Ice Hotels

Jukkasjärvi, Norrbotten, Sweden

• What it isWinter building of river ice and snow, with a cooled permanent hall
• Standing inJukkasjärvi
• Source dateSeptember 2026

Icehotel stands at Jukkasjärvi on the Torne river, above the Arctic Circle in northern Sweden. The winter building is made from ice cut out of the river in spring and stored through the summer, and from a mix of snow and ice sprayed over forms. Construction begins in late autumn and the building opens for the cold months.

The winter halls are cut and carved each season by invited artists, so the corridors and the sleeping halls are new every year and nothing carries over from the last one. Temperatures inside stay below freezing throughout. Warm rooms, washing and storage are held in separate heated buildings beside it.

The operator also keeps a cooled hall on the site that does not depend on the season, along with warm accommodation nearby. Kiruna and its airport lie a short drive west. Opening dates for the winter building change from year to year.

Saint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier, Québec, Canada

• What it isWinter building of snow and ice, rebuilt each season
• Standing inSaint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier
• Source dateSeptember 2026

Hôtel de Glace stands at Saint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier, north-west of Québec City, on the grounds of a resort that stays open through the whole year. The winter building is made of packed snow over steel forms, with ice used for windows, columns and furniture, and it is put up from nothing at the start of each cold season.

Arches, corridors, a chapel and carved sleeping halls are laid out to a new plan each season. Inside temperatures sit a little below freezing. Heated buildings on the same grounds hold the reception, the washing facilities and the lockers, and guests move between the two through the evening.

Outside the winter months the site works as a summer resort, so the address is in use all year while the ice building is not. Québec City is about half an hour away by road, and the approach is signposted from the highway.

Sorrisniva, Alta river valley, Norway

• What it isWinter snow and ice building beside a river
• Standing inSorrisniva
• Source dateSeptember 2026

Sorrisniva sits in the Alta river valley in the far north of Norway, on a bend of the river a short drive inland from the town. The snow and ice building appears there only in the cold months; the ground is cleared once the season closes, and the ice used in its halls is cut nearby.

The halls are carved fresh each season, with a bar, a chapel and sleeping rooms cut into the snow. The season generally runs from around the turn of the year until the end of March, though the dates are set each autumn and are published by the operator before it opens.

A heated lodge stands on the same grounds and works through the whole year, with rooms, a restaurant and washing facilities. Alta and its airport are a short drive down the valley, and the road is kept open in winter.

Sinettä, west of Rovaniemi, Finland

• What it isWinter snow building with heated glass igloos on the same site
• Standing inSinettä
• Source dateSeptember 2026

Arctic SnowHotel stands at Sinettä, west of Rovaniemi in Finnish Lapland, beside a lake. The snow building is put up at the start of each cold season and melts away at the end of it, so the plan is drawn again every year and the carving inside it is new.

Sleeping rooms, a bar and a chapel are cut into the packed snow, and the temperature inside is held below freezing whatever the weather is doing outside. Sleeping bags, washing rooms, lockers and the restaurant are all kept in heated buildings a short walk across the yard.

The same site holds glass igloos, which are heated and used through much of the year, and a heated sauna building. Rovaniemi and its airport are a short drive east, and transfers are arranged by the operator.

Sandnesdalen, Kirkenes, Norway

• What it isSnow building kept cold through the year
• Standing inSandnesdalen
• Source dateSeptember 2026

Snowhotel Kirkenes stands in a valley outside Kirkenes, close to the Russian border in the far north-east of Norway. Unlike most buildings of this kind, published material from the operator describes it as open through the whole year rather than in the cold months alone, with the snow halls held cold by machine.

The halls hold carved sleeping rooms and an ice bar, rebuilt to a new plan each year. Guests sleep in insulated bags on ice beds. Washing, changing and dining happen in heated buildings on the same ground, and warm cabins stand along the water below the snow building.

A husky yard and a reindeer enclosure occupy the rest of the site. Kirkenes town and its airport are a short drive away. Anything that depends on weather or season is worth checking with the operator first.