24th original ICEHOTEL in Swedish Lapland is now open for Guests

Dec. 20, 2013 - PRLog -- 1,800 tonnes of ice and over two months of construction later, the 24^th ICEHOTEL in Swedish Lapland is now open and will be revealed to its first UK guests. Since early November, selected artists from around the world have gathered in the village of Jukkasjärvi working with the ICEHOTEL’s art and design team to create this hotel and art exhibition carved from snow, ice and ‘snice’.

This year there are a total of 65 cold rooms to sleep in, including 13 individually designed Art Suites with some particularly unique concepts from British film-producer turned ice-artist, Marcus Dillistone, returning with an ice tube carriage inspired by this year’s London Underground 150^th Anniversary.  Another British team, father-son Rob and Timsam Harding, have created a suite entitled ‘Before the Big Bang’, making this their third suite at Icehotel.  Other incredible designs include a cinema, pole dancing polar bears and a powerful design called ‘Narcissus’ with a giant facial sculpture facing a mirror. The ‘It’s Alive’ suite even has a secret button which treats guests, if they find it, to a light installation that depicts electric shocks flowing across the room.  Hires versions of these images are available now.

What’s more, the hotel is even more accessible this year with Discover the World, which offers the UK’s only direct flight service to the ICEHOTEL, increasing the number of flights by 30% for the 2013/4 season. The starting price for a 3-night break at the ICEHOTEL, plus direct return flights from London Heathrow to Kiruna and transfers is from £1,164pp* and flights run from now until late March 2014.

Street art meets ice this year as two remarkable artists from Sweden and Brazil combine forces to create a unique and inspirational piece of ice art in the reception of ICEHOTEL.  Swedish Arne Bergh, creative director, will collaborate with South America’s most prominent street artist, Speto, to create a work of art celebrating the FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour stop in Sweden by Coca-Cola. The design, “Todo Mundo” – Portuguese for “the whole world”, is yet to be revealed.

This year’s ICEBAR design depicts a story of a giant fish from the Japanese Ocean with fish scales carved out of the walls and a fish carved out of ice several metres long as the bar centrepiece. There is also a Northern Lights balcony from the bar for Aurora viewing. The main hall’s design is called ‘Secret Garden’, with a wishing well and a large carved ‘snice’ unicorn mounted on an ice block and podium. Images of both the bar and main hall will be available from 20^th December.

Plus, this season sees a brand new collaboration between car manufacturer MINI and the ICEHOTEL, with the creation of the largest and most luxurious ice suite, the Deluxe by MINI. This new suite , designed by DesignworksUSA and MINI Cooper in collaboration with the creative team at ICEHOTEL, measures almost 50m² and contains 20 tonnes more ice than other rooms with ceilings a metre higher.  It includes an en-suite sauna and heated relaxation area with shower, washbasin and toilet. Images will be available on the 20^th December 2013.

Adding to the experience of staying in the suite, a MINI ice-driving experience is also on offer using a specially designed ice track. Discover the World is offering the Ultra Deluxe by MINI Experience, which includes Premium Class direct flights (Heathrow to Kiruna), an overnight stay in the Deluxe by MINI suite plus Ice Driving and an Ultimate Husky Sledge excursion. (http://www.discover-the-world.co.uk/en/holidays/sweden/icehotel-break/deluxe-by-mini-experience.html).

For those seeking a glimpse of  the elusive Aurora, this season is tipped by NASA to be the peak of Northern Lights (http://www.icehotel.co.uk/solar-max-2013.html) activity this decade, with a surge of solar activity expected in late 2013 – increasing the chances of seeing the Northern Light displays and making this season a better than ever time to go.

Located in the picturesque village of Jukkasjärvi, Swedish Lapland, the team at ICEHOTEL use frozen water from the Torne River to create a unique and magnificent ‘pop up’ hotel which is built in November and opens in December each year, before it melts away in the following Spring – no ICEHOTEL is ever the same.

To book go to www.icehotel.co.uk or www.discover-the-world.co.uk  or call 01737 214 291.

#24 ICEHOTEL Art Suites – all images now available high-res

We also have a Video News Release depicting the construction of the ice suites and the ICEHOTEL itself available.

- ENDS-

For further information please contact

Fiona Reece or Sadie Lee at Fiona Reece PR,

01242 211192 / 07702 684 682

fiona@fionareece.com/sadie@fionareece.com

*Discover the World offers ICEHOTEL breaks from £1,164 per person for three nights accommodation based on two sharing (one night in a Snow Room and two nights in a Kaamos Room – warm accommodation). This includes daily breakfast and morning sauna, exclusive direct flights between London Heathrow and Kiruna, airport transfers and taxes.  A three night stay with one night in an Art Suite is available from £1,246pp.

About ICEHOTEL

ICEHOTEL is the world’s first hotel built entirely of ice and snow. It is also the world’s largest: 5,500 square meters large and built of 21,500 tons of snice (a mixture of snow and Torne River ice) and 900 tons of ice. ICEHOTEL is designed by artists, which means that the creations are unique and this differentiates ICEHOTEL in Jukkasjärvi from others that have appeared in various places around the world.

To be able to create ICEHOTEL, the construction is done in several phases. As one section is completed, it opens to visitors and overnight guests, while the other sections are still under construction.  The first part of the hotel opens in the beginning of December, and from then, new rooms opens each week for ICEHOTEL to be fully completed by the beginning of January.

Adjacent to ICEHOTEL are the warm buildings where there are dressing rooms, saunas, luggage storage, relaxing areas, restaurants, warm accommodation and much more. This part of the hotel is open year around and trips are available for guests to watch the construction of ICEHOTEL rooms.