Ice Hotel 2003: Suites

First, here's our deluxe suite again, as described on our Ice Hotel: Visit page.

This suite had a chess theme, with designs carved into the giant chessboard blocks next to the ice bed. The large horse chess piece was about three feet tall.

This suite has one of the most unique beds -- two single beds facing opposite directions, but joined at the head.

No photo could do this suite justice. The entire room was decorated to look like a windswept ice cave, with curves and drifts everywhere.

Simple but elegant.

King Carl Gustav and Queen Silvia of Sweden and their extended family stayed in the Ice Hotel the week before we did. They were there to celebrate Queen Silvia's 60th birthday. However, the luxury suites were not yet completed, so Carl and Silvia stayed in this regular suite instead. It is the only room that uses non-melting materials as part of the construction: several large fishing hooks which have caught giant ice fish. The bed is in a separate area separated by a ice block wall.

This bed had large, pointed posts, and the entire room glowed red.

This suite turned out to be unpopular with some guests. Designed by a photographer, there are 9 - 12 nude photographs throughout the room, including these three behind the bed. The photographs were transferred to a type of gelatin which will melt, so they do not violate the Ice Hotel's policy of using only melting materials. Because the Ice Hotel is booked solid every night, guests cannot change rooms if they get a room they don't like.

This room was pretty uninteresting, except for having a separate living room made of heavy ice furniture. This was like a low-effort version of the gorgeous suite we stayed in.

This Martian suite was one of our favorites. The bed is a spaceship with the sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars depicted above. At the other end of the suite is a sculpture of a mother and baby Martian.

This suite had a large bear carving at one end.

The tall ice poles in this suite were carved to resemble bamboo.

This suite was decorated with African carvings, with a large face on the far wall.

The walls and ceiling of this suite had wide lines made with clear ice which contrasted nicely with the ice and snow used to construct the room.

The bed in this suite was tucked behind an elegant snow screen.

This brightly colored suite had a fake fire and a full woodpile carved in ice.

This amazing suite had a bed carved like a huge manta ray, with the tail going up the back wall. On the side walls, two more rays were outlined in the snow. The starfish on the wall was lit from behind by an orange light.

This suite had two large shoe sculptures in it and other oversized features.

The Rock and Roll suite had floors which lit up, a radio which played music during the day, a large broken electric guitar that worked as a room divider, and a smaller guitar on display.

This biker-themed suite contained a biker chick, an ice motorcycle, and giant chains carved in ice. A skull and flames was embedded in the wall. Finally, a biker stood guard outside the room.

Here are two more beautiful suites.

There were two of these bizarre rooms, which were undecorated and nearly empty except for 6 - 8 beds side by side.

This was a standard room. They were fairly small, undecorated, and lit with an orange-red light underneath.

Before we went, we got a lot of questions about what the beds were like. Here's a closeup of one of the standard beds. They consist of a block of ice, topped with a wooden frame, mattress, mattress cover, then reindeer skins. Overnight guests sleep in a flannel sack which fits inside a cocoon-shaped sleeping bag.

Here's the door to one of the other two deluxe suites. It's made entirely of ice except for the metal floor runner it slides on as it slides sideways into the wall. It is locked with a simple padlock and chain.

More Ice Hotel >