Trip Recap: A Night at the IceHotel (w/PIP)

[GilliC]

Last weekend I surprised my boyfriend with a trip to northern Sweden to spend a night at the original ICEHOTEL near Kiruna.

For fun, we took the overnight train up from Stockholm, but due to delays and non-functioning plumbing in our compartment, this didn't turn out to be as pleasant as we'd hoped. Though it was still nice to wake up and watch the snowy landscape passing by out the window. We arrived in Kiruna around 11 am and had booked a transfer to the IceHotel 20km away. The airport is much closer and more popular, so they offer a bus transfer to/from the airport for half the price. We ended up in a shared taxi with another couple and paid roughly the same as a taxi fare would have been. The transfer was still a good idea, since there were no other taxis at the small train station.

We were booked into an Ice Room, so upon arriving at the IceHotel complex, we were directed to "Cold Reception" near the main entrance to the Ice Hotel. The hotel offers both "Warm Rooms" (in cabins, etc) and "Cold Rooms" consisting of Snow Rooms, Ice Rooms, and various kinds of Ice Suites. Cold Reception also includes the "Dressing Room" where overnight guests (in both types of rooms) can borrow cold weather clothing (warm coveralls, mittens, boots, balaclavas) to wear during their stay, especially for outdoor activities.
 

Upon check-in, Cold Room guests are given a key to a locker to store their luggage (suite guests get a private cubicle).
 
The reception building houses the luggage storage (since the hotel is -5°C inside, and some things would freeze), spa-style restrooms (with sauna, showers, towels, hair dryers), a seating area with coffee and fresh water, and a private entrance to the IceHotel itself. During the day, the hotel is a museum and all rooms (other than the private Luxury Suites) are open to the public. After 6pm, the main entrance is locked, and the hotel can be accessed via the Night Entrance, which consists of an open-air corridor connecting the Cold Reception building to the hotel. There are additional restrooms right inside the reception building to make them as convenient as possible.
  

The Luxury Suites (this is the first year they've offered two) at the far right are the only rooms with private facilities. They each have an ensuite bathroom with a shower and sauna. These are contained in a standalone (heated, non-ice) module that's positioned next to the suite with access via a private door.

After storing our luggage (and showering, since our shower didn't work on the train), we spent some time in the afternoon exploring the hotel along with the day visitors.

Before wandering around on our own, we began with the guided English tour, which started with the Ice Church. The non-religious chapel is used for over 70 weddings each year. Ceremonies are extremely short, so that the photos and everything can all be done in about 20 minutes. Apparently most brides still choose to wear traditional dresses (often strapless) in spite of the sub-freezing environment.
 

The tour continued into the hotel's main central hall. This year's theme was "Secret Garden" and featured a sculpted unicorn, wishing well, and flower motifs on the walls. The unicorn was difficult to photograph during the day, since the ice wall behind it caused it to be backlit. It was nice to have evening access after the crowds had gone to take additional photos.
  

The two basic Cold Rooms are Ice Rooms and Snow Rooms. Ice Rooms contain a bed along with a small table and chairs made of ice. The Snow Rooms are not well illustrated on the website, and the only major difference is that they do not have the seating area. Since most people don't spend much time in the room anyway, the Snow Room is probably just as good an option at a slightly lower price. Most of the light in the room comes from the lighting in the table setup, so the Snow Rooms are also a bit darker.
  

In this year's hotel, they also introduced Northern Lights Suites, which have a color-changing lighting effect inspired by the aurora instead of the usual table and chairs.


The most popular rooms for visitors are of course the Art Suites, individually designed by artists from around the world. These are a few of my favorites:

"Solid Flow"	"It's Alive" (Frankenstein's lab)	"Frozty Flowers"

"Before the Big Bang"	"Up There"

"Mind the Gap"

Last of course, is the famous IceBar, which has been the basis for ICEBAR by ICEHOTEL locations around the world. The IceHotel makes over one million ice glasses each year, and since they cannot be cleaned, you're welcome to keep it until it melts.
  

Typical temperatures at this time of year are around -10° to -30°C (14° to -22°F), so the -5°C (23°F) indoor temperature seems warm by comparison. However, this year has been unseasonably warm in Northern Europe (North America is getting all of the cold weather). In the past few weeks, the temperatures have even been above freezing during the day, so we were were concerned about whether it would affect the hotel significantly.

The snow-ice ("snice") combination that they use to construct most of the hotel's structure is a very good insulator (much better than pure ice, which will react more to the outside temperature). This typically helps keep the interior warm, but this year it works to keep the interior cold and pristine. When we were there it was -1°C most of the time, so it was actually colder inside than it was outside! Nonetheless, the IceBar with its large ice walls and steady flow of visitors was showing a few marks. Notably, the hanging ice lampshades over the tables would drip once in a while. The hotel had planned to stay open until April 22 this year, but some staff expect they may have to close early given the weather.

To occupy our evening, we booked a snowmobile Northern Lights tour. We expected cloudy weather, so our focus was on the snowmobiling, and it just happened that the evening tour fit better into our schedule. It turned out that we had surprisingly clear skies, but due to extremely low aurora activity, we still didn't get to see the lights. Snowmobiling was still fun, and the fireside dinner at the wilderness camp was cozy.

After snowmobiling, we headed to the IceBar for a nightcap. The vibe was much different than it had been during the day. Most of the day visitors were just popping in to take photos, but in the evening the atmosphere was much more social. A few people briefly considered the dance floor, but not with much dedication, and nearly everyone splurged to buy at least one drink. At 110 SEK each, they certainly weren't cheap, but they weren't as outrageous as they might have been. I did notice one small group that had taken their ice glasses outside to a table where they were reusing them to enjoy their own bottle of spirits (clever).
 

Finally it was time to turn in. This means changing into a simple base layer (light fleece or wool thermals) and picking up a sleeping bag from the Cold Reception desk. We opted for a double sleeping bag, so that my high-temperature boyfriend could keep me warm (he slept in a t-shirt and was still too warm because of his thermal bottoms). Since there are no outlets in the rooms, the reception area has small lockers with outlets inside for charging phones, cameras, etc.
 
I brought along a fleece jacket and pants in case I got cold in the night and kept them in the bottom of the sleeping bag. I was warm enough in the sleeping bag that I didn't need them, but I was very happy to have them when I had to climb out into the cold the next morning! Some people also choose to sleep with a winter hat on, but I felt okay without one. I ended up sleeping very well, aside from being woken up when the other changed positions. We probably would have slept better in our own sleeping bags, but I get cold very easily, so I probably would have needed at least one of my other layers. Honestly, the thing that bothered me more than the cold was the very subtle "wet dog" smell from the reindeer skins that are used to insulate the bed!

We had one hiccup once we'd both taken off our boots and climbed into bed. We couldn't figure out how to turn the lights off! I had to go back to reception and ask, where I was told that the switch was "On the long side of the bed frame, closest to the door." It turns out the switch was in a small hole in the frame that was covered up by part of one of the reindeer skins! We never would have found it on our own!

In the morning, they send hotel staff around between 7:30 and 8:00 to wake all of the guests individually (with an offer of hot lingonberry juice). Then it's pretty much time to shower, have breakfast, and check out. We headed off to the airport to fly home, but many people opt to spend more than one night and move to a Warm Room (which means emptying the locker and storing your luggage at reception until it's time to check in to the new room).

Overall, it was a lot of fun! Sleeping in the cold really wasn't a big problem, and it was similar to cold-weather camping. The logistics and the limited number of people really helped turn the whole night into a little adventure, and I'm glad we opted for the overnight stay. I think I would have been just as happy in a Snow Room, but it was destined to be an expensive night no matter what. I'm kind of glad we had to pay for everything in advance, because it gave me two months for the sticker shock to wear off. By the time the trip rolled around, I could just focus on enjoying it!

[Deleted]

Sounds like an awesome trip (besides the train)

[neonpink]

That sounds like such a cool experience. I'm glad you shared. I've always wondered what it was like to stay there.

[mdgirl]

What neeps said, but it sounds like you had a blast!

[stever]

That I awesome! All of it!

[aurora]

That sounds really cool! I would have picked the aurora room.

[agnes]

This is soooo awesome!

[Deleted]

How fun! I'll have to tell DH about this and hopefully we can add it to our long list of places to visit because it sounds really neat.

[CakeLover]

I despise the cold but oddly want to do this one day. Thanks for the review!

[scout8]

This was so interesting. Thanks for posting. I enjoyed all the details too as it was very interesting to see how it all works.

[dana2006]

This is really cool!

I'm curious, though. Are there bathrooms in the hotel rooms? What are they like?

[msgeeksout]

This is amazing! Thanks for sharing!

[GilliC]

Mar 12, 2014 9:39:37 GMT -5 dana2006 said:

This is really cool!

I'm curious, though. Are there bathrooms in the hotel rooms? What are they like?

The restrooms are in the reception building and are similar to what you find in most spas. There is a sauna, showers, towels, hair dryers, etc. There are also additional restrooms with sinks and toilets right inside the reception building from the Night Entrance.

The two Luxury Suites are the only rooms that have private facilities. They each have a heated, non-ice bathroom with a toilet, sink, shower, and sauna. I have no idea what they're like, because the Luxury Suites remain completely private all day. They have lockable glass doors and are not open to visitors. However, I asked a staff member about how the bathrooms for these rooms are set up, and he explained that the facilities for each suite are in a self-contained module that's positioned just outside that section of the hotel. Each of the Luxury Suites has a second door that leads directly out to its private bathroom module.

[definitelyO]

that is so amazing! thank you so much for all the pictures and the great descriptions of your time. love it!

[whitepicketfence]

What a fun trip! I would love to do this someday.

Thanks for sharing the amazing pictures!

[dublin]

So interesting, thank you for posting. I guess when I think of the Ice Hotel I only think of the Main Central Hall that you showed and the Ice Room that you showed. When I saw the photo of the 'Cold Room Reception' it looked a bit like a cheap hotel reception so I was a little disappointed; but the way you described the experience makes sense (as you say your stuff would freeze if left in an Ice Room overnight). Your photos of the ice sculptures were very impressive, they must have been even 'cooler' (sorry for the pun) in person.

[mellymel]

So cool! Thanks for sharing all the pics, too!

[Deleted]

Very interesting (although I'm with neeps.). Thanks for sharing!