World’s Coolest Ice Hotels : Winter : TravelChannel.com | Travel Channel

Hotel de Glace – Quebec

Inspired by the original in Jukkasjarvi, Hotel de Glace on the outskirts of Quebec incorporates the same functionality but in even more refined form. The hotel has framed paintings hanging on its ice walls, more elaborate ice furniture and a swankier ice bar.

Hotel de Glace – Quebec

This hotel itself is large; 34 rooms, to be exact. Designers sketch up the hotel and build it in a matter of weeks every fall. Each year, the facility has something different — a new bed, a new bar.

Alta Igloo Hotel – Norway

If there is such a thing as a rustic ice hotel, the Alta Igloo Hotel in the northeast corner of Norway would be it. The rooms are not very large, and low ceilings make them a bit claustrophobia-inducing. Still, the experience of sleeping in an igloo under the Northern Lights is second to none.

Alta Igloo Hotel – Norway

Apart from its 80 beds the Alta Igloo Hotel houses suites, an ice gallery, an ice bar, an ice chapel and several lounges. Sculpture work also is present here — hulking ice sculptures that appear as stone until you touch them and they melt in your hand. 

IceHotel – Sweden

Situated in the village Jukkasjarvi, 125 miles north of the Arctic Circle in Sweden, the original Icehotel has been built every year since 1980. The facility didn’t start out as a lodge; at first, it was simply built as a seasonal structure to house an art exhibit.

IceHotel – Sweden

Accommodations inside the Icehotel are, well … chilly. Regardless of the temperature outside, the air in the Icehotel is always between 17 and 23 degrees Fahrenheit. Bedrooms have blocks of ice as beds, covered with fur, skin, hides and sleeping bags.

Aurora Ice Museum – Alaska

The Aurora Ice Museum, located on the grounds of the Chena Hot Springs Resort 60 miles northeast of Fairbanks, is the only ice hotel in the U.S. Ice-carving champion Steve Brice designed. Visitors don’t even have to spend the night; at the hotel’s ice bar, guests can down a chilled martini before heading back to Fairbanks for the day.

Aurora Ice Museum – Alaska

In this hotel, everything is made of ice: the beds, the chairs, the counters, the glasses and more. 

Balea Lake Ice Hotel (Chapel) – Romania

Only accessible via able car in the winter, this ice church is located in Romania at the Balea Lake Ice Hotel.

Kakslauttanen Igloo Village – Finland

Located in Saariselka, Finland, the Kakslauttanen Igloo Village is known for their world-famous glass igloos situated below the Northern Lights, which are visible from late August through the end of April.

Kirkenes Snow Hotel – Norway

Opened in 2006 in Finnmark, Norway, near the Norwegian and Russian Border, the Kirkenes Snow Hotel features 20 bedrooms, an ice bar and more.

Lainio Snow Village – Finland

Situated just north of the Arctic Circle in Lapland, Finland, the Lainio Snow Village is built every year using just about 40,000,000 pounds of snow.

Lainio Snow Village – Finland

Covering over 65,000 square feet of space, Lainio features a snow hotel, an ice restaurant, an ice bar, a super-slick ice slide and a chapel.

SnowCastle – Finland

Known as one of the biggest snow structures in the world, the SnowCastle of Kemi, located in Finland, features a SnowRestaurant, a SnowChapel and a SnowHotel.