EEnchanted Courts

Ice Hotels

Seasonal builds of snow and ice, rebuilt each winter and gone again by spring.

A short category by nature — the world builds very few of these.

A short category, and deliberately so. Ice hotels are rebuilt from scratch each winter and there are very few of them anywhere in the world. We would rather list one we can describe accurately than pad the page.

Arctic SnowHotel

Rovaniemi, Finland

Rebuilt from scratch every winter at Lehtojärvi, a short drive from Rovaniemi, the Arctic SnowHotel is a working demonstration of how much can be made from a season's snowfall: carved rooms held at a steady few degrees below freezing, an ice restaurant, an ice bar and a chapel that is genuinely used for weddings. Guests sleep in thermal sleeping bags on ice beds dressed with reindeer hides, and the site keeps heated glass igloos and conventional cabins alongside for anyone who wants the aurora without the cold. Saunas and hot tubs are part of the routine rather than an extra. Everything melts in spring, and the design changes with the next build.

  • Rebuilt each winter
  • Ice restaurant and chapel
  • Heated glass igloos
  • Saunas and hot tubs