Cool luxury at ICEHOTEL

The other day in class my teacher was talking about ICEHOTEL – a luxury boutique hotel in Jukkasjärvi, northern Sweden that is built entirely of ice. The list time I heard of people doing interesting things in snow was when Seal proposed to Heidi Klum in an igloo! As romantic as that sounds the only thing my Sub-Saharan African self can think of is how cold I will be (and therefore unwilling to produce my finger for the ring!)
 

I digress, ICEHOTEL is a wonderful invention – a hotel built entirely out of ice and snow (save for accessories, lighting and equipment) for the Northern Hemisphere’s winter season; the entire hotel melts away every spring! The result of such a radical concept (although not so radical because Eskimos have been living in igloos for centuries) is a gorgeous hotel that is completely redesigned each winter.
 

Artists and interior designers compete to design the hotel’s Art Suites, chapel, facilities and sculptures littering the space. An entirely new concept is generated around the new season, complete with art exhibits and interesting events to keep guests coming back to what feels like a new hotel each year.
 

The idea of “sleeping in an igloo” sounds sexy enough, but let’s be practical, the interior temperature of the hotel averages -8 to -5 decrees Celsius! Blue fingers, chapped lips, frozen eyelids? Not sexy! But I worry for no reason - guests sleep in thermal sleeping bags on beds built by ice blocks with a wooden frame and mattress topped with reindeer skins. Much better – reindeer skins definitely sound sexy/luxurious/fancy.

Here’s why I think this hotel is fun and amazing:

• The designers’ ability to deliver different moods, senses of space, texture, tone and complexity using only 2 mediums – snow and ice

• The complex lighting technology that is required to bring these spaces to life without melting the whole place down 

• Jens Thoms Ivarsson, Director of Design and Strategy, and the creative direction team’s ability to gather a fresh army of designers, engineers and experts to keep the hotel concept new and exciting each season (50 artists from around the world are working on the 2013 hotel; 250 artists competed for the honour in 2011)

• The innovation required to maintain guest comfort while delivering luxury in extreme weather conditions

• The creativity of the person who thought, “Hey, how much fun would it be if we built a massive igloo in Sweden and charged people a ridiculous amounts of money to live in it for a night?”

 Have a look at these pictures and see why I’m so impressed!
 Other tidbits:

• Chapel available to rent for weddings and special occasions
• Guided tours available for daytime visitors
• Cold Art Suite rate for 2 adults - SEK6,300 (US$975) at time of writing for early December stay
• Warm hotel room or chalet rate for 2 adults - SEK3,190 (US$493) at time of writing for early December stays
• Season runs from end of November to April
• Interior temperatures range from -8 to -5 degrees Celsius (exterior temperature drops as low as 30 degrees Celsius)
• Website: http://www.icehotel.com

2013 - Art Suite (Whitewater) by Elin Julin & Ida Mangsbo

2013 - Art Suite (Iceberg) by Wouter Biegelaar

2013 - Art Suite (Whitewater) by Elin Julin & Ida Mangsbo

2011 - Art Suite (L'Aquila) by Maurizio Perron

2013 - Main Hall (Navigating the Unknown) by Jens Thoms Ivarsson, Marinus Vroom, Marjolein Vonk

2011 - Art Suite (A dimensional journey) by David Luxembourg and Jens Dyvik

2009 - Art Suite (Here there) by Leo Park and Finn Öhlund

2013 - Art Exhibition (A warm story about a cold place)

2013 - Art Exhibition (A warm story about a cold place)

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I do not claim the rights to any images on this blog, unless stated otherwise. If you have any concerns regarding the content of ZUVALifeCulture, please send an email to tenjiwe@zuvainteriors.com.