Chill Out at the Ice Hotel near Quebec, Canada

by Sheila O'Connor

"Beautiful. And frigid." That's the comment left by one brave guest at Canada's famous Ice Hotel located on the shores of Lac St-Joseph, a mere 20 minutes west of Quebec. The frozen fortress gets it name, not surprisingly, from the fact that nearly everything in the hotel is made from the frozen water. That includes the crystalline walls, ceilings, beds, furniture, luminescent chandeliers and even the glasses at the bar.

And this icy enclave is a snow fort for kids of all ages. It takes almost six weeks to build and is rebuilt every year, each time slightly different from the one before. More than 12,000 tons of snow and 400 tons of ice are used and once the weather warms up, around early April, the edifice is demolished with less drama than it took to build it. The original idea came from the Ice Hotel in Sweden and some adventurous guests have experienced both.

But a stay at any of the Hotels de Glace would not be complete without a chilly libation at the N'Ice Club. Try Absolut Vodka "in" the rocks. The drink is poured into a glass made of ice. Or how about hot chocolate to heat you up? That's a welcome treat. Be careful, though, where you put your glass down. Whether hot or cold, the beverage tends to slip off the bar. And you might not notice because you'll be off dancing at the disco, rocking to the beat of the latest Euro-pop hits. And so what if you think you can't dance--people dance happily in groups or on their own and nobody minds either way. There's no need to worry about rejection or "getting the cold shoulder" here.

If you're not dancing the night away in the disco or even admiring the 400 pound ice chandelier in the hallway (just how do they get it to stay up there?), then look out for the Himalayan photo exhibit with its pictures of the trek to the world's highest mountains. And feel glad you're only spending one night in this icy haven. Those explorers did it for much, much longer and in hazardous conditions too. Brrr!

For those not feeling very adventurous, you can easily take a tour of the property. More than 70,000 people do it this way every year. But, better yet, join the courageous and spend that one-of-a-kind night here. There's nothing like bragging you slept over in temperatures that hover at minus 20 degrees. And survived.

But first you'll have to take an information class on how to get into your mummy bag. It's warm enough for temperatures that plummet to minus 40 degrees. Your fridge, by the way, is only minus 8 degrees. Note they recommend you sleep nude. Yes, nude. Honeymooners, should you happen to be among them, get to zip their bags together and yes, there's even a wedding chapel on the premises. Makes you want to ask, "Did you get cold feet?" but that would be too corny. Romantic rooms include the ice bed shaped like a sleigh and the Nefertiti room.

The best practice is actually to go in the outside hot tub to increase your core temperature. You'll need to wear your winter hat for this, but don't worry, everyone does. Hats and hot tubs go surprisingly well together. Then you dry off in the dry sauna and put on your spa robe (provided) along with your boots and hat, before heading off to your ice chamber. Your clothes for the next day go at the bottom of your sleeping bag so they stay warm and don't end up cold the next morning.

The secret to a good night's sleep is actually to make sure you don't breathe inside your sleeping bag - that would cause humidity and you'd eventually get cold. Oh, and don't wear cotton - even if it's what your thermals are made of - should you go the thermal, rather than nude, route. Cotton, once it gets wet with perspiration, also makes you feel cold. Even wearing that day's socks to bed can do the same thing, so put on fresh synthetic socks, right before you jump in.

The beds are surprisingly comfortable and don't worry, you're not sleeping on ice itself, although the outside of the bed is made from the frozen water. Instead, the inside is made of wood, with a foam padding on top. A pillow is provided inside the hood of the mummy bag. Leave your snowboots outside the bag and they'll be just fine in the morning.

The rooms are pretty much bare apart from the ice beds and the powdery snow that lies between them. Remember you're there to sleep - there's no point in hanging around. Much too cold for that. There are no Picassos or Monets on these 4 foot thick walls. There's not even a door to close off the room, just a curtain for privacy, yet everything feels perfectly safe.

When you're looking to turn out the lights, you'll find them inside each bed itself, giving off an other-worldly glow. Thankfully this means you don't have to move anywhere to turn them off. What's harder to do, though, is to keep your nose from feeling like an iceberg and the best way to do this is to pull your woolen hat down onto your nose.

Next day, you'll see the proud, beaming faces of the snow warriors who survived their sub-zero night. Most people only do it once - we are creatures of comfort after all. The successful regale stories of how long it took them to get to sleep, how warm their plush bags were and how surprised they were to don snow boots still remarkably dry and comfortable, before heading off to the inviting showers of the auberge.

Sad though, is the face of the visitor who had too much to imbibe - even if it wasn't alcohol - and had to get out the sleeping bag, don warm clothes and make a bathroom visit in the wee freezing hours of the night, only to return and go through the whole undressing-and-back-in-the-bag-again process. It's not surprising that some just don't make it back down from the lodge, a few short, yet bitingly endless, yards away. They end up instead spending the rest of the night on a couch in the heated locker room.

Other than sleeping, other activities at the hotel include cross-country skiing, ice-fishing, snow-shoeing, dog sledding and skating. Of you can simply stay warm by eating. The food at the Ice Hotel is to die for and everything you'd expect from a five-snowflake resort. You can enjoy options like cheese fondue - try the bread, cheese and a grape all in one mouthful or the locally fished trout.

So how did it all turn out? After a successful night at the Ice Hotel, this warm-weather lover anticipated returning to some toasty 50-degree weather. But snow boots and thermals packed snugly away, I surprisingly missed the Ice Hotel and all its quirky offerings.

Was it beautiful? Yes, breath-taking, like nothing you'll see anywhere else in North America. Was it frigid? Not for the adventurous in spirit. More importantly, was it worth it? Absolutely. Unequivocally. It's an experience, that I, for one, will always have frozen in my memory.


For more information,
Ice Hotel, Canada: www.icehotel-canada.com
Quebec Tourism: www.bonjourquebec.com