Our four-day, three-night aurora-chasing trip in Abisko flew by in the blink of an eye. The breathtaking scenery made my heart race every day—and somehow made time race too. I really didn’t want to leave Abisko.
We had to reach Kiruna by noon that day to catch our flight out of the Arctic Circle and return to Stockholm, but on our final morning withLapland Trip Arctic Adventurewe still had one more activitythat I had been eagerly anticipating: “Visiting ICE HOTEL,” a hotel built from ice, where every room is a stunning ice-sculpture exhibition. Professional artists redesign it every year—and you can actually stay there!
I had long ago added ICE HOTEL, a regular feature on lists of the “world’s most amazing hotels,” to my bucket list. I never expected that this aurora trip would give me the chance to step inside it myself and see just how astonishing this ice hotel really was. It doesn’t justhave rooms made of ice and a bar made of ice—apparently, there’s even a church made of icewhere couples can get married (we didn’t get to see it this time). Step into the world of ICE HOTEL, and everything is ice!
Sweden isn’t the only country in the world with an ice hotel. You can also find them in Canada, Norway, Finland, Romania, and even Hokkaido, Japan. ButICE HOTEL, located in the village of Jukkasjärvi within the Swedish Arctic Circle, was the world’s first ICE HOTEL and remains the largest. Established in 1989, it has around 65 rooms each year—a considerable number. The hotel takes roughly a thousand tons of ice to build, and every room has a different design theme.
This seasonal winter hotel is only open for overnight stays and visits from December through March. After a long process of storing, shaping, constructing, and designing the ice, one newly designed room opens each week from mid-December onward. The full collection of rooms for that year isn’t complete until mid-January. When spring arrives in March and the weather gradually warms, the hotel closes and the ice is allowed to melt back into nature, ready for an entirely new design the following year. So even if youvisit every year, you’ll always see a one-of-a-kind ice hotel。
I was ridiculously excited when the ice hotel finally appeared before my eyes. From the outside, it looked like a giant igloo. Having once spent a night in a snow igloo myself, it felt especially familiar (Flashback: The Night I Slept in a -5°C Freezer). The interior, however, was nothing like an ordinary igloo, and every room came with an impressive pedigree. (Of course, one glance at the size of this place told me I wouldn’t have to crawl through the entrance this time… oh yeah!)
[ Immerse yourself in the ice in 360 degrees—you can drag the photo around ]
We pushed open the thick reindeer-hide-covered doors and found walls built from clear blue, translucent blocks of ice. All the ice used by ICE HOTEL comes from the nearby Torne River. Also located within the Arctic Circle, the Torne River is one of Europe’s cleanest water sources, untouched by industrial pollution. The water is so clean you can drink straight from the riverbank, which is why the resulting ice is exceptionally clear and pristine. Every now and then, you can even spot leaves or broken twigs frozen inside—completely natural.
[ Doors covered in reindeer hide—an Arctic exclusive ]
[ Patterns carved into the icy walls create the look of an archway… After all that rambling, I really just wanted a photo of this stylish Swedish-brand man ]
[ Crystal-clear, pale-blue ice blocks—even standing behind an extremely thick block, you can still make out the faint outline of our bodies ]
[ Every decoration in the lobby is made from ice ]
[ You can see bits of river debris trapped in the ice, accidentally turning them into museum specimens ]
Staying here for a night certainly isn’t cheap. The rooms are divided by design and level of luxury into Deluxe Suite, Art Suite, Northern Light Suite, and Ice Room. The most expensive Deluxe Suite is beautifully designed, but a room for two costs 8,000 kronor per night (about NT$32,000). The cheapest Ice Room costs 4,000 kronor per night for two (about NT$16,000), but it has almost no design at all—just an ice bed in an otherwise empty room. It makes you wonder why anyone would pay that much to sleep on an undecorated block of ice… (Does someone who slept in a hole dug into a pile of snow really have the right to say that?!)
Fortunately,ICE HOTEL offers admission tickets for visitors. During the day, most of ICE HOTEL’s rooms are open to visitors, while guests only begin checking in after 6 p.m. We joinedAbisko Guesthouse’s ICE HOTEL Trip to tour the rooms. We spent two hours taking photos and fooling around, treating every designer room like an ice-sculpture exhibition. The level of detail was astonishing, and it was absolutely worth seeing.
[ After entering, you receive an ICE HOTEL admission sticker ]
As soon as we passed through the front lobby, the dreamlike corridor ahead caught our eye. It looked exactly like a movie set—how could this possibly be real? The crystal-clear ice appeared even more striking under the lights: aloof yet captivating, the very definition of an ice queen.
[ Somehow we suddenly looked all classy and elegant (where, exactly?) ]
Every year, ICE HOTEL invites artists from around the world to create its designs, including master ice sculptors from Japan and China, so hints of Eastern aesthetics occasionally appear in some of the rooms.
The story of ICE HOTEL began in 1989, when a group of Japanese ice sculptors came to Jukkasjärvi to hold an ice-sculpture exhibition, attracting widespread attention. The following spring, French artist Jannot Derid built an igloo-shaped exhibition hall here. One night, several visitors who couldn’t find accommodation in town asked if they could sleep inside the exhibition igloo. Wrapped in sleeping bags and lying on reindeer hides, they spent the night in the snow structure—and the idea for an ice hotel was born.
[ Inside ICE HOTEL, you can’t help striking every kind of ridiculously posed POSE! ]
[ The intricately carved Peacock Room—this is where you’d sleep at night (360-degree panorama; drag left or right) ]
[ Every room displays its theme and the designer’s name. This Peacock Room even has a feather as its symbol ]
[ It feels as though you’re living inside a diamond ]
[ Even the chairs in the rooms are made from snow and ice ]
[ The lighting in each room changes to match its theme. The red glow feels especially psychedelic—am I about to unleash my powers? ]
[ More like I’m about to lose my mind. Got a problem with that? ]
At the igloo camp, I met a British couple who had just stayed at ICE HOTEL. They said their experience was almost identical to my night in the snow igloo:the room remains at a constant temperature of around -5°C, and the bed is made from a huge block of ice, topped with a thick layer of reindeer hide. Sleeping bags are provided, while all luggage is kept in a storage room. There are also warm communal areas where guests can spend their time, returning to the freezer only when it’s time for bed… Oh, sorry—their room.Sleeping in a sleeping bag is actually very warm. The chilly misery only hits if you need to use the bathroom in the middle of the night or when you wake up in the morning.
[ You really do sleep on a block of ice—no joke ]
[ There’s a thick mattress, reindeer hide, and a sleeping bag when it’s time for bed. It’s warm, really! ]
If the “cold palace” were this beautiful, I think all the imperial consorts of ancient times would have fought to be banished there. (Hey!)
[ The Flying Buttress room feels like stepping into the home of Aladdin’s lamp ]
[ Cairn Forest room ]
[ This room is literally called “Elephant in The Room”—very impressive ]
[ This was another of my favorite rooms: Counting Sheep. If you can’t sleep in an ice hotel, count sheep! ]
[ A 360-degree panorama of the Counting Sheep room—move the view around freely ]
[ Momo’s room is filled with human heads. So cool ]
[ But imagining a crowd of heads watching you sleep at night is pretty intense. They’re basically an ice terracotta army ]
After touring some of ICE HOTEL’s rooms, we headed over toICE BAR for a drink featuring Sweden’s famous Absolut Vodka. Unfortunately, for some reason there was no bartender on duty that day. The interior was still beautiful, though, and my travel companions and I had a wonderful time fooling around. Luckily, we had already visited the city-center ICE BAR run by the same company while in Stockholm and experienced the atmosphere there, so we had no regrets.
[ The bar’s soaring, ultra-oval igloo structure ]
[ The bar has gone full Let It Go ]
[ All we could do was pretend to drink from empty ice glasses. The glasses are made from ice too, and apparently you can take one home as a souvenir after finishing your drink! (How exactly?)） ]
This Arctic aurora adventure was such a smooth and enjoyable journey thanks to a group of easygoing, entertaining travel companions, as well as the care provided byLapland Trip Arctic AdventureandAbisko Guesthouse. It also left us with many precious memories that belong only to us.
[ The squad of seven women & Frank, Taiwan’s representative stationed in Abisko ] (Photo taken and provided by CC)
You really have to admire the Swedes for making clever use of local resources and creating so many distinctive local attractions. ICE HOTEL’s room rates may not suit everyone’s budget, but visiting to see the spectacular ice-sculpture designs and experience the unusual atmosphere of an ice hotel is definitely worthwhile!
>> ICE HOTEL day-trip informationPlease seethe Icehotel trip page on the LaplandTrip official website. ICE HOTEL is near Kiruna Airport, making it easy to visit on the way to an airport pickup or drop-off.
We came to visit Ice Hotel, a hotel made entirely from blocks of ice. That’s right—the beds, tables, and chairs are all made of ice. In other words, you’re sleeping in a freezer. Like the snow igloo where I stayed, the indoor temperature remains at -5°C. It’s also run by the same company behind the ICE BAR I previously visited in Stockholm! Every year, the hotel goes through the process of melting and being rebuilt, so…
Posted by Creya! Yes You Can—Travel Through Life on Saturday, January 9, 2016
✈ Travel date: 2016/1/8
| Follow My European Adventures | Chasing the Northern Lights in Sweden series: (Travel period: 2015/12/30–2016/1/10)
● An Aurora Came Flying Out of Nowhere! Welcoming 2016 in Spectacular Style in Sweden’s Arctic Circle
● Grab Your Bags and Go: Leaving in Ten Days to Chase the Northern Lights in Sweden’s Arctic Circle! Planning It Yourself Isn’t Just a Dream
● Turns Out Being an Inuit Isn’t Easy Either: Spending a Night in an Igloo
● My Snowy History of Entering Sweden’s Subzero World—A Polar Survival Guide: Notes on My Snow Gear and Equipment
● No Matter How Cold It Gets, You Have to See Three Nights of Aurora Spectacles in Abisko, Sweden’s Arctic Circle
● Infiltrating Stockholm’s Viking Restaurant, AIFUR RESTAURANT & BAR, to Become a Pirate for One Night
● Oops—I Accidentally Went from Sweden to Norway: Finding a Fjord Straight Out of a Geography Textbook in the Town of Narvik
● So Beautiful You’ll Fight to Enter the Ice Palace: Lying Inside Sweden’s Arctic ICE HOTEL, Built Entirely from Ice
● Stockholm’s ICEBAR: Breaking the Ice over Drinks with Fellow Taiwanese Met by a Wonderful Twist of Fate
● Thank You to the Me Who Didn’t Give Up, Letting Me Discover Stockholm’s Secret Urban Forests Through Running
● A Plane That Only Takes You to Dreamland: Jumbo Stay, the Unique Hostel Beside Stockholm Airport, Sweden
