Ice Hotel?
 

Has anyone been to the ones in Sweden or Canada? Is it worthwhile? Pros & cons?
Other things to do in the area?

Ice fishing?

Bear hugging? Dog sledding?

No, Ally, ice hotel - made of ice like igloos. I saw it on TV.

I had cocktails at an ice bar in Stockholm last summer. Refreshing! :-)

In all seriousness, Jes, I am from Quebec. I know the Ice Hotel is made of ice, thanks Faina. But obviously it needs to be incredibly cold in order for the hotel to stand up. So my suggestions, although in jest, are not far off the mark.

I have not stayed in either Ice Hotel. My personal preference is heat. The website states that the ice hotel in Quebec is 30 minutes away from Quebec City.

I adore Quebec City. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a very unique place in North America. The surrounding countryside will offer a wealth of snow related things to do.

I'm sure the Ice Hotel is a very unique experience albeit a cold one.

I believe the one in Sweden certainly offers other activities such as husky dog sledding, snowmobile excursions, etc.

My dad has suggested we all go for Xmas this year but I don't think we can all get the time off so it looks unlikely for this year.

I am also a hot house flower so the idea of such a cold destination for a holiday is a little strange for me.

I went 2 years ago for my birthday and it was, without question, the most unique holiday I've ever had. An experience you will never forget.

I flew from London to Stockholm with SAS and spent one night in Stockholm before flying to Kiruna (the nearest major town to the original Ice Hotel). You can either take the courtesy bus to the resort or hire a dogsled to take you there.

The hotel is divided into the actual igloo (rooms and a bar), a separate ice chapel (weddings and christenings very popular), log cabins that you can stay in (hyperthermia is NOT compulsory) and a fantsastic, award-winning scandinavian restaurant (again in a log cabin).

You dress in ski-gear (they will provide it for you if necessary) and you feel no colder than on a ski holiday. You eat meals in the warm, and drink vodka in the absolut ice bar - where EVERYTHING is ice - ice bar top, ice glasses, ice seats with reinderr skins to keep your bum warm. It's a constant -5C inside the ice hotel which sounds colder than it is - there's no icey wond and youre dressed for it so it's fine. You spend one night in the ice hotel itself and then one night thawing out in a log cabin.

You can hire skiddoos and go on dogsleighs, but apart from that there's not much to do so 2 days is plenty.

I then flew to Helsinki for a few days (boy, what a party town).

It was a magical experience like nothing else, you meet lots of people over a vodka in the ice bar, and there's a really special atmosphere as everyone realises this trip is so unusual. There are daily photoshoots, TV documentaries etc going on, and everyone seems to be celebrating a special occassion.

I wrote some notes about this on Fodors before - do a search.

NB it is MUCH cheaper to book this trip yourself rather than via a tour operator - book flights and the hotel seprartely. But either way, it isn't cheap - factor in the amount extra you will spend on excursions, food and vodka :)

Another snow/ice hotel is in Kemi, Finland. Check http://www.snowcastle.net/

That is built every winter, and melts down in April. 15 rooms, a suite, a wedding chapel, restaurant... Also in Kemi you can go dog or reindeer sledding, skiing, walking on ice and so on. But in Kemi there is an extra unique thing: you can take a cruise on an icebreaker, and go floating to sea in a floating suit.

I just read Snowcastle's pages, and noticed that they even have a traditional smoke sauna. Not some yacky elecrical thing, but a real smoke sauna that takes the whole day to heat up, and then you get the softest steam there is.

I'm not much for being cold either, but I love to experience things that are totally different so I think I can suck it up for such a unique experience--especially after hearing what Kate had to say. Elina, the snow castle looks pretty amazing too. Thanks for sending the link. That will be a hard decision!