Icehotel
Jukkasjärvi, Sweden
Come spring, the building turns to water and runs off into the Torne. Come winter, that river supplies the next one.
Ice blocks are harvested from the Torne in Swedish Lapland, stored through summer, then used to build a new hotel when the cold returns. Jukkasjärvi lies well inside the Arctic, close to Kiruna, and the tradition here began in 1989.
Invited artists design and carve the art suites, so every season is a new set of rooms. Inside, the air holds a few degrees below freezing. Guests sleep in expedition-grade bags laid over reindeer skins, then retreat to heated rooms nearby for saunas and showers.
Icehotel 365, a permanent solar-cooled building, keeps ice suites and a bar running through the summer months.
Winter days fill themselves: aurora watching, husky sledding, snowmobile tours across the frozen landscape.
Good to know Warm, heated rooms are also available on the site for guests who want one night in the ice and the rest indoors.