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Showing posts with label ice hotel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ice hotel. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 15, 2020

ICE HOTEL, NICE HOTEL, ICE WEDDING CHAPEL, OR AN ALL YEAR ICE BAR IN FLORIDA?

 

Vodka at Ice Bar, Orlando, Florida, USA. Open all year.

CANADA

JAPAN

ROMANIA

SWEDEN

The first ice hotel was in Sweden. You can stay in an ice hotel until April 2021. North Sweden is not your only option. 

You could also pick an ice hotel in Canada or Finland.

If you don't have the time or money or are not sure whether this will suit you, you could try an ice bar. 

ICE Bar

One in Florida, USA is open all year. It also claims to be the world's largest ice bar.

SWITZERLAND

CANADA

Canada[edit]

Ice Hotel[edit]

The Hôtel de Glace (English: Ice Hotel) first opened in January 2001. 85 rooms are furnished with ice beds covered with deer furs and mattresses and equipped with arctic sleeping bags.[1] It was originally located on the shores of Lac-Saint-Joseph, Quebec, 31 minutes north of Quebec City, but has since moved closer to the city, 10 minutes away from Old Town Quebec.[6] It operates from the first week in January to the last week in March.[7] It has the adjacent Le Quatre Temps restaurant, an ice bar named Absolut Ice Bar, which serves Absolut Vodka and other beverages, sauna and outdoor hot tub.[3][8] Construction involves the use of blocks of ice and snow.[8] In 2005, construction involved "400 tons of clear ice blocks, trucked in from Montreal, and 12,000 tons of snow produced on site."[8] Beds are constructed of ice, which are topped with "a wooden boxspring and mattress",[3] and mummy-style sleeping bags are provided.[3] The hotel offers paid tours, the participants of which are allowed to use the ice bar until midnight.[3] Ice Hotel was previously the only ice hotel in North America.[3]

Finland[edit]

SnowCastle of Kemi[edit]

The SnowCastle of Kemi in Kemi, Finland is the largest snow fort in the world, is rebuilt every winter and has a snow hotel[10] with double rooms and a honeymoon suite. The facility also has a restaurant, chapel, and ice sculptures.[10] It is near the Gulf of Bothnia.[10] The style of the facility, including the theme, shape, size and decorations, changes annually.[10]

Lainio Snow Village[edit]

The Lainio Snow Village is located 150 km north of the Arctic Circle in Lapland.[11] This snow hotel is built in the winter atop a wood building. In 2007, construction began in November, and in early November, it began providing lodging.[11] The hotel has restrooms and a sauna, and the village has a restaurant.[11] Rooms are decorated with artwork created from snow.[11] In 2007, art students contributed to the art with professional artists.[11] In the summer, the village provides log cabin lodging.[11]

Japan[edit]

The Alpha Resort Tomamu in the Shimukappu village of Hokkaido Island in Japan builds and opens an ice hotel every year.[12] It may be Japan's first ice hotel, and everything in it is constructed from ice.[12][13] The hotel interiors are typically −3 to −5 °C. Guests dine on ice tables and sit on ice chairs covered with sheepskin. The hotel provides sheepskin apparel for guests to stay warm.[12]


SWEDEN

From Wiivoyage

Sleep[edit][add listing]

Ice hotel (Jukkasjärvi)
  • 1 Ice Hotel (Ishotellet), Marknadsvägen 63 +46 980 668 00 A hotel constructed entirely out of ice. There are many copycats now, but this is the original. Outdoor activities such as dogsled tours are arranged by the hotel but reservation may be advisable, and cheaper alternatives may be available from companies in nearby Kiruna. Remember that winter in Lapland can be very cold, and though Ishotellet provides snowsuits and boots, you may need to bring equipment such as expedition-grade gloves, face masks, and goggles depending on conditions. Read the weather forecast. It is also possible to visit the ice hotel as a tourist attraction without actually spending a night there. It is worth seeing the ice sculptures in the rooms and in the floors. While much of the ice hotel exists only between November and May, a few suites are preserved and open all year around. A stay will cost you upwards of €300/night. Icehotel (Q3139943) on Wikidata 

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UK

I wanted to go to the Ice bar in London for my birthday in March. Then I discovered a few restrictions. First it was expensive. Secondly, you had to book a time and could not stay there the whole evening. thirdly you had to be warmly dressed which ruled out most of my pretty evening clothes.

I might be middling it up with the naked restaurant and the blind restaurant. Anyway, all three sounded amusing but I never made it to any of them for my birthday. We ended up eating locally so we could get home soon after eating and drinking.


USA

Useful Websites

Covering hotels in several countries:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_hotel 

USA

https://icebarorlando.com/

About the Author

Angela Lansbury is a travel writer and photographer, author and speaker, fashionista. Please share links to your favourite posts or one or more of the blogs

travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com

dressofthedayangela.blogspot.com

Sunday, January 7, 2018

An Ice Hotel - A Nice Hotel - For a Wedding with a difference

Problem
Where can we go that's new, where we haven't been before? Where could we have a wedding or honeymoon with a difference, something to remember, something to talk about?

How about an ice hotel?

Answers
Where is it?
Canada. Near Quebec City.

I think it's stunning. What do I like? It's all wedding white. You might have to stand against a colourful sheet as a backdrop to make a white dress stand out.

I like the ice-white arches of the public areas. The ice sculptures. The decorative, sculptured walls and ceilings. The skill. It must have taken hours to plan and to create and decorate. Plus complying with health and safety.

How does it work? Do you sit on fur or mock-fur so as not to freeze or stick to the chairs? Presumably you have to get out before it all melts in springtime. (I feel inspired to write a short story, or horror movie.)

The ice white bed bases. The novelty. The idea of cuddling up together.

When will it melt and fade away like Greek Euridice? They say:
"Rooms will be available from January 4 until March 25, 2018."

Europe
If you want to go to Europe, there are others in Finland, Romania and Sweden.

In alphabetical order by country:
Canada
Finland
Romania
Sweden

CANADA
Hôtel de Glace Québec-Canada inc.
1860, boulevard Valcartier, Valcartier
Québec, G0A 4S0 Canada

Telephone : 418 844-2200
Toll free : 1 888 384-5524
(Canada and USA)

FINLAND

Lapland Hotels Snow Village
Lainiotie 566
99120 Kittilä
Finland
+358 40 416 7227
snowvillage@laplandhotels.com
Wikipedia has a comprehensive round-up and some out of date photos. The photos give you an idea, but not a guarantee of what you get, since the hotels change every year.

If you are not sure whether you'd like a hotel, or you want a quick taste of the cold novelty, for an evening out, a birthday, an anniversary, try London's Ice Bar. Not just ice in your drink, but ice all around.

You can also enjoy outdoor events, ice sculptures and ice festivals. The world's biggest ice festival is at Harbin City, China.

Video of Russia's ice hotel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1KLpTpsijo

More details of Ice Hotels from:
www.hoteldeglace-canada.com
https://www.laplandhotels.com/EN/hotels-in-lapland/yllas/lapland-hotels-snowvillage/
https://www.expedia.com.sg/Kiruna-Hotels-Icehotel (Sweden)

Ice Bar
https://www.icebarlondon.com

Ice Festival
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5242147/Stunning-photos-ice-sculptures-Harbin-China.html

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Tuesday, May 9, 2017

Is an ice hotel a nice hotel? A drink, a bed, a wedding? Or would we prefer warm Italy and hot Cambodia?

Problem
To people from Singapore and Asian countries, any hotel in London, England, seems as chilly an an ice hotel. In London we have an ice bar.

I have not yet been to an ice bar nor an ice hotel, although I once saw an ice sculpture in a hotel lobby. However, I am fascinated by anything unusual and visually appealing. I do not like the cold, although I have been to ski resorts in the USA and New Zealand with the family, I prefer the warmth of Italy and even the heat of Singapore and Cambodia, but I would like the novelty of seeing an ice hotel.

Answer
A BBC website video shows what the ice hotel is like. I thought I would not be interested; but I started with watching the check-in when the receptionist tells you (the guest in the film) what clothes to wear in bed, and deals with questions about how to go to the bathroom at night.

I was short of time (I have my working day, bills, workers calling and other important things to deal with)  so I slid the slider at the bottom of the screen to the end. Plenty to watch when one has time, because I could see the video shows sculptures in ice and more.

Tip
ICE BAR
http://www.icebarlondon.com

HOTELS
You can stay in an ice hotel, drink at the bar, sleep in a sleeping bag, use reindeer fur, even get married in an ice chapel.
To see and learn more:
BBC video of an ice hotel:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p051qptm?intc_type=singletheme&intc_location=bbctwo&intc_campaign=bbctwohighlights&intc_linkname=vidclip_icehotel_
For hotels at three locations in Europe and one in Quebec, Canada, see text and photos Wikipedia.
http://www.icebarlondon.com

If you want to see a hotel in a hot place I have actually visited, check out
1) Lemongrass and Ginger Hotel, Cambodia
The small amusing named Lemongrass and Ginger hotel, a budget with an outdoor swimming pool in Cambodia in the city of Seam Reap for visiting Ankor Wat temple; you can also visit several other temples by tuk-tuk, motorbike and canopy vehicle (often parked outside the hotel). I got an online deal on flights and hotels.
Lemongrass and Ginger Hotel in Cambodia.

You get a warm welcome in the Lemongrass and Ginger Hotel. They booked all our restaurants and shows and tours to temples and ran upstairs to fetch my forgotten shoes from the bedroom.
Smiling staff at Lemongrass and Ginger hotel, Siem Reap, Cambodia.
Photo by Angela Lansbury.

Warm greetings from staff at the Castello Monterone Hotel in Perugia, Umbria, Italy:



2  A Castle In Italy
The converted castle hotel, (converted from a ruin) in Umbria near and fabulous views overlooking the hilltop historic cobblestoned regional capital city of Perugia in Italy. The hotel is complete with suit of armour, bedrooms with beams but also all mod con bathrooms. I saw it on a press trip.
www.castellomonterone.com
umbriatourism.it


Photos of Castello de Monterone, near Perugia, Umbria, Italy. Photos by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

You could hold your reception in a castle overlooking Perugia. Or stay in a boutique hotel with frescoed ceilings and get married in the chapel in the next room.
Marry in this tiny upstairs chapel, enjoying the same peace as across the square in the hovel where St Francis slept, also visit in the square below the Museum of Roman mosaics.

 Across the hall is your bedroom of character.
Another view of this room. A choice of bedrooms.
umbriatourism.italy
See my previous posts on hotels.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share your favourite posts.