Swedish Lapland’s famous ICEHOTEL has opened for the winter season for its 24th year, after two months of construction.

Selected artists from around the world and ICEHOTEL’s art and design team have been working on this unique pop-up hotel and art exhibition carved from over 1,800 tons of snow, ice and ‘snice’ (a mixture of snow and Torne River ice) in the village of Jukkasjärvi since early November.

Art Suites

This year, guests have a total of 65 cool-as-ice rooms to sleep in, including 13 individually-designed Art Suites.

One of the highlights is the ice tube carriage, inspired by this year’s London Underground 150th Anniversary, designed by British film-producer turned ice-artist, Marcus Dillistone.

Art Suite: Mind the gap by Marcus Dillistone & Magdalena Åkerström

Another British team, father-son Rob and Timsam Harding, have created a suite entitled ‘Before the Big Bang’, making this their third suite at ICEHOTEL.

This season also sees a brand new collaboration between car manufacturer MINI and the ICEHOTEL, with the creation of the largest and most luxurious ice suite, the Deluxe by MINI.

This new suite , designed by DesignworksUSA and MINI Cooper in collaboration with the creative team at ICEHOTEL, measures almost 50m² and contains 20 tonnes more ice than other rooms with ceilings a metre higher.  It includes an en-suite sauna and heated relaxation area with shower, washbasin and toilet.

Other incredible designs include a cinema, pole dancing polar bears and a powerful design called ‘Narcissus’ with a giant facial sculpture facing a mirror.

The ‘It’s Alive’ suite even has a secret button which treats guests, if they find it, to a light installation that depicts electric shocks flowing across the room. 

Art Suite: It's Alive by Karl-Johan Ekeroth & Christian Strömqvist

Street art meets ice

Street art meets ice this year as two remarkable artists from Sweden and Brazil combine forces to create a unique and inspirational piece of ice art in the reception of ICEHOTEL. 

Swedish Arne Bergh, creative director, collaborated with South America’s most prominent street artist, Speto, to create a work of art celebrating the FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour stop in Sweden by Coca-Cola.

The design, “Todo Mundo” – Portuguese for “the whole world”, is yet to be revealed.

This year’s ICEBAR design depicts a story of a giant fish from the Japanese Ocean with fish scales carved out of the walls and a fish carved out of ice several metres long as the bar centrepiece.

There is also a Northern Lights balcony from the bar for Aurora viewing. The main hall’s design is called ‘Secret Garden’, with a wishing well and a large carved ‘snice’ unicorn mounted on an ice block and podium.

The hotel is even more accessible this year with Discover the World, which offers the UK’s only direct flight service to the ICEHOTEL, increasing the number of flights by 30 per cent for the 2013/4 season. The company offers a variety of ICEHOTEL breaks at www.icehotel.co.uk.

Follow us @travelbite