Jukkasjärvi Ice Hotel

The story of Ice Hotel is unique. Each year, a new version of the ice hotel is created for the 50,000 visitors arriving between December and April.Ice Hotel has 55 rooms, an ice bar and even a chapel where 80 couples wed each year. Note that sleeping bads do come double size.

The only piece of last year’s hotel to reinvent itself is the chandelier. The idea of “transitory” is a growing concept in design, although Ice Hotel is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. Located 120 miles into the arctic circle, Ice Hotel owes its existence to the huge blocks of fresh ice that are harvested each March and then stored in a freezing warehouse over the summer.

Perhaps not everything should be built to last “forever”, or to be permanent. Perhaps our relationship with nature is to live with her in some manmade “relationship” —  in this case a hotel —  and then the structure returns to nature. In this case — the hotel melts.

melolu’s entrance to Ice HotelThe most common form of this idea today is the “pop up store”, but we now have “pop up” restaurants, too. On the Internet, we have “pop up love affairs”. You get the idea. The concept is grounded in “living for the moment”, but also a more Zen-like idea of not wanting to possess everything, to take ownership of it.

Each year Ice Hotel features 15 art suites, constructed around the best original ideas submitted by graphic designers, street artists, architects and even musicians around the world. Once a jury decides the best 15, the artists travel to Lapland to work on their designs.

As for the four-hour Northern Lights Snowmobile Excursion with an evening meal, there are no words to describe the experience. ~ Anne

So here you go: