Find out how it all goes down up at Sweden’s legendary Icehotel. Then, a look at eight other cozy accommodations in the Arctic Circle and Nordic Lapland.
Have you ever wondered how they build the famous Icehotel in Jukkasjavi, Sweden?
To answer the most basic question: Icehotel is a hotel made of ice and snow in a remote wilderness 200km above the Arctic Circle, where the Northern Lights are as common as the reindeer and huskies (which greatly outnumber the people).
To answer the most common question: Yes, they rebuild it each year. Every October and November, when the weather is right — cold enough for a freeze but not so cold the machines won’t run — workers carve out tons of ice from the adjacent Torne River, and make acres of perfectly packable snow, in order to build and mold the hotel.
Meanwhile, inside, a crew of hand-picked artists carefully sculpt the delightfully unique themes found in the public spaces and ice rooms — winning concepts from an annual design contest. A favorite ice room from this year: the Parliament of Owls art suite, shown first below.
To answer the next most popular question: Yes, you’re given a sleeping bag capable of keeping you warm in far colder temps than the standard -5°C found inside the hotel. But here’s the thing, even Icehotel recommends you only spend a night or two in a cold room. For the rest of your visit, heated accommodations are available, along with a sauna, multiple cozy restaurants, and positively balmy bathroom and bathing facilities.
At this point, you may be wondering: aren’t there a lot of ice hotels? It’s true, ice hotels have sprung up in winter destinations around the globe, from Japan to Canada and throughout the Nordics. This Icehotel is the original ice hotel, though, constructed for the first time in 1989, more than a decade before the copycats really started to appear.
To answer the most poetic question: Yes, each spring the entire hotel and all of its beautiful, hand-carved artworks and sculptures melt slowly, silently back into the Lapland, rejoining the river from where they were berthed. Water to water. Dust to dust.
To answer your next question: Yes, there is year-round lodging on site here. Next door, the Icehotel 365 remains permanently standing for those eager to experience the bright arctic summer and the host of outdoor activities available during the other three seasons in and around Jukkasjavi.
To conclude: Icehotel might not be for everyone, but it tries its damndest to be. For the less boreally inclined, who only go south in the winter, it helps to view this as the truly incomparable adventure it is — a once-in-a-lifetime journey you’ll be talking about until you’re returned to the earth as well.
Icehotel
Jukkasjavi, Sweden
We mentioned above that you’re really only expected to spend a night (maybe two) in the ice rooms. Beyond that, the Warm Accommodations are a selection of more traditional hotel rooms or chalet apartments, all housed in permanent wooden structures. And then there’s the all-season Icehotel 365, whose solar-powered building stays cool enough to house permanent ice suites, as well as the Ice Bar.
Treehotel
Harads, Sweden
We’re happy to report that this is exactly what you would hope a hotel called Treehotel would be. Just south of the Arctic Circle, in Swedish Lapland, a young couple took over a Thirties guest house, which travelers more or less ignored in favor of the single treehouse suite. So with the help of seven different Swedish architecture firms, they built eight more.
Arctic Bath
Harads, Sweden
Suspended over a frozen river in the tiny village of Harads, Arctic Bath is unlike anywhere else: an architectural circle of timber enclosing an ice-cold plunge pool, with cabins tucked among the trees and out on the ice. The journey here is part of the adventure, but it is the stillness of the landscape that stays with you.
Stora Hotellet
Umeå, Sweden
Umeå is not quite in Lapland, but it’s not too far either, and is worth a visit on your way up. The seafaring history of this university town is preserved in Stora Hotellet, a former sailor’s lodging that first opened in 1895 and is now a fine (and fun) boutique hotel that has turned the fantastic aspects of its heritage up to ten.
Hattvika Lodge
Ballstad, Norway
In the fishing village of Ballstad, midway through the Lofoten archipelago, Hattvika Lodge has converted traditional fisherman’s cottages into guest accommodations with mountain and sea access steps away. The property works directly with local fishers, ski touring guides, and sea kayak operators to arrange year-round activities, from winter aurora chases to summer midnight sun paddles.
Nusfjord Village
Nusfjord, Norway
On the southern coast of the Lofoten Islands, Nusfjord is among Norway’s oldest fishing villages, its harbor lined with red stilted “rorbuer” that once sheltered cod fishermen. Today, many of the cabins are reimagined as guest lodgings, where original timbers sit alongside understated contemporary design. A handful remain unchanged since the 1890s.
Manshausen
Nordskot, Norway
Even by Norwegian standards, Manshausen Island is out there. This island in the Steigen Archipelago was once a traders’ outpost, and the hotel’s 1880s-vintage main house is a relic of this era. But the sea cabins, as is evident from the photos, are quite a bit newer. These pared-down larchwood-and-glass structures perch right at the water’s edge.
Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort
Saariselkä, Finland
Safe to say there’s nothing quite like the Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort, where you’ll sleep literally beneath the stars in an igloo made of glass — all so that you won’t miss a chance to see the Northern Lights. Most of the accommodations are actually log cabins with observation domes attached, for those who want slightly less exposure.
Arctic Treehouse Hotel
Rovaniemi, Finland
Deep in Finnish Lapland, the Arctic TreeHouse Hotel is nothing if not a winter wonderland — attractions include the Northern Lights in winter, midnight sun in summer, and its nearest neighbors put on dogsledding expeditions and reindeer drives. The hotel itself is a high-luxury, high-design experience; each “glasshouse” cabin comes with its own private sauna and immersive picture window.
Mark Fedeli is the hotel marketing and editorial director for Tablet and Michelin Guide. He’s been with Tablet since 2006, and he thinks you should subscribe to our newsletter.