ICEHOTEL - Fairytale in ice, northern Sweden

In northern Sweden outside the city of Kiruna there is something unique you just have to experience at some point in life, The ICEHOTEL in Sweden. Stepping into ICEHOTEL is like visiting an ice palace from a fairytale. Here, the children can pretend to be princess Elsa from the movie Frozen. Every winter a brand new hotel is built up with ice from the Torne River, located a few metres from ICEHOTEL. During the warm season ICEHOTEL 365 is open. This hotel is open all year round thanks to the specially designed building powered by solar energy.

At the end of November each year, artists from all over the world, together with the construction team and the light team, will create a brand new hotel with amazing ice art. In wintertime the ICEHOTEL are open to visitors from mid-December to mid-April. During the day you can visit the hotel and see the incredible suites made of ice, and in the evenings guests will spend the night there.

Visit Icehotel with Children — A giant peacock of ice and snow

Icehotel with Children — Entrance to the area. During winter the area is beautifully covered in white snow. When we visited ICEHOTEL in April, the snow began to melt.

Guided Tour, ICEHOTEL in Sweden

Last April me, Wilhelm and Hjalmar visited ICEHOTEL 365 which is open all year round. We have actually visited the hotel before and love it so much so we wanted to visit it again.

A guided tour is included in the entrance fee where you get to know more about the hotel and visit the warehouse where the ice is kept to the next seasonal hotel. The tour ends at ICEHOTEL 365 so you can walk around by yourself and enjoy the fantastic suites and maybe have a drink in the Icebar.

Icehotel Guided Tour — The warehouse where the ice blocks are stored for the next season. Each block weighs about 2000 kg.

Icehotel-Export — The fashion company Chanel wanted to have an iceberg on their fashion show in Paris. The ICEHOTEL in Sweden transported snow and ice from the Torne River in Sweden to Paris.

Accommodation, ICEHOTEL in Sweden

ICEHOTEL offers both warm rooms and cold rooms. We have not stayed overnight in the cold rooms but it is something we definitely want to try out when the children are little bit older.

Cold Rooms

ICEHOTEL offers three different cold rooms with a temperature between -5 and -8 °c. Children below 5 years of age are not recommended to sleep cold. They recommend that guests sleep in base layer made of wool. Spending a night in ICEHOTEL is a surreal experience and a memory for life. You are awakened in the morning with a cup of hot lingonberry juice at your bedside and a sauna session and hot shower awaits before breakfast.

Standard rooms

The standard ice room has a classic design and holds a temperature of -5 to -8 degrees Celsius. The bed you sleep on has a thick mattress that rests on a wooden base. The bed is covered with reindeer hides and you sleep in a thermal sleeping bag. Instead of doors the hotel rooms have curtains that you draw to give you and your company privacy.

There are changing rooms, toilets and saunas for women and men in the warm section of the ICEHOTEL. Your luggage is stored in the luggage storage room during your overnight stay.

Art Suites

For every year these suites are built up with individual themes. Each year, creative art people are handpicked among several hundred applicants from all over the world and invited to create these unique suites that have never been created before.

The bed you sleep on has a thick mattress that rests on a wooden base. The bed is covered with reindeer hides and you sleep in a thermal sleeping bag. Instead of doors the hotel rooms have curtains that you draw to give you and your company privacy. Your luggage is stored in the luggage storage room during your overnight stay. There are changing rooms, toilets and saunas for women and men in the warm section of the ICEHOTEL. A complimentary private changing booth is included when you book an Art suite.

Deluxe Suite

These you will find in ICEHOTEL 365 and are their largest suites. They are incredibly beautifully designed! Directly connected to the bedroom there is a heated relaxation area with waterfall shower, a sauna and toilet. The suites have Carpe Diem beds and are covered in reindeer and on top of this a warm sleeping bag. The suite has doors with locks for your privacy

Icehotel Deluxsvit — The seating area in one of the Deluxe Suite

Warm rooms

ICEHOTEL also offers warm rooms. There are both 3- and 4-bed cabins. The cabins are made of wood in classic Scandinavian style with natural materials. They are just a few minutes walk from the main reception, the ICEHOTEL and the shop and the restaurant.

You can also choose to stay in a hotel room with two beds. All rooms are ground floor level located in a wooden house, with green roof where Arctic flowers grow freely during the summer. Each house has six or eight rooms. All rooms have two floor-to-ceiling corner windows.

Activities at ICEHOTEL in Sweden

ICEHOTEL also offers a variety of activities. For example:

Sled dog ride
Snowmobile tour
Massage
Wilderness skills
Ice sculpting class (from 12 years old or together with an adult. The tools are sharp)

ICEHOTEL Restaurant

Lunch is always a buffet with the option of fish or meat and vegetarian dishes, served with a selection of salads and breads, soup of the day, dessert, coffee & tea. Both me and our children thought the food was delicious. For dessert there was both carrot cake and pannacotta with lingonberries, lovely taste!