Incredible Ice Hotels and Snow Castles of Finland
Requiring over 1000 truckloads of snow and 3 weeks of work for a team of 15 sculptors to create, the largest ice hotel in Lapland reopens today. Enduring temperatures between 32 to 23F (0 to -5C), you sleep on beds made of ice complete with sleeping bags and fleeces — and a survival guide on how to make it through the night.
Photo Picture It Now
There’s no natural light — all rooms are lit with multi-colored lights and bedecked with elaborate carvings. An ice bar, restaurant, walkways and lobbies have also been built in the hotel at Snowvillage near Kittila, Finland.
Three additional rooms have been have been carved from the ice this year, so up to 60 guests per night can enjoy a frosty stay in the 30 igloo rooms at Lapland’s largest ever ice hotel.
To warm your bones in the morning, hot berry juice is served to help to thaw you out. There are also 2 “warm” subterranean rooms available for the less hardy or adventurous travelers that can’t cut the sub zero conditions.
An ice bar and restaurant, ice slides and ice sculptures have also been created to keep you entertained on the 3 square mile (7.5 square kilometer) hotel site which has been recreated every winter for the last 8 years.
Photo PIN
Photo PIN
The entire ephemeral complex disappears come spring, as it melts away when temperatures rise once again.
“It seems that if we have a very cold autumn then the spring will be warm and the Snowvillage will melt earlier.” Snowvillage designer, Heini said
“But, as like this year, our autumn has been warm, our spring should be colder. So hopefully we’ll be taking guests until April next year.”
Kittila is popular holiday resort located in the province of Lapland, Finland, situated 124 miles (200 kilometers) north of the Arctic Circle and surrounded by seemingly limitless winter wilderness.
All ice hotels are typically reconstructed every year, and are dependent upon constant sub-zero temperatures during construction and operation.
The walls, fixtures, and fittings are usually made entirely of ice, and are held together by snice — a type of frozen water with physical characteristics that make it an intermediate between snow and ice — which takes the place of mortar in a traditional brick-built hotel.
SnowCastle of Kemi
The Mammut Snow Hotel is not an ice hotel per se, but a snow hotel, as it’s made entirely of snow, located within the walls of the SnowCastle of Kemi, which is the largest snow castle in the world. It includes The Mammut Snow Hotel, The Castle Courtyard, The Snow Restaurant and a chapel for weddings.
SnowCastle in Kemi, Finland 2006. Photo Dmitry Makarov
The SnowCastle is located at the port town of Kemi on the Gulf of Bothnia in northern Finland, 62 miles (100 kilometers) south of the Arctic Circle. Set close to harbor-side houses, the castle becomes visible through dim street lamps.
Built every year with a different architecture, the 24-bedroom castle takes about 2 months to complete. Many of its furnishings and decorations, such as the ice sculptures, are made of ice.
SnowCastle restaurant in Kemi, Finland 2006. Photo Dmitry Makarov
Photo LumiLinna Snow Castle
Photo LumiLinna Snow Castle
The SnowRestaurant has ice tables and seats covered with reindeer fur, as well as ice sculptures. The ecumenical SnowChapel with 50 to 100 snow pews has seen many weddings of couples from as far away as Britain, Japan, and Hong Kong, and features a great ice cross shining translucently at the altar.
The SnowHotel offers a choice of double rooms and a honeymoon suite, all of which are decorated by local artists using local materials.
The SnowCastle of Kemi also hosts such things as an adventure land for children, a theatre and ice art exhibitions with lights and sound effects. Many opera singers and dancers have performed in the SnowCastle of Kemi.
Photo LumiLinna Snow Castle
Photo LumiLinna Snow Castle
Photo LumiLinna Snow Castle
The area covered by the castle has varied from 14,255 yards to over 21,900 square yards (13,000 to 20,000 sq. meters). The highest towers have been over 65 feet (20 meters high), the longest walls over 3,280 feet (1,000 meters) long, and the castle has had up to 3 stories.
Natural snow is said to be too soft for good building results, and due to lack of enough available when winter begins, artificial snow is used to create the castle from the harbor water. Man-made snow is sprayed on to large moulds, which are removed once the structure freezes hard. The easiest and most effective shape to construct for a snow or ice room is an oval arch, which, when joined with other arches, forms a sort of barrel-vault.
Photo LumiLinna Snow Castle
Photo LumiLinna Snow Castle
Photo LumiLinna Snow Castle
Come April the entire hotel, sculptures, turrets, and all dissolves back into the sea. But knowing that another snow castle with more ice art will take shape the following winter adds to the prevailing air of madcap enchantment.
Kemi’s first snow castle was built in 1996 which drew 300,000 visitors, and evolved into a hotel by 1999. It was devised as a performance venue, with stage, restaurant and a playground for children. Despite its varying configurations, the snow castle has a few recurring elements — a chapel, restaurant, and hotel.
Photo LumiLinna Snow Castle
Photo LumiLinna Snow Castle
Photo LumiLinna Snow Castle
Photo Arcticroute.com
Photo Arcticroute.com
Photo Arcticroute.com
Photo Arcticroute.com
Photo Arcticroute.com
Photo Arcticroute.com
Photo Arcticroute.com
Photo Arcticroute.com
For 2009, Snow castle building of Inner Harbor begins in December and the opening is celebrated on Friday January 30 2009 at 18:00. Visit their website to learn more.
Hotel & Igloo Village Kakslauttanen
The other-worldly resort of the Hotel & Igloo Village Kakslauttanen almost literally takes your breath away with their famous unique glass igloos in the midst of the wilderness in Lapland, based on 200,000 cubic meters of snow. Located 6 miles (10 kilometers) south from Saariselka, it has snow igloos, glass igloos, an ice gallery, an ice chapel and a snow restaurant. The ice gallery has decorations made from ice and an ice chapel for wedding ceremonies.
Photo Arcticroute.com
The Snow Restaurant is inside a large Snow Igloo, fully equipped with a kitchen which offers full 3-course dinners or lunches in a very special environment with tables all made of crystal clear ice, and seating capacity of 150. It’s built every year, open from December till May.
Photo Arcticroute.com
Photo Arcticroute.com
Photo Arcticroute.com
For those who literally want the “white wedding,” you can arrive at the chapel in style in a sledge pulled by husky dogs or reindeer. Pyhan Olavin Kappeli (St. Olaf’s Chapel) and a small wooden Tievakappeli (Tieva Chapel) near Hotel & Igloo Village Kakslauttanen in Saariselka have been popular places for white weddings. Other possible venues include reindeer farms.
Photo Arcticroute.com
Photo Arcticroute.com
Photo Arcticroute.com
Photo Arcticroute.com
Despite the warm conditions elsewhere in Lapland, the Snow Village has had lasting cool early in the season — construction frequently starts in November and the hotel is ready for business by early December.
Saariselka is a mountain area partly in Urho Kekkonen National Park, and the village in Finland is located in Northern Lapland. It’s a popular tourist destination, providing activities such as skiing, hiking and a spa. The soil in Saariselka is mostly 2 billion year-old granulite.
Visit the Hotel & Igloo Village Kakslauttanen website to learn more.
Lainio Snow Village
Quite apart from the igloo resorts of Kakslauttanen, a wilderness snow complex has been created for the past 5 winters at the Lainio Snow Village. The retreat is a family business run by the Kurtakko family, whose property neatly becomes a woodland retreat of log cabin accommodation in the summer, located 93 miles (150 kilometers) north of the Arctic Circle in Kittila, northern Finland and about 10 miles (17 kilometers) from the ski resort of Yllas.
Lainio Snow Village main entrance. Photo V31S70
The winter snow complex is a frozen accommodation ingeniously built over a permanent wooden building with sauna, bathrooms, and warm bedrooms that guests can use should the ice conditions prove too harsh to take for some.
Main lobby Lainio Snow Village. Photo V31S70
Lobby Lainio Snow Village. Photo V31S70
Snow restaurant with ice tables and chairs. Photo Nuhppir
In the Igloo Village there are 20 igloos and a honeymoon suite igloo, and an Ice Gallery where you can see ice sculptures created by artists from Lapland. In the Ice Gallery there is also an Ice Chapel for weddings and christenings, and a magnificent Ice Bar where you can enjoy hot drinks.
Photo V31S70
Photo V31S70
Photo V31S70
The Snow Village offers environmental art of large snow sculptures, snow-walls, snow hotel rooms, a restaurant, and ice art galleries. The frozen Arctic landscape, the winter darkness, the crackling frost and the clear starry skies with the spectacle of the Aurora Borealis offer a unique experience in the midst of untamed nature in the pristine snow-covered wilderness.
Bear’s Nest suite. Photo V31S70
Photo V31S70
Photo V31S70
Enjoy a Snowmobile Safari, Husky dog sledding and Reindeer safari, along with a guided tour of the Snow Village.
Visit the Lainio Snow Village website to learn more.
Photo V31S70
Photo V31S70
Photo V31S70
How to Build an Igloo
Sources: Telegraph, Daily Mail, and Wikipedia
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Ice Hotels to Heat Your Passion
Worlds First Sandcastle Hotel
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Remarkable pics ! I’ve seen first time such nice ice hotel and it looks beautiful as well as cool.
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I have seen a reportage about that on TV, it’s really very special but still nothing for me I prefer warm hotels, lol !
In the next days I will go to Bruges there is an ice sculpture exposition each year I have been there last year too. If you want to see some pictures go to here : http://gattinatravels.blogspot.com/2008/01/ice-sculpture-exposition-in-brugge.html
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Really cool pictures of that ice hotel in finland, it looks quite awsome, but i believe this won’t be something for me, because I’ll be never able to sleep in a bed made of ice. That would be far too cold for me.
I have actually heard of these before but had never seen such in-depth pictures. I’m continuously amazed by the creativity of the human mind!
I just love the castle
designsdelight’s last blog post..19 Wonderful Fairy Tale And Medieval Castles
I remember seeing an ice castle like in a god awful bond movie.. Pierce’s last I think. I thought it was a set. The detail is amazing- scandinavians are some special, talented peoples. Despite all their government socialization they maintain themselves at the cutting edge of so many fields.
They are indeed cool in every sense, Nicole
Fabulous photos, Gattina. I hope that you will consider writing a guest post here about it, as I mentioned on your site
It may not be for those of us who get the chills easily, Ketten, but some do offer warm nightly accommodation as well.
To me, I feel it’s the artistic creativity that goes into them which makes these ice hotels an intriguing experience, Jennifer
I do as well, Design. However, I do find that the exposed electrical wires in areas kind of distracts from the whole element. I’m a bit surprised that they wouldn’t be buried within the snow to disguise them better.
I can’t think of the scene, Mitch, but it wouldn’t surprise me that they might have shot scenes at one of these hotels. The previous James Bond movie actually had a scene at the Body World’s Display. We had just published an article on the display days before I watched the movie on TV, so it quickly caught my attention.
Thanks for your comment on my travel blog ! I don’t quite understand what do you mean by writing a guest post on your blog ?
There is another exposition this year and I will go there probably after Christmas so it’s better to wait because there will be other sculptures. You can write me an email
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Deborah, I heard this from my friend years ago, and I’ve planning to drop it a visit when I have the chance in the future…
By the way, have you ever been there before?
wilson’s last blog post..Do Mind About Your Sleeping Hours!
Wow, this ice hotel is well done, and all looks really awsome. I wish I could go the soon. I would really love to be there. But isn’t it cold, to sleep on a bed of ice? And i believe it can’t be that comfortable to sleep on it. But all in all, I would love to be there for at least one day.
Thanks Gattina. I sent you an email, and I’ve deleted your email address from your comment so that you don’t find yourself receiving spam from appearing here
No Wilson, I haven’t. Despite the unique experience, it’s a little too cold for my warm blood
I’m not even perfectly comfortable in temperatures below the high 70’s, but I don’t have a whole lot of fat on my bones to keep me warm 
Well the rooms themselves are never above freezing temperatures Janet, so it certainly wouldn’t be a comfortable room temperature that we’re used to
The ice beds are furnished with warm ‘linens,’ so I’m really not sure how warm one would be on them.
One thing is for certain, it would be very hard for those used to sleeping on a soft bed
However, there are many people that go for winter camping in the snow, so this wouldn’t be far from that as far as the cold goes, perhaps even warmer.
Oh, I do hope that Gattina writes a post here about it! I read about the ice hotel every year, but I’ve never read anyone’s experiences with staying there!
-Susan
That’s some stunning photos there. I would love to stay there for a night (just the one night mind – think I’d freeze otherwise). Am I right in assuming the cost to stay there would be significant?
Superb pictures – I’ve always wanted to stay at the one in Sweden but haven’t managed to yet. These pictures make me more desperate to stay at one of these. Thanks!
some people are nuts, i prefer to be cold than warm however this is taking it to far. i couldnt stay in these places even if you payed me. their super cool however and hats off to the designers of the places
That is awesome. I’d love to stay in the ice hotel (maybe just for one night). Truly amazing.
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Wow, these are amazing pics and a beautiful write up with so much content about this hotel. Amazing stuff, thanks for sharing!
Mike King’s last blog post..Why Are You Waiting for Happiness? Have it NOW!
wow fantastic place.great pics, thanks for entry
I’ve always heard about these things, but I’ve never seen one so excellently documented before.
Do cell phones work in there?
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The photos on this post are amazing.I have never seen such photos before.I feel like visiting to those places in my future.
These are really cool pictures. I would love to photograph these places someday.
I showed these pics to my husband and got him ready to go on our second honeymoon to one of these ice hotels. Thanks a ton!!
Hi.
You have done fantastic job with Your blog.
Regards Carrizo from Finland.
Carrizo’s last blog post..World’s biggest Snow Castle / El mas grande Castillo de Nieve en mundo entero / Le plus grand Chateau de Neige du monde / Kemin Lumilinna
Gorgeous images and Creative ideas are often generated when one discards preconceived assumptions and attempts a new approach or method that might seem to others unthinkable.
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Excellent Pictures of ice hotels ,creative ability and personal responsibility are strongest when the mind is free from supernatural belief and operates in an atmosphere of freedom and democracy.
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Amazing work done by collecting the pictures of incredible ice hotels and sharing,loved very much seeing it.
It looks really good … i was in one of them and here is the Web page with some of the Hotels in Finland : http://www.cylex.fi/hae/hotel.html
I was just commenting on the snow sculpture article on your site, but this takes it to another level. Wow! It is hard to believe these are actual hotels that people stay in like any other hotel. Seems like it would be a bit chilly, but I am sure they have taken that into account for their guests.
What would make someone think of doing this, not to speak of taking all the time every year to make it.
Mickey’s last blog post..Government outrage instead of accountability
Oh, it’s beautiful and dangerous at the same time!
It’s real extream!
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From where did u get such beautiful pics. I am very amazed to see all these stuffs. How interesting it would be….Being here with your kids and family members.
I’m speechless with those beautiful pictures. Breathtaking I must say.
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I watched the documentary of the hotel on astro.
I dont know what to say, its fantastic, fascinating the most wonderful place ever made by human. its like a dream to be there.
sadly its only can only build for a few months only. but its ok, they can make a new one on the next season with new design.
p/s: dammit., I wish one day I can go there and have one of the best memory in my life.
One phrase springs to mind when looking at those photographs: “Brass Monkeys!”
I would love to try out one of these cold hotels but I would not take the missus if you know what I mean. Rather cold
.-= lochlomondo ´s last blog ..Gartmore House Hotel and Stirlinshire =-.