ICEHOTEL (Sweden) Becomes 365!

Date: January 2018

Location: Jukkasjarvi, Sweden, 200 km north of the Arctic Circle

There are several independent Ice Hotels in northern countries such as Canada, France, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Romania, Switzerland which normally melt in the summer months (April – September) and get rebuilt each year

Name: ICEHOTEL 365

Owner: Yngve Bergqvist & Arne Bergh, partner and sculptor who’s been part of Icehotel since the start (1991).

ICEHOTEL, this one: Founded in 1989, it is reborn in a new guise every winter, in the Swedish village of Jukkasjärvi by the Torne River, which is where the building materials come from!, with its impressive length of 520 kilometers, it runs from the ancient mountains in the west down to the coast in the east, where it flows out into the Bay of Bothnia. The largest of Sweden’s four national rivers.

In 2016 they launched a whole new ice experience to be enjoyed alongside their classic ICEHOTEL experience – ICEHOTEL 365 is a permanent structure that will include luxury suites, each with private bathroom, and art suites, all sculptured by selected artists.

As well as a large ice bar that serves champagne, and an ice gallery. This ice experience can now be visited year-round and is cooled by solar panels during the summer months.

Icehotel is all about ice and creativity – with art as the result. That’s why the artists invited to take part are not required to have worked with ice before – they’re selected from among those who send in their ideas based on originality and creating it in real natural ice would pose a new challenge. Each year some 40 artists take part in Icehotel.

So now they have “cold” and “warm” rooms and they even tell you how to dress to stay in a cold room

As of 2017, Icehotel will offer cold sleeping 365 days of the year. Visiting during December through February is an Arctic winter adventure at its most intense, with extreme temperatures and short daylight hours.

March, April and early May is Arctic spring with long and often sunny days, and mild temperatures ranging between -10 C (14 F) and 10 C (50 F).

Summer is short and mild, but with near constant daylight hours thanks to the midnight sun. The northern lights season and golden autumn starts in September, as days begin to get shorter.

A good tip is to go in January, March, or April, when the hotel tends to be less busy.

The temperature inside the hotel hovers at a constant of -5 to -7 C. One is provided with expedition-style sleeping bags which are tested for extreme temperatures, so you’ll be fine with just thermals, hat, warm socks and a mid-layer jumper.

You are given access to your room at 6 pm, but the heated service building, the Riverside Lobby, is staffed and open 24 hours, this is where you store your belongings, collect your sleeping bag and use the bathroom, shower and sauna. There is a tutorial for guests sleeping cold every day.

THPT Comment: We (Dev) has stayed in one Icehotel (Norway) – quite an experience, but don’t drink too many beers before you go to bed!

First Seen: Icehotel website

The Whole Story: see here