There are lots of cool ways to check out the magnificent Northern Lights, but they might not come any cooler than the experience to be offered by Sweden's Arctic Bath, a sister retreat to the country's Treehouse hotel. The logjam-inspired floating lodge honors the jagged piles of timber that once clogged up its river home, and offers visitors a refreshing dip in an ice-cold bath in its center.
The Lule River stretches 280 miles through northern Sweden and was once an important thoroughfare for moving timber. Now it is home to an eye-catching floating hotel that pays tribute to this heritage, cutting a spooky, serrated figure atop the waterway's surface.
"The design is inspired by the timber floating era, and the importance of forests for the entire country's development," AnnKathrin Lundqvist, Project Manager for the Arctic Bath hotel, explains to New Atlas. "The main building is inspired by a jam of floating timber in the river. All of the buildings will be built out of local wood from the region."
With a focus on health and wellbeing, the structure surrounding the icy plunge pool at its heart houses four different saunas and a spa treatment room, along with six hotel rooms, a shop, bar and restaurant. Lundqvist tells us that the Northern Lights will be visible from the rooms, and that prices will start at $5,500 Swedish krona for a double (around US$700), a price which includes breakfast.
Because of the local climate, the Arctic Bath will float freely on the surface in the summer, and then be frozen in place in the winter. The developers are billing it as an exclusive hotel suitable for small conferences, group events and private parties.
The Arctic Bath is set to open at the end of 2018.
Source: Arctic Bath