In most hotels, if the room temperature drops below freezing, there's going to be some strong words with the manager, however Sweden's Icehotel isn't like most hotels. Each December it opens with sub-zero suites that are decorated with weird and wonderful frozen sculptures for guests to enjoy.
Now in its 35th year, the 2024/2025 Icehotel involved the use of 500 tons of ice sourced from a nearby river in northern Sweden, as well as the equivalent of 10 Olympic-sized swimming pools of an ice and snow mixture. Construction took six weeks.
The site includes 12 art suites, as well as 20 ice rooms, a Ceremony Hall filled with icy decorations for weddings and events, and a Main Hall with crystal chandeliers created from 220 handcrafted ice crystals. In the year-round open part of the hotel, named Icehotel365, there are even more icy rooms as well as the so-called Icebar in Orbit, which offers a space-themed fun.
It's always a treat to see what talented artists can do with frozen water and this year is no exception. One highlight is Yesterday’s Tomorrow. Designed by Corban Warrington and Daniel Afonso, it explores how our cities might have ended up looking had we persisted in designing the world with the aesthetics and principles of the Art Deco and Streamline Modern movements.
Give us a Kiss is another standout. Designed by Carl Wellander and Malena Wellander, it imagines that animals put on an act each time we observe them and that they want to live a decent life and enjoy the company of others.
The 35th Icehotel will remain open until April, after which time everything will begin to melt back into the river, until the cycle begins again a few months later (though the year-round Icehotel365 will remain open).
There are warm rooms available for those who aren't up to a night in the cold sculpture-filled rooms shown, though those who do take the plunge are kept comfortable with warm drinks, thick mattresses and reindeer hides – it would also be a good idea to pack some warm socks too.
Source: Icehotel