Located in the peaceful village of Jukkasjarvi in Swedish Lapland, the iconic Icehotel provides a unique stay for travellers. Every winter, the Icehotel opens its frozen doors to showcase brand new designs for its ice suites. Surrounded by true wilderness, this is one of the world’s most amazing hotels. It is an intricate creation made of ice and snow, or more precisely, “snis” (a mix of snow and ice) that combines artistry and engineering.
From wildlife themes to fantasy lands, everyday items to evocations of the past, art suites have taken on abundant forms, which together with the ever-popular ICEBAR and charming ceremonial hall, treat guests to a true winter wonderland experience sleeping in a hotel made of ice. We take a look back at some of our favourite Art Suites across different seasons of the original ice hotel over the past three and a half decades.
ICEHOTEL #33
The 33rd winter season hotel opened on 16 December 2022, unveiling a array of magnificent Art Suites and a stunning new ceremony hall. Featuring original creations by 24 artists from around the world, the construction took six weeks to build under the watchful eye of Icehotel’s Creative Director, Luca Roncoroni. The selected artists – chosen from 102 applications – hailed from locations all around the world including Sweden, Germany, Singapore, Japan, Canada and Mongolia. Guests were able to sleep in an ice dome, a Japanese garden, under supersized mushrooms and in a video game.
ICEHOTEL #32
The ice suites of Winter 2021/22 saw the return of artists and designers from around the world following the purely domestic line-up due to the pandemic of the previous year. This collection of sculpted Art Suites include a hexagonal Art Deco interior in the ‘Great Gatsby’ and a band of monkeys and a prehistoric dinosaur crashing the party in the ‘Room Service’. Perhaps the most striking suite is an imagining of Dickens’ London in pure ice. ‘Dickensian Street’ is the latest creation designed by British father and daughter duo Jonathan and Marnie Green.
ICEHOTEL #31
The build of the seasonal hotel for winter 2020/21 was unusual in that it featured only home-grown artists rather than the international line-up of previous years. Designers and sculptors from or residing in Sweden teamed up to create the individually themed suites that are at the very heart of the hotel’s concept. Despite the challenging circumstances of 2020, the team spent an intense six weeks under the guidance of the hotel’s Creative Director Luca Roncoroni to build an ephemeral construction using 563 tonnes of ice, harvested from the Torne River.
ICEHOTEL #30
Winter 2019/20 saw the 30th anniversary of the Icehotel. This incarnation of the hotel marked three decades since Icehotel founder Yngve Bergqvist started a journey that would lead to the world’s first hotel made entirely out of snow and ice and during that time over one million guests from all continents of the world have visited.
This build under the guidance of the hotel’s new Creative Director, Luca Roncoroni, featured 15 art suites designed by 33 artists from 16 different countries making it the largest group ever. With a frozen West End theatre production courtesy of British father and daughter duo, Jonathan Paul and Marnie Green, a subterranean ice room with giant ice ants, a frozen feline lair and the Greek island of Santorini depicted in ice, 2019/20 offered an incredible range of rooms.
ICEHOTEL #29
December 2018 witnessed the opening of the 29th incarnation of the iconic Icehotel in Swedish Lapland. The art suites created an experience for those curious at heart as the reoccurring inspiration for these artists was nature. Surrounded by raw beauty, guests could walk through a spectacular ice forest or to incredible skies. You could even dive deep and marvel at an underwater world filled with corals and fish.
“The suite is inspired by the climate changes and the over-fishing that affects our oceans. I also thought the idea of using frozen water from a river in northern Sweden to create an ocean with shells, fish, and corals is exciting. – Jonathan Paul Green
ICEHOTEL #28
The 2017/18 season brought many surprises with a few designs taking inspiration from classic films. You could have been snuggled in the arms of a gigantic King Kong or drifting into dreamland under the watchful eye of a snow queen. With suites inspired by giant snails, desert wilderness, a frozen jungle and icy cloudscapes, nature was once again a reoccurring theme.
Icehotel #28 saw the introduction of the Chef’s Table dining experience at the ICEHOTEL restaurant. Featuring a 12-course tasting menu by an award-winning head chef.
ICEHOTEL #27 and 365
During this season, Icehotel 365 opened up its doors for the first time. Bringing a permanent ice experience, 365 has nine deluxe suites, each with their warm bathroom and sauna, as well as eleven art suites.
In 2016/17, the hotel offered more creativity than ever in its history. It showcased incredible themes such as the Japanese art of flower arranging and the passion of sleeping inside a dream. It also featured a house of cards made from ice and snow, a palace inspired by Casablanca, and a cherry tree made to last the winter. These are a few of the ingenious sculptures that defied the elements at the 27th Icehotel.
ICEHOTEL #26
Imagine a three-meter African elephant carved out of snow. What about a 1970s inspired Love Capsule? Even an imperial Russian-inspired theatre set, Labyrinth Saga. Those were some of the creations created for the 2015/16 edition of the ICEHOTEL.
This was the year some new experiences were introduced: Swedish sauna ritual experience; northern lights wake-up calls straight to guests’ smartphone and wilderness survival course for beginners…
The Best of the Rest
Since opening, the hotel has featured over 400 different designs! We’ve singled a few of our favourites that have captured our imagination over the years.
During the 150th anniversary year of the London Underground, British film director Marcus Dillistone built his “Mind the Gap” Art Suite depicting a Tube platform in ice. Another one of our favourites was the “Abject Beauty” suite. The creators have worked with complex sculptures to create a sense of the unpredictable. With their abstract world, they hope to change people’s ideas of what they consider ‘beautiful’. “We wanted to create a world within the world. A world full of patterns and shapes that fill the room and create a captivating scene.”
Visiting the Icehotel
We offer an extensive collection of Icehotel holidays, including irresistible multi-centre combinations. Between December and early April you can visit the seasonal winter hotel or choose to visit at any time of year staying in Icehotel365.