Picture the scene: you make your way up a spiral staircase entirely made of ice and eventually see a majestic four-poster ice bed carved above the floor.
That is your haven for the night.
Sounds a little bit like something straight out of a Hollywood movie, but it’s actually a reality in Sweden.
The room is called “Dreamscape” and is designed by the London art-architecture studio atmos. It makes up one of the 20 artist-designed rooms and suites in the world’s first ice hotel to be open all year long.
According to atmos director Alex Haw, the design of the room reflects the nocturnal journey.
Each ice step was carved from a giant slab of 200mm-thick ice that weighed up to a whopping 400kg. And don’t worry, because there are grooves carved into the steps so you won’t slip and fall flat on your face.
For the last 27 years, the Icehotel has been created when the Torne River freezes, and has melted into nothing come spring.
Now, thanks to solar panels, Icehotel 365 will be the first of its kind projected to be open throughout the year – meaning that your icy dreams can still come true in the middle of summer.
With a huge central ice bar and eclectically designed rooms and suites, it’s definitely one to put on your bucket list. As long as you remember to pack your thermals.
