Weekly room report: Canada's Ice Hotel, Hotel de Glace

This week’s (belated) room report takes us to our northern most borders, Canada, just outside Quebec City in Duchesnay to the legendary Hotel de Glace (Ice Hotel), where the cold-blooded and unadventurous need not check in!  At the Ice Hotel, you can stop for a few hours, create an event (like a wedding), or bundle up and stay overnight in this cathedralesque hotel. 

I braved the crystalline castle as any Ice Princess might, layered and bundled to the tips of my lined boots and the top of my fashionable knit cap. Snow and ice were my best friends as I wandered into this Ice Hotel maze while the snow gently crunched underneath my boots. The moment I stepped through the arched ice entrance, I was transformed into a magical winter wonderland.

Looking right, I noted the unique ice candelabras hanging from the Ice Hotel’s 19-foot ceilings; the carefully etched and strategically placed ice pillars, the amazing arched hallways, and ice furniture with fur coverings (for warm seating). I walked through its immense halls, where artwork blended into the iced walls, carved ice sculptures recline or hang suspended on frozen tables and pillars, and exquisite furniture is created from blocks of ice. I even toured the uniquely designed 36 rooms and suites.

The Ice Bar reception room and courtyard can welcome more than 400 people, and I was told that when it’s that full, the combined heat of all those bodies sometimes causes it to “rain” (a small melt down of said Ice Hotel).

After sipping a vodka drink in a delightfully icy glass-cube and listening to dated disco tunes in the Ice Bar (with far less than 400 people), we couldn’t put it off any longer!  It was time for my two icy adventure "sisters" and me to call it a night and bed down in our ice suite.

Admittedly, I am not a winter person, but who can resist the challenge of spending the night in the infamous (and famous) Hotel de Glace (Ice Hotel)?  After stripping my outer layers and then re-dressing into non-cotton night clothing, I zipped myself up into a cocoon of sorts in the super-insulated, withstanding sub-zero temperatures, sleeping bag. It was a long, cold night. At times, I was comfortable, not toasty warm. Yes, I spent the entire night, and yes, I wished I would've braved the cold, got dressed and found a warmer place to sleep.

All the way down to my frozen toes, I added the Hotel de Glace to my repertoire of winter experiences. Would I do it again? Ah, that would be a big no, but I’m glad I’m one of those that can say, “I bet you’ve never checked in to the Canada’s Ice Hotel – and withstood freezing temperatures!”

As the only ice hotel in America, Canada’s Ice Hotel credits its inspiration from the small Swedish village of Jukkasjarvi where an ice hotel has welcomed guests every winter for more than ten years. For those brave and warm-blooded travelers who love a winter adventure, this is one stop you don’t want to miss! Check in to the Hotel de Glace (Ice Hotel), but make sure you bring your sense of winter adventure.

 

The Cold Facts on Hotel de Glace (Ice Hotel):

• It is the only ice hotel in America.

• It is entirely made out of snow (15,000 tons) and ice (500 tons) with a surface area of 32,000 square feet and 19 foot high ceilings.

• The hotel is redesigned and rebuilt in its entirety winter after winter. The process to raise the Hotel de Glace begins in December.
• The Ice Hotel welcomes more than 65,000 visitors and 4,000 overnight stays every winter.
• Since its beginning, over half a million people have visited and more than 20,000 have held special events such as weddings here.
• It is open just 85 days each year, from early January to late March.

• Average temperature in the rooms remains between 26 and 23 degrees F.

• 36 themed rooms and suites (some have fireplaces), accommodating up to 88 people per night; an Ice Café, an ice chapel, and the art gallery.
  Let’s not forget the Grand Slide, to bring out the kid in you!

• Exterior spas and sauna.
  Many packages are available including dog sledding, snowmobiling, or a massage session.

 

Rates (prices in Canadian dollars, taxes included):
Children $7.50

Students/seniors $13

Adults $15

Families $42 (2 adults and 3 children under 15yrs)

*Overnight stays start at $219 per person (plus tax) and include cocktail, tour of the Hotel, equipment for the night, access to the hot tubs, sauna, hot morning beverage and breakfast.

Click here for more TIPS when visiting Ice Hotel.