Lapland – Purple Travel Official Blog

A Night Less Ordinary: Hotel Made of Ice

Dec 21 2012

In our weekly series, we go around the world to find the most beautiful, weird and wonderful hotels. From caves to converted prisons, expect the unexpected. This week, we’re celebrating Christmas with a cool hotel made of ice.

What’s the gimmick? Newly rebuilt every year the IceHotel is created from tonnes of snow and ice, in the village of Jukkasjarvi, in Lapland. Although it can drop to -30 C outside, it never gets colder than -5 to -8 degrees inside. The hotel is filled with art made from ice, the beds are made of igloo style blocks of ice and every morning, hot lingonberry juice is offered to warm you up.

Image via @ Charley1965

Why stay? The IceHotel has everything. On arrival you will be given special insulating clothes and reindeer blankets to fight off any cold. You’ll get your own locker for your luggage and you are advised to pack long johns! Some guidelines from the hotel include leaving your luggage at reception: “Your luggage will be stored in a locked luggage room during your stay. If you bring it to your room, it will freeze during the night.”

One of the pleasures of staying is the surrounding areas, there are night trips to discover the Northern Lights, dog sledding transfers from the airport and evening sauna trips to warm you up. The IceHotel is also offering space travel, having partnered with Virgin Galactic with reservations on the world’s first private space expedition.

Eread more: Marie Antoinette Hotel Room

The hotel also offers technical trips, where you can learn about CO2 emissions and the technology used to create and manage hotels like this. It’s got an onsite chapel for the coolest wedding imaginable. Oh and a trip to the legendary Ice Bar is a must: it’s so popular it’s been licensed all over the world

The wow factor: It’s a hotel made of ice! What more can we say?

Image via @ bjaglin

A night less ordinary: Hotel Kakslautten

Mar 06 2012

In this weekly series, we scour the world in search of weird hotels and wonderful holiday concepts. From space hotels to converted prisons, capsule pods to underwater guestrooms, you can expect only the unexpected.

Igloo Village at night

What’s the gimmick? Located amidst beautiful Lapland scenery in the vicinity if Urho Kekkonen National Park, Hotel Kakslautten offers their winter guests the chance to stay overnight in a futuristic glass igloo. Based on a groundbreaking idea and years of research and development, the unique, sci-fi-like glass igloos are a marvel of modern technology.

Why stay? Where else can you admire the amazing northern lights and the white Lapland scenery, all within the comfort of zebra-striped warm bed? Built from a special thermal glass, the temperature inside the igloo is always at a normal level and its special material also prevents the glass from not getting white frosted, keeping the view clear even when the temperature outside drops to under -30°C.

The wow factor: Every igloo is equipped with a toilet and luxury beds and the surrounding Igloo Village is also home to snow chapel and an ice bar, both built in every winter. On every evening a hot sauna and a refreshing ice hole are waiting for you at the igloo, where you can climb into bed and marvel at the star-studded night sky.Husky safaris, snowmobile safaris, reindeer safaris and ice-fishing trips are all made available, as well as guided ski treks.

Village is open every year from December/January and until the end of April.

Tag - Lapland