Is the heat of the summer starting to get to you? Are you ALREADY tired of walking outside and feeling like you are walking into a sauna?! I meannn — not meee — but everyone around me seems to already be complaining. Double Womp! Anyways, here’s a cool story to take your mind off the heat —
Northern Sweden’s ICEHOTEL was the world’s first hotel made of snow and ice when it opened back in 1989. Now, after yearssss of being built and rebuilt each winter, northern Sweden’s ICEHOTEL 365 will be the first frozen accommodation to stay open year-round!
The tiny Swedish locality of Jukkasjärvi, which happens to be 200 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle, was decided to be the perfect location for the 20-suite hotel, art gallery, and bar, constructed completely of ice, which opened December 1st, 2016.
The hotel’s interiors, conceptualized by a handpicked collection of international designers, include ice-sculpted suites ranging from 323–430 square feet built on reinforced pillars. Using a solar-powered cooling technology is what helps make all the magic happen!
While nine suites are deluxe and eleven art-driven, each room is carved as bespoke artwork with wacky names like Hydro Smack and Oh Deer! As if this wasn’t tempting enough, the midnight sun shines for 100 consecutive days, making it possible to catch a glimpse of the mystical Northern Lights from September until late March!
ICEHOTEL has been built to a fresh blueprint each year, using 5,000 tons of ice taken from the nearby River Torne in the spring and cold-stored over the summer.
Sections of the hotel will continue to melt and be rebuilt as usual — meaning there will still be fresh new icy artworks for guests to enjoy each year! You will def have the coolest Instagram pics! So if you dare take up the challenge, this is definitely worth the chilly adventure!
-Karen Bahri
karenskaleidoscope 