In the small village of Jukkasjärvi, located in the northern part of Sweden 200-300 kilometres north from the arctic circle, the ice hotel is an entire hotel that is entirely constructed out of ice and snow. The ice hotel is altogether dependent on the Torne river, and the climate, the river near the hotel provides more than 4000 tonnes of ice. The ice hotel is the first ice-made structure that is big and habitable. The entire structure of the hotel is never the same each year, as artists get handpicked by the manager or owner to design and construct the interiors of the hotel, the entire process to reconstruct the interior take up more than a 100 people and is built between the span of two whole months.
The Beginning
The ice hotel first began as an art exhibit and workshop by the founder Yngve Bergqvist in the year of 1989, when he first invited two artists to engage and participate in the workshops that are managed by two Japanese ice sculptors. Their first ever project was a 60m2 igloo that was named ‘ARTic Hall’. Over the years ‘ARTic Hall’ grew to have 250m2. This igloo attracted and invited a lot of new people and was used to hosting church services, bars and films. Their techniques were soon protected and concealed as soon as guests started to stay overnight. Now several decades later, the ice hotel is still standing and thriving exceptionally well, as it provides unique and chilly experiences and the breathtaking views of artwork for the guests.
The comfortable amenities provided at the hotel is warm accommodation, access to the wild, the ICEBAR, the northern lights, etc. Guests are required to sleep in their beds that provide reindeer skin which goes on top of their sleeping bag to give extra warmth during the chilly nights, nut the manager promises that their temperatures never decrease below -8 degrees Celsius which is perfect for providing insulation to keep the ice from melting and wakes up the guest during the mornings. The Ice Hotel consists of totally 47 rooms which can shelter more than 50 – 65,000 guest every year.
Operational Months
The Ice Hotel closes for business around the months of April because the ice will begin to melt and cause hazards for the guest if they continue to live in the hotel. The ice hotel is based on all-natural materials and the use of human resources. The hotel is making a genuine effort to discontinue using CO2 negatives by the year 2015 by using wind water, biofuels and solar energies to power their sources. This hard work being put in to make the hotel more sustainable and ecofriendly is an example and good inspiration to what we can achieve if we make an excellent effort to discontinue all practices that involve by polluting the planet.
The Summer Months
Summer in the ice hotel is as good as the winters as the sunshine 24-hours continuously. Solar panels help by keeping the hotel from melting as the solar panels harvest sunlight they blast cold and continuous air in the hotel to protect the structure from melting. The fishing waters at the Torne River is one of the best fishable waters in the world. The guides that are staffed at the ice hotel will help you and guide you on how to fish if you are a beginner and want to learn. Visiting the ice hotel is an amazing and refreshing experience to enjoy with family or friends.
