OK, I just want to know, who thought of this crazy idea?! Most people, at least most gay people, like to go somewhere warm in the Winter, don't we?? I just read about these ICE HOTELS.

An ice hotel is a temporary hotel made up entirely of snow and sculpted blocks of ice. They are promoted by their sponsors (usually liqour companies like ABSOLUT) and have special features for travelers who are interested in novelties and unusual environments, and thus are in the class of destination hotels. Their lobbies are often filled with ice sculptures, and food and beverages are specially chosen for the circumstances.

All of the ice hotels are reconstructed every year, and are dependent upon constant sub-zero temperatures during construction and operation. The walls, fixtures, and fittings are made entirely of ice, and are held together using a substance known as snice, which takes the place of mortar in a traditional brick-built hotel.

 

Probably the most famous  ICEHOTEL is situated in the village Jukkasjärvi, 200 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle in Sweden. The heart and backbone is the River Torne flowing freely through the unspoilt wilderness. Covered with a meter thick ice layer winter time the river is the source of all our art, architecture and design. The pure water and the steady movement of the river creates the clearest ice possible.

The website says, "Staying at ICEHOTEL is an experience utterly unlike other hotel stays - it is an experience of a lifetime as well as an encounter with art and design that will suprise your senses." - OK, so MAYBE it is really cool. The art. The design. Blah, blah, blah. And maybe it would be a romantic getaway, yada, yada, yada. But gay like to run around half naked most of time! HELLO! But it is UNIQUE, I give them that!


CHECK OUT THESE IMAGES ONLINE of some Ice Hotels.

 
Visit the 9th edition of the Hôtel de Glace,
 January 4 to March 29, 2009. 
Outside Montreal, Canada.



The IceHotel in Sweden  will be open
December 10  to April 18, 2009.

The Ice Lodge in Norway will be open January 1  to April 30, 2009.

The Hotel Kakslauttanens Igloo Village in Finland will be open from December 10 to April 18, 2009.



Let me know if anyone has ever been -  and how your experience was!
(and how much Vodka you had to drink  to stay warm!)