The cold never bothered them anyway.
Long before Elsa of Arendelle warmed her way into our hearts with crescendoing tunes and icy architectural skills, the Hôtel de Glace (Ice Hotel) has been imagining a frozen wonderland in Québec, Canada.
This year, the Ice Hotel turns 20 and is inviting guests to relive the best moments of the last two decades under the retrospective theme: “20 Years of Magic.”
The raw material for the seasonal Hôtel de Glace is more than 500 tons of ice and 35,000 tons of snow, collected and made on-site once temperatures plummet to a significant chill. Every December, sculptors, production workers and artisans work round-the-clock to build the stunning structures, with frozen fractals all around.
“Already 20 years of innovation, beauty and eye-catching splendor…By all means, this calls for a big celebration…The Hôtel de Glace, an iconic, stand-alone attraction for our beautiful destination, has put us on the map, attracting visitors from all over the world, not to mention that it perfectly embodies winter in all its magical splendor,” says Benoît Pigeon, Director at Québec City Tourism.
Guests can stay overnight in any of the hotel’s one-of-a-kind rooms or come for the day to enjoy the Nordic area with hot tubs and sauna under the stars, the Grand Ice Slide for all ages, an ice chapel for weddings, an ice bar with a capacity for 400 guests and even a Polynesian-themed indoor water park nearby.
For those curious to test the limits by spending a night at Hôtel de Glace, the hotel has a preparation guide, recommending a three-layer technique of dressing for Québec’s winter temperatures. Don’t worry, you’ll be comfy for bedtime. Though the hotel and furniture are made entirely of ice, you will be resting in a cozy sleeping bag on a mattress (laid atop blocks of ice, of course).
Overnight stays are available through March 21 and day visitors are welcome until March 29, 2020.
For reservations and full listing of winter activities, visit the Hôtel de Glace website.
(All photos courtesy of Hôtel de Glace)
