A Night at The Icehotel Jukkasjärvi: A night in snow and ice!
200 kilometers above the Arctic Circle in the most Northern part of Sweden, about 17 kilometres from Kiruna, lies the little village of Jukkasjärvi where dogs nearly out number humans, but from December to March each year it becomes host to the world’s original and also largest „ice hotel,“ which has been melting and being rebuilt since 1989.
It all started out with a small igloo built on the river Torne. The igloo was only 43 square meters big and, as it was built on the river itself, had to be closed just two weeks after the opening as the ice beneath it started to crack under the heavy weight. Luckily back then it was only used as an art Gallery so no one had to leave their cosy sleeping bags in the middle of the night. The Icehotel Jukkasjärvi has grown significantly in size over the years.
This year the 5,500 square meter Icehotel Jukkasjärvi, which is rebuilt each year with snow, ice, and „snice,“ a mixture of snow and ice that helps hold the whole place together like mortar, celebrates it’s 25th anniversary. All of the frozen materials for the structures are taken from the waters of the nearby Torne River around March when the ice is at its thickest, stored in minus degrees on site until November when the hotel is built each year and then the buildings return to the waterway when the site melts around April. The exact number of rooms varies from year to year and also the designs of the rooms is different each year but the hotel’s layout pretty much stays the same.
There are snow and ice rooms, art suites and luxury suites to choose from.
Keep in mind that you will not have a bathroom in your room unless you stay in a luxury suite. So if nature calls in the middle of the night you will have to leave your cosy sleeping bag and walk to another building.
Click here to check out room prices and for more information. Don’t fancy a night at the hotel? No problem – the hotel is open for visitors from 10am to 6pm daily!
The Icehotel Jukkasjärvi is also popular among newlyweds who can tie the knot in the adjacent Ice Chapel, and then stay afterward to take advantage of the beauty of the hotel’s bridal suite.
There are a few drinks to be had in the Ice Bar too where even the cocktail and champagne glasses are made of ice.
In addition to the artist designed rooms, the common spaces feature ice chandeliers, and crystal clear furnishings, reindeer skins, sparkling ice decorations, statuary both peaceful and fierce, all crafted entirely of ice and snow. You may even find bears on skateboards and elks who excell at ice skating.
The original Icehotel Jukkasjärvi is, well, pretty cool.
