Three Amazing Ice Hotels To Book for Your Coolest Vacation Yet
For most of us, ice management Boston included, winter ice is more pain than pleasure.
We salt it, scrape it, shovel it, re-salt it, and it STILL refreezes, meaning we get to skate our way through dog walks or mail pickups.
But ice, under the right circumstances, can be magical.
To experience ice at its most beautiful, consider booking a night at one of the ice hotels featured below. It will probably be one of the coolest nights of your life.
Hôtel de Glace
Quebec City, Canada
At Hotel de Glace, you’ll encounter beautiful snow arches, breathtaking ice sculptures pulled from the pages of fairytales, and one-of-a-kind igloo-style rooms that are works of art in and of themselves. The beds are slabs of ice, which can be a little intimidating, but you’ll have access to plenty of state-of-the-art blankets to keep you toasty. You’ll also have access to an ice skating trail and a swanky ice bar where you’ll drink from a goblet hewn from, you guessed it…ice! When you start to feel a chill you can also relax by the fireplace or take in the sauna and hot tub.
Aurora Ice Museum
Fairbanks, Alaska
The Aurora Ice Museum, which is part of the Chena Hot Springs Resort, is the only ice hotel in the U.S. Everything in this elegant hotel is made of ice: the beds, the chairs, the counters, the tables, the glasses, and so on. During your stay, you’ll have access to hot springs, dogsled rides, and many other amenities and activities. If you book at the right time of year, you are assured a spectacular view of the Northern Lights.
Icehotel
If you’re in the mood to splurge on one of the most luxurious ice hotels out there, the Icehotel in northern Sweden is about as good as it gets. Each suite has been designed by artists from around the world. Other rooms have an Aurora Borealis theme, and project awe-inspiring light shows against a backdrop of crystal clear ice. There are saunas, bars, and cozy food options galore. In your downtime, you can enjoy ice art, sledding tours, reindeer feeding, and gazing at the Northern Lights by an open campfire.
Ice is all about context. On your sidewalk or in your gutters it’s bad news. But at a unique hotel that will make for a night you’ll always remember? That’s ice at its coolest.
