That ice hotel really exists
By: Drivers.com staff
Date: 2015-06-17
Yes, that fairytale ice hotel with its glittering chandelier and translucent walls featured in the Volvo TV commercial really does exist--built every winter just as Volvo says. In essence a giant igloo, it's situated in the Swedish village of Jukkasjarvi, near Kiruna, 100 miles north of the Arctic Circle.
Known as the Ishotellet, the hotel has become a major tourist attraction drawing several thousand visitors each season to spend a night in its frigid rooms. Sleeping bags and warm clothing are included in the $75 room charge. The one-storey hotel is built before Christmas each year by blowing snow over a metal frame. The frame is then removed on completion of the building.
According to web-site information, "the moment the thermometer hits three degrees below freezing (the temperature required by the snow cannons), the building of the Ice Hotel commences. A staggering 30,000 tonnes of snow is sprayed on to specially made metal moulds. Once the snow is sufficiently hard, the moulds are removed and used again to make further snow sections. Every year our building techniques improve and our snow-how increases."
The structure, which covers more than 20,000 square feet, lasts until April or May when it starts to melt in rising temperatures. It includes about 30 bedrooms, a chapel, and a gallery of ice sculptures. The chapel, which like the rest of the building disappears each spring, is available for Christmas services, christenings, and weddings.
The windows, which have a distinct bluish tinge like that of a glacier, are made from blocks of ice hacked out of the nearby Tome River. The only heating comes from candles and the body warmth of the guests. Low-temperature optical fibers are used to supply light to the chandelier.
All the rooms have tables, armchairs, and wardrobes made out of ice. Even the beds at the Ishotellet are formed from ice blocks overlaid with foam rubber and reindeer furs. These, combined with the sleeping bags, result in a comfortable night's sleep. Warm fruit is brought to the rooms each morning. Because there is no running water, bathroom facilities are located in a separate building.
Activities at the ice hotel include cross-country skiing and a dogsled tour in the Lapland wilderness. Warm polar clothes, including overalls, boots, caps, socks, and mittens are available at the main reception.
To quote again from the web: "At the Ice Hotel you meet up with the team leader and his Alaskan Huskies. The dogs are howling and eager to get you on the ride into the Lapland wilderness. You place yourself comfortable in the dogsled and with a quick snatch--off you go. The tour goes through a beautiful winter landscape, passing over the big frozen Torne River and into the deep forests of Puimonenvaara. You take a break at one of the wilderness base camps to drink a cup of coffee and eat some home baked bread. After the break you head for home to Jukkasjarvi and the Ice Hotel again."
Sad to say, the available literature does not indicate whether it's possible to arrive by Volvo, although one would probably have to negotiate the frozen river to do so. Instead, it's recommended that tourists take the easy route--by air.
----There's also an ice hotel in Canada.
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