September 28, 2011 - As of January 6, 2012, Montreal's ice hotel opens for business, a major fixture of the Montreal Snow Village, located on Parc Jean-Drapeau's Île Ste. Hélène. The village, which includes the ice hotel and several other attractions, requires resculpting every year as a result of seasonal weather shifts which effectively melt the hotel. Annual building costs amount to about $1.5 million to $2 million.
Open every January through March -- in 2012, the Montreal Ice hotel's debut season runs January 6 through March 31, 2012, weather-permitting -- the ice hotel is inspired by similar installations in Europe, such as the Lainio Snow Village in Ylläsjärvi, Finland*, but what makes the Montreal Ice Hotel and Snow Village so different is the fact that it's not a resort removed from the city. Rather, it's part of the city, a ten-minute subway ride or five-minute car drive from downtown Montreal, and a stone's throw from the Montreal Casino, representing the only snow village in the world located in a major metropolitan area.
The ice hotel features three room formats, each with ambient temperatures ranging from -2 to -5°C (23° to 28°F). Click on each format as listed below for information on rates, packages and answers to frequently asked questions addressing what first-time guests can expect and should know about staying in the Montreal Ice Hotel:
Montreal Ice Hotel guests are also welcome to eat at the adjoining ice restaurant, have a few drinks at the ice bar, roam around the grounds of the Montreal Snow Village free of charge, and are granted exclusive access to the site's Nordic spas, code for outdoor hot tubs**. In fact, guests are encouraged to bathe in the spas just before bedtime to raise body temperature.
*The Montreal Snow Village belongs to the same chain of ice hotels as the Lainio Snow Village.
**Only hotel guests with room reservations are allowed access to the spas.
