The concept of the Icehotel near the village of Jukkasjärvi in Swedish Lapland, 25 years old this month, is pretty unique.
Recreated each winter, carved and chiselled from 1,600 tons of snow and ice from the nearby Torne River, it’s really as much an art installation as a novelty hotel.
Hundreds of artists from all over the world apply each year to design one of the hotel’s art suites.
The themes of this season’s 16 artist-designed rooms include love and the changing seasons. Last winter’s included Greek mythology and our own London Underground.
There’s an ice church for weddings, guests seated on ice benches covered in reindeer pelts and the Ice Bar — now also in Stockholm and London — where you can hold a vodka and lingonberry juice served in an ice glass in your thermal glove.
The Aurora Zone has four nights from £2,088pp including one in an ice room at the Icehotel, three at the Abisko Mountain Lodge, snowshoe trek, ice climbing, husky safari, snowmobile safari, aurora photography, most meals and return flights, transfers, guides and clothing. Departs January to March, theaurorazone.com