Ice Hotels

The place — Sorrisniva sits beside the Alta river a short drive inland from the town of Alta, in the far north of Norway. The igloo hotel is built from snow and ice, and it lasts one winter only: crews raise it again each season and let it melt when the thaw comes. The same operator keeps a year-round lodge on the estate.

Rooms, corridors and a bar are cut into packed snow, and artists give the interiors a new theme every winter. Beds stand on plinths of ice and guests sleep in insulated bags. Washrooms, a heated service building and the restaurants sit outside the frozen structure, in ordinary warm buildings on the same ground.

Before you write — Ask when the igloo hotel opens and closes this winter, since those dates move with the weather. It is also worth asking what remains available in the warm buildings once the snow structure has gone, and how the estate is reached when conditions are poor.

The place — The Hotel of Ice stands at Bâlea Lake, high in the Făgăraș Mountains of central Romania. Blocks are cut from the frozen lake each winter and the rooms are raised again from nothing, so no part of the previous season survives. In winter the mountain road below is closed and the site is reached by cable car.

The plan is a row of ice rooms opening off one shared passage, with an ice bar and a small chapel of ice built alongside. Guests sleep on ice platforms in insulated bags laid over sheepskins. A chalet beside the lake carries the kitchen, the washrooms and the heated indoor space.

Before you write — Access depends on the weather, and the cable car does not run in every condition, so confirm with the hotel before setting out. Ask about the opening weeks of the current season, about the transfer from the valley station, and about what to bring for the night.

The place — Kakslauttanen lies in the fell country near Saariselkä in Finnish Lapland, spread across two villages a short distance apart. The snow igloos belong to the winter season alone: they are packed and shaped again each year and disappear with the thaw. Log cabins and glass igloos on the same ground stay open outside winter as well.

A snow igloo is a plain domed chamber with a bed platform and little else, held well below the temperature of the heated houses. Restaurants, saunas and the reception desk occupy separate warm buildings of timber. Because the resort is divided between two villages, not every facility stands within reach of every room.

Before you write — Ask which village a room sits in and what stands within walking distance of it. It is also worth confirming when the snow igloos are available this winter, how the night itself is arranged, and which buildings remain open once the snow structures close.

The place — Snowhotel Kirkenes stands on a fjord shore outside Kirkenes, in the north-eastern corner of Norway. The snow building belongs to the winter: it is raised again every year and taken down when it melts. Timber cabins on the same site are heated and open through the rest of the year, which the operator states plainly.

The snow structure holds sleeping chambers along a corridor, each one carved and finished by hand, with a bar and a dining hall in packed snow. Bedding is arranged over insulated mats, and washing and changing take place in a warm service building. A kennel and a restaurant stand nearby.

Before you write — Confirm the weeks in which the snow hotel is standing this season, as its opening waits on cold weather. Ask which parts of the site are heated, where luggage is kept overnight, and how the transfer from Kirkenes is arranged in winter.