Swedish Ice Hotel expects record year

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.