The temperature hovers just below freezing, and the walls around you are carved from three hundred tons of crystal-clear ice. The ice hotel in Zwolle, Netherlands, offers a sleeping experience unlike any other. You lie on a block of ice covered with reindeer skins, zipped into a thermal sleeping bag rated for arctic conditions. The room glows with coloured lights embedded in the frozen walls. You can see your breath. You can hear the creak of ice settling. Outside the door, a bar serves cocktails in glasses made of ice. This is not a hotel for comfort. This is a hotel for memory.
The idea to build an ice hotel in the Netherlands came from two young entrepreneurs, Annet van Limburg and Marco de Koning, who had previously dealt with organising the ice sculptures festival in Zwolle. If you want to take a shower before you go to bed, make sure to dry your hair, or they can get frozen. Do not drink too much alcohol and do not eat any heavy food. Make sure to change into dry and warm clothes, says hotel manager Annet van Limburg to the visitors.
The unique hotel was opened in Zwolle on the occasion of the ice sculptures festival on 3rd December last year and will remain in operation until 29th January 2012. There are three rooms, the construction of which lasted ten days. Unlike similar projects, such as those in Canada or Sweden, the hotel is built inside a large freezer warehouse, not in the nature.
What to Expect During Your Stay
The dominant feature of the rooms, which are made of the giant block of ice, is a great double bed, coloured with pink, green and blue light from lamps installed under the ice. Ice walls which are 1 metre thick are decorated with abstract patterns. If you are interested in spending the night in such unique ice hotel, prepare 199 euros for one night with breakfast for two. Guests are issued a thermal sleeping bag that can withstand temperatures as low as minus 30 degrees Celsius. The hotel advises bringing thermal underwear, woollen socks, and a hat. Before retiring to the ice rooms, guests enjoy a hot sauna session and are served a warm dinner to prepare their bodies for the cold night ahead. The bar serves drinks in glasses carved from ice, and the lounge area provides a space where guests can socialise before braving the night. In the morning, breakfast is served in the adjacent heated building, and guests receive a certificate commemorating their frosty night. The hotel also offers a wedding chapel made entirely of ice, where couples can exchange vows in a truly unique setting.
Staying Warm and Staying Safe
How to sleep in six degrees? The temperature in the room is between six to eight degrees Celsius. If you are healthy, it is not dangerous, says Annet van Limburg assuring potential guests. However if the guests during the night change their minds and want to leave the room, they can use the nearby hotels, where the hotel taxi takes them to for free. The hotel staff monitor guests throughout the night and offer warm drinks at regular intervals. Ice Hotel in Zwolle is unique not only in the Netherlands, but it is also the first hotel of its kind ever opened such a lot on the south of Europe. The greatest ice hotel in Europe and perhaps in the whole world is an ice hotel in Jukkasjärvi in Sweden, which boasts a total of 47 rooms. Unlike the Swedish version, which is rebuilt each winter using ice harvested from the Torne River, the Zwolle ice hotel is constructed inside a climate-controlled warehouse, allowing precise control over temperature and humidity. The entire structure uses approximately 300,000 kilograms of ice and 150,000 kilograms of snow, sourced from local suppliers. The ice hotel is open from December through January each year, coinciding with the Zwolle Ice Sculpture Festival, where international artists compete to create elaborate frozen artworks that fill the adjacent exhibition halls.
View The first ice hotel in Netherlands – enjoy sleeping in 6°C in a larger map
Would you spend a night in an ice hotel at six degrees, or is that too cold even for adventure? ❄️
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