Sweden’s Ice Hotel is now in its 25th year

This year the Ice Hotel in Sweden has been built again and this is the 25th incarnation of the hotel made from ice. The hotel started life as part art project and part place to stay and it has become a major attraction that is visited by people from around the world.

[Image Source: Ice Hotel]

The Ice Hotel is 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle in Jukkasjärvi and the hotel spreads out over 5,500 square meters. It features different categories of rooms; including deluxe and super deluxe, plus art suites, Northern Light suites, snow rooms and ice rooms. It is estimated that around 35,000 people stay at the Ice Hotel each year.

[Image Source: Ice Hotel]

Every year the hotel is created and made unique after designers submit ideas for the suites along with the artwork featured in the hotel. It takes 42 artists to make the hotels public areas, including the bar and church, while a team of lighting designers enhance the artwork with intelligent placing of light sources.

[Image Source: Ice Hotel]

More than 50 individuals give up their time for a total of eight weeks, October to December, with more than 2,500 blocks of ice being used in the construction of the hotel, with each block weighing about 500 kg.

[Image Source: Ice Hotel]

The blocks of ice are taken from the Torne River and around 5,000 tons of the ice is collected between March and April and then stored until construction of the hotel starts. When the Ice Hotel is completed the doors are open to guests between December and April and throughout this time the ice starts to melt.

[Image Source: Ice Hotel]

The 25th Ice Hotel is not only a very unusual place to stay, it is an amazing work of art.

[Image Source: Ice Hotel]