Travel guide publisher Lonely Planet has called it one of the world's "hottest cool places." The Huffington Post has hailed it as one of the ice hotels you should book for the winter break. Canadian institutions and tourism industry firms have heaped awards on it. These are just three reasons why you should be interested (and even consider booking at) in Canada's Hotel du Glace, which is also popularly called "The Ice Hotel."
One of the things that makes this chilly establishment unique is that it opens only three months each year, from January to March in Quebec. That's mainly because the later parts of the year isn't ideal for such a hotel, which is made up of snow and carved ice and needs to be maintained at certain temperatures.
This January, the Hotel de Glace opens its frosty doors once more to guests in and outside the country, Yahoo! confirmed. This is its 14th year of operation since it was first set up in 2001. According to the Huffington Post, it has since attracted about 500,000 visitors.
One Reddit user has tried out the unusual accommodations and has this surprising feedback:
"It's actually quite warm to sleep in. Body heat and all that. Usually, guests will sleep a few hours, then get up and spend some time in the hot tubs that are set up near the rooms. Nothing like sitting in a hot tub and staring at the stars with a cold one in your hand!"
So, it's not all "brrr" and shivers then!
As it turns out, the hotel actually provides guests with sleeping bags, which are placed on box springs carved out of ice. This means you don't really sleep on cold, hard beds made out of solid blocks of frozen water.
The temperature in all rooms are maintained at 23-27 degrees Fahrenheit, noted Yahoo!. As such, the sleeping bags remain warm even when temperatures outside are "down to 22 below zero."
If you want to spend an unusual winter getaway, book for a night or two at the Ice Hotel in February, as all Saturday slots in January seem to have been booked already, Yahoo! contributor Ralphie Aversa said.