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Ice Hotels
4 hotels · numbered 07 to 10
Four winter hotels built from snow and river ice, raised again each season. In all four the warm functions have been taken out of the sleeping building and put somewhere else, which pushes the shared part into separate structures. Hotels that merely stand in cold places, without being built of it, are not here.
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07
Icehotel
Jukkasjärvi, Sweden
The gist — The winter building is raised again from Torne river ice each season and holds no heat at all
What is shared — Halls of packed snow run the length of the winter building, with an ice bar and a set of art suites cut by different makers each season. Everything warm has been moved out: washrooms, saunas, changing rooms, the restaurant and the storage for clothing all stand in separate heated buildings a short walk away.
What is yours — A cold room is a chamber of snow with a block of river ice for a bed, covered with reindeer hides and an insulated sleeping bag rated for the temperature. Carving on the walls differs from room to room and is renewed every winter. The room holds nothing else, and nothing plumbed.
Where the line falls — A curtain or a hung hide closes the doorway, because a hinged door cannot be fitted into a snow wall that shifts. The line is therefore a piece of fabric, and it separates a private chamber from the corridor by sight alone.
Settle in advance — Settle your warm clothing and the storing of luggage before the night begins, since neither belongs inside a room kept below freezing.
Sources seen: March 2027
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08
Sorrisniva Igloo Hotel
Alta, Finnmark, Norway
The gist — Rebuilt each winter from Alta river ice, the halls stay open while the chambers stay cold
What is shared — Carved galleries take up most of the winter structure: an ice bar with seats of ice, a chapel and long halls of sculpture that change subject from one season to the next. Warm functions sit outside that building, in a lodge with a restaurant and washrooms, and the river valley opens directly beyond the entrance.
What is yours — A chamber is cut into the same packed snow as the galleries, with a bed of ice under hides and a sleeping bag. Sculpted walls give each chamber a different subject. Because the chamber has no heating and no water, everything that needs warmth stays behind in the lodge for the night.
Where the line falls — An opening without a door leaf marks the edge. Fabric hangs across it, so sound passes and light passes, and the private part of the night is defined by the shape of the chamber rather than by anything that latches.
Settle in advance — Settle the transfer from Alta in advance, because the site lies up the river valley and the road out is dark for most of the winter day.
Sources seen: March 2027
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09
Arctic SnowHotel
Rovaniemi, Lapland, Finland
The gist — Snow rooms and glass igloos stand side by side, with sauna and dining kept in warm buildings
What is shared — Two kinds of building share one clearing. Snow corridors link an ice bar, an ice restaurant and a chapel, while a heated lodge nearby holds the dining room, the smoke sauna and outdoor hot tubs that look into the forest. Guests cross the open yard between them, whichever sort of room they sleep in.
What is yours — A snow room has walls of packed snow, a bed on a snow base and thick bedding for the temperature. A glass igloo instead has a heated cabin with a bathroom and a curved glass roof over the bed. Both stand apart from their neighbours, and neither is entered through the shared halls.
Where the line falls — Falling snow and open yard mark the line here. A guest leaves the warm lodge, walks in the cold for a minute or two and enters a separate structure, so the change from shared to private is a change of building.
Settle in advance — Settle the transfer from Rovaniemi in advance, as the site sits well outside the town and the last stretch is a forest road.
Sources seen: March 2027
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10
Iglu-Dorf
Zermatt, Valais, Switzerland
The gist — A village of snow domes sits high above the valley, with one large dome used by everybody
What is shared — Everything communal is gathered under one wide dome, where the eating, the sitting and the evening happen around a low table cut from snow. Outside it, a whirlpool stands in the open air, and trodden paths join the domes across the slope with the Matterhorn on the far side of the valley.
What is yours — A sleeping dome is built for a small group, with insulated mats, expedition sleeping bags and sheepskins laid on a raised platform of snow. The dome has no window and no fitting of any kind, so the space is defined only by the curve of its own wall and the packed floor.
Where the line falls — A short path in the snow and a flap of fabric are all that stand between the two. Nothing is heated on the private side, and nothing is enclosed on the way there, so the change is made in the open air.
Settle in advance — Settle the ascent and your footwear in advance, since the village is reached by mountain lift and then a walk over snow.
Sources seen: March 2027
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How to read this section
Shared and private are how we describe the plan of a building, not its rules. Everything is taken from published material and written in our own words, and the month at the end of a section is when that material was last seen.