In 1989, Northern Sweden’s ICEHOTEL opened as the world’s first hotel built entirely of snow and ice. After rebuilding each winter for 27 years, ICEHOTEL 365 is set to become the first permanent frozen accommodation to operate year-round.
New solar-powered cooling systems enable this legendary hotel to welcome visitors seeking both the midnight sun and the Northern Lights. The property—comprising a bar, an art gallery, 10 luxury suites and 55 guest rooms—is constructed from some 30,000 liters of frozen water drawn from the nearby Torne River.
“Guests take part in a historic moment,” said Yngve Bergqvist, CEO of Icehotel. “They inaugurate the first ice hotel in the world open throughout the year and can experience the finishing touches of the building up close—memories that last a lifetime.”
Located just north of the Arctic Circle in Jukkasjärvi, the hotel has traditionally been rebuilt to a new design each year using river ice harvested in spring and kept cold over summer. While parts of the hotel will still melt and be reconstructed seasonally, the year-round facility allows visitors to see changing ice art and new designs whenever they come. The building material, known as snice—a blend of snow and ice—requires enough of it to equal hundreds of millions of compact snowballs.
Indoor temperatures are typically around minus 5 degrees Celsius, but guests stay warm with thick capes, high-quality sleeping bags and luxury fur throws. To help ensure visitors don’t miss the aurora, the hotel offers a special northern lights alarm. The property also features a chapel and hosts roughly 100 weddings each year, creating a surreal and romantic winter setting. In the Icebar, guests enjoy thousands of cocktails each season; the Icebar concept has since expanded to locations worldwide.
Beyond the hotel itself, a wide variety of seasonal activities is available: dog sledding and other winter adventures during the cold months, and hiking, river excursions and midnight sun experiences in summer. ICEHOTEL 365 blends innovative cooling technology with traditional ice craftsmanship, offering a unique, sustainable way to experience Arctic landscapes year-round.