Winter Fun at the Ice Hotel in Arctic Sweden By Photographer, Author & Contributor Don Hurzeler
The Ice Hotel in Sweden is one of those places you think looks interesting, but you are not likely to ever get to visit. But life is funny, sometimes opportunities come out of nowhere and the improbable becomes doable.
My wife and I traveled to Lofoton Island, in arctic Norway, earlier this year…and wrote an article on the trip for the Palos Verdes Pulse. That Lofoton trip was the opportunity to also visit the Ice Hotel. And…we took the opportunity.
We traveled to the Ice Hotel, located outside of Kiruna, Sweden and some 200 KM above the arctic circle, by air. I recall looking out the window of the jet and wondering where we would land…all I could see was snow. Well, we landed on that snow (covering a real runway) and had no problem whatsoever.
We flew in from Stockholm, Sweden. We love Stockholm and enjoyed a few days there before going north. The flight was only 90 minutes. We had a arranged-for driver waiting and he took us directly to the hotel.
The Ice Hotel has an excellent website that can explain their property and experience much better than I can. Here is what I can tell you…
It is magical…other worldly. The property consists of dozens of Ice Rooms…basically carved ice and a block of ice to sleep on. You hop into a great sleeping bag, placed on a raindeer hide on that block of ice, and try to go to sleep. The bathroom is in another building nearby…and that is not a plus at 2am when it is snowing out.
After one night in the Ice Room, we had arranged to stay several more nights in the warm rooms...basically cabins. We loved them. Lovely bathroom in the cabin.
There were a couple of common areas, including the Ice Bar. Fabulous.
A short walk away was an excellent dining facility…we ate breakfast and dinner there each day.
The main common area had a theme in 2025 of outer space. Lots of interesting space themed ice carvings. And, in the daytime you can visit each of the uniquely carved rooms…hard to even explain the variety of artistic themes.
The weather was mild for what we were expecting. We had just been in Yellowstone National Park at minus 40 degrees. The temps at the Ice Hotel were between 22F and 32F…with some snow episodes. Most days were blue skies and beautiful.
The surrounding area is dominated by one of the worlds largest iron mines. You will see it from the air and on the trip to the hotel from the airport…or can book a tour. We chose the outdoor tours…chasing the aurora at night (caught it one night) and looking for wildlife, like this big resting moose.
We also went on a hike with an indigenous lady who did tours and raised raindeer for a living. My wife asked her how many raindeer she had and she said “That is kind of like asking a person how much money they have in the bank, so we do not discuss it.” She gave us a great tour and told us how she manages to live basically outside 365 days of the year and live off of the land. She gathered tree bark and made us tea and kept us interested in her stories for hours. I was hoping to hallucinate from the tea, but did not.
We skipped the long dog sled adventures after watching one go by at full speed with the passengers seeming to NOT enjoy the near constant dog exhaust.
The aurora was fantastic, but the cloud cover got us most nights. This area is one of the best in the world, but you need a bit of weather luck.
In several of the Ice Room hallways are carved scenes, polar bears and such.
And just outside the rooms are ice slides, areas for snowshoeing or sledding and trails for hiking. Lots to do, you will not be bored.
We stayed about five days. That was about right for us. I would say three days would be a minimum.
We were burdened with lots of extra baggage with our arctic clothing and boots. Turns out you can rent that at the hotel, might even be included in some plans. Do a little research and save yourself a hassle.
The negatives of this adventure…none to report. Loved it. Not cheap…I will leave it to you to check the prices. Very glad we went and doubt if we will ever get that chance again.
One last thing, I love flying over Greenland and arctic Canada on the way to and from. I stayed glued to the window with my iPhone and got some interesting photos. Greenland is on my list of places to visit.
My Geezer’s Guide to Adventure book is available on Amazon. It will help you cut your expenses and travel in style. Feel free to contact me at djhzz@aol.com with any specific questions you might have.
And, thanks Linda, for letting me use a couple of your photos. Aloha to all.
Don and Linda are “lucky to live Hawaii” for the past fourteen year and claims to have never experienced an unhappy day on the island.
However, he does admit that he thinks of PV often…as it stands today and as it was. And what he misses most from those early days on the hill are growing up with a great set of friends and neighbors and the unimaginable freedom enjoyed in those days. He claims that he was raised like a free range chicken, able to hitch hike to get around town, to go out in surf that would scare any parent and to carry around a bow and arrow or small caliber gun to protect himself from rattle snakes when he hiked the canyons…not as a highly trained, accredited, licensed gun owner…but as a 12 year old kid whose dad treated guns like tools…there for protection and to be treated with respect and care.
And the best part of his freedom, no cell phones. Don was basically on his own and no one could track him or reach him until he decided to come home. Don always knew when dinner was served and he made sure to sneak in the door a few minutes prior. And, get this, dinner always included beer for Don…from about age 9 on. Or a milkshake made using 31 Flavors Baskin and Robbins ice cream from the Hollywood Rivera store mixed with crème de menthe. His dad felt the alcohol would whet Don’s appetite and help him grow from the skinny kid he was in those days. That did not work, but it did make him (temporarily) unafraid of orcas.
You can catch up with Don Hurzeler on Facebook. He is also on Instagram @donhurzeler. His book writing website is donhurzeler.com and his photography website is lavalightgalleries.com.
For a kid who grew up on the mean streets of Palos Verdes Estates, parented in a way that would land everyone in jail today, but supported, coached and loved…Don came out alright. A PV boy who fully understands how lucky he was that his parents built their dream home on a hill with a million lights sparkling below…or a fog bank a thousand feet thick.