Norway's Ice Hotels are the Coolest
Ice and snow hotels have become a hot travel trend in northern latitudes, the best spots to catch the northern lights.
Picture this: you’re lying in a room made of ice and snow. Your breath turns to vapour in the cold dry air, but underneath your pile of reindeer skins, you're warm and cozy. Outside the blue walls, the northern lights dance across the Arctic sky.
Sleeping on ice
Unique ice sculptures are created anew at the start of every season.
Are you wondering if sleeping in an ice bed is a very cold experience or if you need to bring any special clothes for your stay?
Most hotels provide you with everything you need for your stay. This is typically a sleeping bag made for extremely cold temperatures, a sleeping bag liner, and something to cover your head and neck.
In addition, it is often recommended to sleep in nothing more than thermal or wool underwear. If you forget to bring your own, you can often buy this at the hotel.
Ice hotels often consist of two parts that are connected, a warm building and a cold section. In the warm building, you will find facilities like restrooms, showers, changing rooms, and lockers for your belongings. The temperature inside the cold part of the hotel is usually around minus 4 or 5 degrees Celsius.
Snowhotel Kirkenes
Kåre Tandvik, owner and founder of Snowhotel Kirkenes, says that the name was chosen to reflect the actual building materials. A hotel made solely of ice would quickly become uncomfortable, according to him.
"It would be like staying in a glass house. You have to use insulating snow in the structure to seal the warmth in. That way, no matter how cold it gets outside, it will be a comfortable minus four degrees Celsius inside,” he says.
At Snowhotel Kirkenes, you can also choose to have a drink in the ice bar and sleep in the warm part of the hotel. You can also spend just one night in the cold part and stay longer in a warm room. There are so many options to choose from!
Sorrisniva Igloo Hotel
The world’s northernmost ice hotel can be found in Alta in Northern Norway. The first Sorrisniva Igloo Hotel was built in 1999, making it the second of its kind in the world.
Every winter, artists sculpt huge blocks of ice and shape the snow. Every room has a unique sculpture. After about a month, the hotel is completed and is open to the public.
"Things were a bit slow during the first eight to ten years, but it’s eventually become a popular experience,” says Sorrisniva’s Jan Roger Eriksen.
Hunderfossen Snow Hotel
Not all of Norway’s ice hotels are located in the far north. Just over two hours' drive from Oslo, in the direction of Lillehammer, the world’s southernmost ice hotel is built every winter. The hotel is part of Hunderfossen Winter Park, a popular theme park based on Norwegian fairytales.
“There’s a magical atmosphere in the Winter Park every year, especially in the evenings,” says Hunderfossen's Thor Willy Christiansen.
“From fairytale shows in the Troll Forest and castle gardens to snow rafting, snowmobiles, and an amazing firework display that rounds off the winter evenings, every day is a magical and unique experience for the whole family,” says Christiansen.