Thursday, December 27, 2018

Ice Hotel 2018-2019

The annual Ice Hotel that is built from actual snow and ice every year in Jukkasjärvi, Sweden is now open for the 2018-2019 season. And every year, the design for the hotel as well as each of the rooms is different! Participating artists and designers come to sculpt and craft the suites into works of art that one can sleep in. And the rooms for their 29th season are wonderful.

While the chambers are indeed made of ice, the ICEHOTEL recommends that you spend perhaps only one night in them and the rest in the warm sections of the Hotel!

The website has some helpful information:

One night in a cold room and a couple of nights in a warm room is ideal, as it gives you time to join wilderness excursions on the days when you have a warm room to return to in the evening.

If possible, we recommend you book your first or last night cool, the remaining nights in our warm cabins or hotel rooms, or join an overnight snowmobile excursion (only on select days).

The temperature inside the hotel hovers at a constant of -5 to -7 C. We provide you with expedition-style sleeping bags which are tested for extreme temperatures, so you’ll be fine with just thermals, hat, warm socks and a mid-layer jumper. You are given access to your room at 6 pm, but the heated service building, the Riverside Lobby, is staffed and open 24 hours, this is where you store your belongings, collect your sleeping bag and use the bathroom, shower and sauna. There is a tutorial for guests sleeping cold every day.

Icehotel is carefully designed and handcrafted by artists from around the world so to make the most of your visit, make sure to attend one of the guided tours through the hotel and pick up a copy of the art catalogue to read upon all the details. We recommend that you book activities to get the most of your holiday. Dog sledding, skiing or snowmobiling in winter, or river rafting and cycling in summer, takes you into the vast uninhabited boreal forest. Fishing, midnight sun and northern lights safaris are amazing ways to experience the Arctic. Joining a class with one of our master ice sculptors is of course a must!

* Between 10 am and 6 pm, Icehotel is open to the public. Day visitors and guests have access to see all the rooms (except Deluxe Suites) and join a guided tour. This means overnight guests get their rooms at 6 pm and wake-up call is around 7:30 am when staying cold. (Check-in and out for warm rooms is at 3 pm and 11 am).
* All rooms except the Art and Deluxe Suites in Icehotel 365 have curtain doors.
* The beds in the cold rooms have a bedframe made of ice, slatted bed base with mattress, reindeer skins and pillows.
* There are no bathrooms (except the Deluxe Suites) or storage in the cold rooms. These facilities are housed in a heated service building, the Riverside Lobby, where you also keep your belongings during the cold night. * The service desk is staffed 24 hours.
* You get a locker or cubicle (if staying in a suite), where you can get changed and keep your belongings.
* The changing rooms, sauna and showers are communal for women and men respectively.
* There are no electric sockets to charge your phone inside the cold room, so be sure to charge your phone before going to bed.
* If you’re changing between cold and warm accommodation, there are about 6-7 hours when you don’t have a room to withdraw to. We strongly recommend you to plan one or two excursions during this time as exploring nature and local culture is a substantial part of getting the full experience. Our lounge and shop are open from 10 am.
* Ice is an organic material. We may carry out maintenance and repairs during open hours.
* Icehotel is built in sections, which means that there is still building work going on for some time after we’re open for guests.

Main Hall design by Marjolein Vonk and Maurizio Perron

‘Spruce Woods’ art suite design by Jennie O’Keefe and Christopher Pancoe

‘Blossom’ art suite design by Wouter Biegelaar and Viktor Tsarski

‘Differential Expansion’ art suite design by Jose Antonio and Juan Carlos Camara Zaragoza

‘Flock’ art suite design by Lisa Lindqvist and Ulrika Tallving

‘Haven’ art suite design by Jonas Johansson, Jordi Claramunt, and Lukas Petko 

‘ICEWOMAN’ art suite design by Linda Vagnelind

‘Lollipop’ art suite design by Luc Voisin and Mathieu Brison

‘Oak’ art suite design by Tjåsa Gusfors and Sam Gusfors

'The Living Ocean’ art suite design by Jonathan Paul Green and Marnie Green

All photos by Asaf Kliger for ICEHOTEL
https://www.icehotel.com/

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