Ice Hotels

Québec, Canada

Raised again each winter near Québec City, Hôtel de Glace is made of snow and ice and stands for a single season. A different plan is drawn every year, so the corridors, the chapel and the chambers are never repeated. When the thaw comes the building is taken down and the ground is cleared. It stands on a site the operator also uses for ordinary buildings.

The frozen part holds sleeping chambers, carved public rooms, a bar of ice and a hall used for ceremonies. Beds sit on ice bases with insulation and with sleeping bags made for the conditions. Heated buildings stand beside it, holding washrooms, changing rooms and conventional accommodation, and guests move between the two through the night.

Because the building exists only in winter, ask the hotel which weeks it is open before making plans, as those dates shift with the weather from year to year. Confirm too what is provided for the night and whether daytime visits are possible at the hours you have in mind.

• CategoryIce Hotels
• LocationQuébec, Canada
• CheckedSeptember 2026

Rovaniemi, Finland

At Lehtojärvi, west of Rovaniemi, the operator raises a snow building for each winter season and clears the site when it melts. Corridors and sleeping chambers are cut in packed snow, and the plan is drawn again every year. The ground lies in forest beside a lake, away from the town. Other accommodation stands on the same site.

The snow building holds sleeping chambers, an ice bar and a restaurant cut in packed snow. Beds rest on ice bases with insulated mats and winter sleeping bags. Glass-roofed cabins on the same ground are heated and are ordinary rooms, not ice chambers. A sauna building and heated service rooms serve both, and washing takes place in the warm buildings.

Ask the operator which parts of the site are open on your dates, since the snow building follows the winter season while the heated cabins do not. Confirm what is provided for the night and how transfers from Rovaniemi are arranged.

• CategoryIce Hotels
• LocationRovaniemi, Finland
• CheckedSeptember 2026

Zermatt, Switzerland

Above Zermatt, on a mountain site the operator uses each winter, Iglu-Dorf builds a village of snow domes that stands for one season and is made again the next. The domes are reached from the mountain transport rather than from the village streets. This is a separate site of the operator, which raises similar villages at other locations in the Alps.

Domes are grouped by size, from shared chambers to smaller ones, and they are packed and carved by hand. Sleeping is on insulated mats in expedition sleeping bags. A larger dome serves as a common room and bar, and heated service rooms and washrooms stand beside the village. The snow is worked again through the season as it settles.

Access depends on the weather and on mountain transport hours, so ask the operator how arrival is handled on the day and what follows if conditions close the route. Confirm the season dates and what clothing and equipment you are expected to bring with you.

• CategoryIce Hotels
• LocationZermatt, Switzerland
• CheckedSeptember 2026

Kemi, Finland

On the shore of the Bothnian Bay, the SnowCastle is raised from snow and ice each winter and melts away in spring. Its walls, towers and courtyards are drawn to a new design every year, and the complex holds a hotel and a restaurant within them. The town of Kemi lies on the Gulf coast, in Finnish Lapland.

Sleeping chambers are cut into the snow walls, with beds on ice bases and winter sleeping bags. A restaurant serves at ice tables, and a chapel is built into the structure. The operator also keeps a year-round snow building on the same ground, held cold by machine, along with heated accommodation and service rooms nearby.

Ask which weeks of the season the winter castle is open and which parts are standing when you travel, since the structure grows through the winter. Confirm what the year-round building offers outside the season, and how washing and changing are arranged.

• CategoryIce Hotels
• LocationKemi, Finland
• CheckedSeptember 2026