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The Mullion Guide

Ice Hotels

Four structures built from snow and ice. Each one stands for a single winter, melts in spring and is raised again from nothing the following year, to a new plan. Exact season dates are not promised here; they depend on the weather and are set by each operator.

A snow structure at blue hour on a northern plain, exterior only

Lainio Snow Village

Ylläs, Finland

Lainio Snow Village is built each winter in Finnish Lapland, near the slopes at Ylläs. The village is raised from packed snow and clear ice, and it stands for a single season before it melts. Everything is carved again the following year to a new design, so no two winters produce the same rooms or halls.

The site holds vaulted halls, an ice bar, a chapel and sleeping rooms cut from snow. Rooms are furnished with beds on blocks of ice and insulated sleeping bags, and the published indoor temperature stays below freezing. The operator also runs heated cabins and a restaurant on the same site, open outside the snow structure.

A vaulted hall carved from snow, lit from within the walls

Ask the operator for the dates of the winter season, since opening and closing depend on the weather and are fixed late. It is also worth asking what is provided for the night, where luggage and outdoor clothing are stored, and which parts of the site are heated.

Tromsø Ice Domes

Tamokdalen, Norway

Tromsø Ice Domes stand in Tamokdalen, a broad valley some distance inland from the coast at Tromsø. The domes are built from snow and ice on the operator's own site, and like every structure of this kind they last one winter only. When the thaw comes the domes are lost, and the whole set is raised again the following season.

Sleeping rooms, a bar and a set of carved halls sit under the domes. Beds are laid on blocks and covered with hides, and guests sleep in insulated bags; the published indoor temperature holds below freezing. The operator keeps a heated service building on the same site, with washrooms and a place to eat.

Rounded snow domes standing on a valley floor under a low winter sky

Access depends on the weather and on road conditions in the valley, so ask the operator how arrival is arranged rather than planning the drive yourself. Season dates, what is supplied for the night and whether any heated rooms are available should all be confirmed in writing.

Iglu-Dorf Zermatt

Zermatt, Switzerland

Iglu-Dorf Zermatt is a village of snow domes set on high ground above Zermatt, in the Swiss Alps. The domes are dug and shaped from packed snow at the start of each winter and disappear with the thaw. The operator builds the site again from nothing every year, so the plan of the village changes between seasons.

Domes hold sleeping rooms of different sizes, a bar cut from snow and a common hall. Beds sit on snow platforms under insulated sleeping bags, and the temperature inside stays close to freezing whatever the weather outside. A heated service building holds washrooms, and boots and outer layers are left in a separate store.

Snow domes on high open ground in the Alps, mountains behind them

The site lies well above the valley floor, and how guests reach it depends on the weather and on the mountain transport running that day. Ask the operator how access is handled, what the season dates are, and what clothing and equipment are supplied on site.

Snowman World Igloo Hotel

Rovaniemi, Finland

Snowman World Igloo Hotel is a winter structure on the operator's own site at Rovaniemi, in Finnish Lapland. Rooms are cut from snow and ice and stand for one season; the building is taken down by the thaw and raised again the next winter. The site sits within a larger park run by the same operator.

Sleeping rooms open off a corridor of snow, and there is an ice bar and a hall used for meals. Beds are set on ice with insulated bags laid over them, and the indoor temperature stays below freezing. The operator also runs heated glass cabins nearby, which are a separate arrangement from the snow rooms.

A snow-walled corridor with doorways cut into either side

The difference between the snow rooms and the heated glass cabins matters at booking, so state plainly which is wanted. Ask as well for the dates of the winter season, for what is handed out before the night, and where warm changing rooms stand on the site.

On this page

This guide is independent and descriptive. Structures of snow and ice open only in winter, are rebuilt from nothing each year and close when the thaw arrives. No dates are promised here. The site is connected to no operator, sells nothing and books nothing, and every arrangement should be confirmed directly.