Four buildings of snow and ice

Rovaniemi, Finland

Arctic SnowHotel stands outside Rovaniemi in northern Finland, on ground the operator runs through the winter season. The snow building is raised again each winter and melts away in spring, so the rooms a visitor walks through in one year are not the rooms built the year before. The same site holds glass-roofed cabins, which are heated buildings rather than snow rooms.

Snow corridors lead to sleeping chambers, a chapel and a bar cut from packed snow, and the operator publishes an indoor temperature that stays below freezing. Guests staying in the snow rooms are given insulated sleeping bags for the night. Warm service buildings on the same ground hold reception, a restaurant, showers and saunas.

Write ahead to confirm which winter dates the snow building is open, since the season depends on the weather and the operator sets it each year. It is also worth asking whether a booking covers a snow room or one of the heated glass cabins, and when the sauna and restaurant open.

• CategoryIce Hotels
• LocationRovaniemi, Finland
• CheckedJune 2031

Saariselkä, Finland

Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort lies near Saariselkä in Finnish Lapland, on forest ground the operator divides between two clusters of buildings. Snow igloos are put up for the winter season only and are taken back by the thaw, while log accommodation and glass igloos on the same estate are heated and stand through the year. The two kinds of building are separate things.

A snow igloo is an unheated shell with a bed platform, and the operator supplies sleeping bags made for the cold. Glass igloos are small heated buildings with a glazed roof; they are not carved from ice or snow. Restaurants, a smoke sauna and reception sit in warm log buildings that serve every part of the estate.

Ask the resort which accommodation is standing during the dates you have in mind, because the snow igloos follow the winter and the log and glass buildings do not. It is also sensible to confirm which of the two clusters a room sits in and how far apart they lie.

• CategoryIce Hotels
• LocationSaariselkä, Finland
• CheckedJune 2031

Kemi, Finland

The SnowCastle of Kemi is built each winter on the shore of the Bay of Bothnia in northern Finland, in the harbour area of the town. Its walls, halls and rooms are made of snow and ice, and the whole structure is drawn up from new every year, so no two winters produce the same plan. The castle is taken back by the spring melt.

Inside the seasonal castle there is a wing of snow rooms, a restaurant laid out in ice and a chapel. The operator also runs a separate snow building nearby that is refrigerated and open through the year, so part of the programme does not depend on the outdoor season. Reception and warm facilities sit in adjoining service buildings.

Confirm by email which of the two buildings a booking refers to, since one stands only in winter and the other is kept cold by machine. Opening hours of the restaurant and the chapel change between the seasons, and the operator can say what is running on a given date.

• CategoryIce Hotels
• LocationKemi, Finland
• CheckedJune 2031

Alta, Norway

Sorrisniva stands beside the Alta river in Finnmark, in the far north of Norway. The igloo hotel there is cut from ice and snow and built again from the ground each winter, with new carving and a new plan every season. What stands in one year is gone by summer. A separate hotel building on the same estate is heated and takes guests through the year.

The ice building holds sleeping chambers, a bar and a chapel, and the temperature inside stays below freezing whatever the weather outside is doing. Sleeping bags and thermal liners are provided for those staying in the ice rooms. Showers, changing rooms, a restaurant and reception are in the warm buildings alongside.

Ask the hotel for the dates the ice building is open before making other arrangements, as the season is set each year and is not fixed in advance. It is also worth confirming whether a stay includes a warm room for luggage and for the rest of the night.

• CategoryIce Hotels
• LocationAlta, Norway
• CheckedJune 2031