel always at -5° C. The hotel has 20 suites, an ice bar and a gallery of ice sculptures.
Before, this hotel was opened in 1989 under the name IceHotel 365. However, the hotel is only operated and maintained in the winter, when the sun warms up the ice will melt away, so the hotel is only erected once a year in November, December until April next year.
The hotel has 9 deluxe suites with private bathrooms and saunas, 11 art suites, an ice bar and an ice sculptures gallery. All of things are carefully sculpted by the famous artisans from all over the world. All the items in the hotel are made of ice, from rooms, beds, chairs, chandeliers, fireplaces, decorative patterns, drinking glasses …
The IceHotel also has a Homestead restaurant with chef Alexander Meier serving traditional cuisine. The rustic Homestead restaurant with famous Swedish delicacies like reindeer meat served with chocolate sauce.
The room rates are quite expensive, ranging from 220-1,000 Euro, but worthy of the experience.
The 3 nights package at IceHotel 365 costs 1150.86 Euro. The price includes 2 nights in the Ice Room and 1 night in the Kaamos Room. You can also booking directly through the hotel website at: www.icehotel.com