Sculpted from 500 tons of ice and snow harvested from the Torne River in Sweden, the Icehotel has opened for another winter of chilly overnight stays in the Arctic village of Jukkasjärvi.
The seasonal hotel began accepting guests earlier this month and will continue into mid-April.
Because the place melts each spring and is built anew over six weeks in the late fall, every iteration of the Icehotel is one of a kind. For this year's model—the 33rd since the project's inception in 1989—24 artists from around the world designed 12 unique suites that allow guests to sleep in frozen works of art.
("The MushRoom" suite at Icehotel 33 in Jukkasjärvi, Sweden; design by Chris Pancoe and Peter Hargraves | Photo by Asaf Kliger)
Among the frosty creations designers came up with this time around: a bed encased in an ice dome; a trippy environment stuffed with giant snails and mushrooms; a garden blooming with ice flowers; and "Bauh-Ice," a frigid salute to the modernist Bauhaus movement.
("Garden" suite at Icehotel 33 in Jukkasjärvi, Sweden; design by Natsuki Saito and Shingo Saito | Photo by Asaf Kliger)
In addition to intricate, temporary sculptures of plants, animals, and geometric designs, visitors will shiver among cool-in-every-sense depictions of video game equipment, the woman-seal hybrids known as selkies in Celtic legend, and a chandelier made from 200 ice crystals.
("Maighdeann-Ròin" suite at Icehotel 33 in Jukkasjärvi, Sweden; design by Emilie Steele and Sara Steele | Photo by Asaf Kliger)
A newly redesigned Ceremony Hall is available to host bundled-up bridal parties and other celebrants for special events. Also onsite and also carved from ice: a bar, movie theater, and exhibition space.
The permanent part of the hotel has warm rooms for guests not interested in sleeping in the icy suites, where the interior is kept to a temperature of -5 degrees Celsius (23 Fahrenheit) so that the furniture won't melt.
For info on rates, availability, and reservations, go to Icehotel.com.
("Home Nature" suite at Icehotel 33 in Jukkasjärvi, Sweden; design by Munkh-Erdene Tsagaan and Uugantsetseg Enkhtaivan | Photo by Asaf Kliger)
The Swedish property isn't your only option for ultra-refrigerated lodgings in a wintry locale. The ice hotel at Finland's Lapland Hotels SnowVillage has a different theme each year. The 2022–23 edition "will present well-known destinations and attractions from different parts of the world," according to the resort's website.
Québec's Hôtel de Glace, meanwhile, bills itself as the only ice hotel in North America. Located on the grounds of the Village Vacances Valcartier resort north of Québec City, that frozen palace will open for the season on Wednesday, January 4. For an overview of what to expect at the Hôtel de Glace, consult our report on an overnight stay.
And to look at photos of past ice hotels that have since gone the way of a Popsicle left in the August sun, see Frommer's coverage of the 2021 Finland property and Sweden's 2020 version.
