It's got to be one of the world's most unique vacation spots: an ethereally beautiful ice hotel that gets re-created every year, only to melt as the springtime comes.
In fact, there are two Ice Hotels: one in Scandinavia, and one near Quebec City, Canada.
Quebec Ice Hotel - "Hotel de Glace"
This Ice Hotel is located at Duchesnay, 30 minutes west of the Quebec city area. Quebec City is a great place to visit, especially during the Quebec Winter Carnival in late January and early February. The Ice Hotel makes an easy day trip: far more visitors take a tour of the hotel than stay overnight!
The season for Ice Hotel Quebec starts early in January and lasts until the beginning of April.
Ice Hotel Features
To create the Ice Hotel, some 1,000 tons of snow and 500 tons of ice are heaved and shaped over a five-week period to build a structure with ceilings as high
as 18 feet. The design of the Ice Hotel changes every year, but basically you can expect to find: many different rooms and theme suites, a cinema, chapel, fireplaces, Jacuzzis and an ICE Bar.
The ICE Bar is always spectacular, sculptured out of clear ice. Adults can sample a Vodka drink in a glass made out of ice: vodka is reportedly the only liquid that won't freeze in such a glass before it meets your lips. (Kids can have hot chocolate.)
Children of all ages are welcome at the Ice Hotel. Activities include slides and a walking trail; you can also arrange dog sledding, snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, skating and ice-fishing.
Staying Overnight in the Ice Hotel...
Guests who stay overnight sleep in a mummy bag: the kind of sleeping that keeps campers warm in temperatures of 30 below. (And that's Celsius.) Two sleeping bags can be zipped together. The sleeping rooms are unique creations; some have wonderful sculpted ice features, and animal skins on the icey bed.
The Ice Hotel has heated washrooms, and an outdoor area with sauna and hot tubs; an adjacent (heated!) building has the dining area and is where guests can hang out if they're not doing an outdoors activity.
The Ice Hotel offers many packages, and typically has a promotion for families that includes lodging, hot beverage in the morning, and a full buffet breakfast.
...Or Not
For a visit without staying
overnight, tour price is $15CDN for adults, $7.50 for kids 6-12; a Family Price is available.
- Take a photo tour of a past year at the Quebec Ice Hotel.
- see also: Sweden's Ice Hotel
*always check the destinaiton's web site for latest prices and updates!
