Ice Hotels

It is rare in winter that I feel inspired to go away. If I were to consider a trip to the country or beach, the images in my mind would be a mosaic of warm fires, sweet little B&B’s with a hot breakfast, warm coats and mittens and perhaps a trip to the snow! However to some, the ultimate in a winter retreat is to hole up and hibernate in one of the many ice hotels that have sprung up over the past couple of decades from Europe to Canada and even in Romania.

So what is an ice hotel? Well an ice hotel is a hotel made up entirely from sculpted blocks of ice and snow. Simply put, it is an oversized and extravagant type iof igloo! These hotels are recreated every year, year after year. They are novelty type destination and are often built by artists to varying themes with artist inspired architecture and laden with ice sculptures, ice furnishings and even ice glasses for the bar. Not surprisingly, these structures are entirely reliant on sub-zero temperatures. So when spring is almost sprung, they inevitably start to melt!

The first ice hotel was built in 1989 and is the Ice Hotel in Jukkasjarvi, Sweden. It started as an exhibition of ice art, but one year when some visitors asked to stay, they officially became the first ever ice hotel guests and slept happily in sleeping bags on reindeer skins. The entire hotel is made of snow and ice blocks borrowed from the Torne River. Each year it is recreated with approx. 10,000 tons of ice and 30,000 tonnes of snow and the hotel itself spans about 6000m2 when completed. Really it is the ultimate in recycling, as each spring/summer the entire creation once again becomes part if the Torne River's rushing rapids and courses towards the sea. To read more about this fascinating place, visit the Ice Hotel website at http://www.icehotel.com/.

An Ice Bar In Melbourne

In October last year the Funk Bar recreated itself to become the first and only ice lounge in Melbourne, “Chill On Ice Lounge Bar”, http://www.chillon.com.au/. Needless to say everything in it from the walls, to the chairs are made from roughly 30 tonnes of ice- even the drink glasses are ice. Interestingly only 22% proof alcohol is available as anything less would freeze. With this little detail-I wonder if this is why Russians drink Vodka so much!?

However, unlike the Ice Hotel of Jukkasjarvi, this Ice Bar is not maintained in its frozen state by natural means and with 2 freezers and 4 fans to keep all this ice frozen, one must seriously consider the useage of energy to maintain this false environment for the short enjoyment and amusement of a few. It may be fantasy to some, but I must admit, at $30 a pop for a 30 minute session to freeze my ass off in a bar that completely ignores the fragility of our real world, I don't think I will be headed there anytime soon!

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this little blog on ice hotels and may you lie in bed tonight, and think of how nice and warm and snug it is under your winter blankets:)

Written by Briony