Report by John Lavabre
THE WORLD famous Ice Hotel in Jukkasjarvi, Sweden, has
opened for business and is expecting a record number of guests this winter
season.
A spokeswoman for the Swedish Travel and Tourism Council said
the hotel has grown in size every year since the hotel was first made in 1993
and capacity and bookings are up on last year.
The hotel has a total of 59 rooms and features an ice
chapel, ice art exhibition hall, an ice bar and cinema. Everything is made from
ice, even the guest’s beds.
For those unwilling to stay in the cold there are Aurora
Houses next to the hotel. These are log cabins which, for the first time, have
been fitted with windows in the ceiling to allow guests to see the Northern
Lights.
The Ice Hotel is made every year with 3,000 tonnes of ice
and snow that is pressed into steel moulds. It opens for business in the winter
and closes in the spring when in melts away.