Solar Power Is Helping Sweden’s Ice Hotel Stay Open All Year Round
We’ve spoken about Sweden’s ICEHOTEL before – because it’s basically the coolest thing on the planet. The world’s first and largest hotel made out of snow and ice, this ice hotel – sitting about 200 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle in Jukkasjärvi – has been serving as a seasonal hotel during the winter months since 1989. The hotel commissions architects and designers to make ~arty as hell~ rooms out of ice, and there they stay – until the snow starts to melt.
Being so close to the Artic Circle,the hotel receives sunshine right around the clock during the summer months so the ice structure won’t stay put. So, to go alongside the winter season, the hotel has announced plans to build a more permanent hotel to accommodate guests in the off peak summer months – powered solely by the 24/7 sunshine the region is blessed with for 100 days each year.
Still featuring snow and ice in many of the rooms, the permanent ICEHOTEL will use the solar power to keep things cool under the surface despite the never-ending Arctic sun. Plans for the installation also include an icy bar and art gallery as permanent fixtures.
ICEHOTEL is currently looking for investors to take on the project, which will ideally open in December 2016. Right now, however, they’re only a month away from opening for the 2015 season, with this year’s selection of suites including a life-sized elephant, an icicle cave and a machine room of love – whatever that may be. Absolute magic.
