ICEHOTEL, Sweden: What It's Really Like (Prices, Facts & Tips)
The original. Rebuilt from the Torne River every winter, gone by spring. We visited 7 times!
One of our favorite rooms of all times!
We've visited the ICEHOTEL, Swedish Lapland, seven times, and it's a different icy museum every time! The whole thing melts back into the Torne River each spring and gets rebuilt from scratch the next winter by artists from all over the world. We’ve visited other ice hotels in other countries, but this one is admittedly our favorite.
Sure, it’s pricey (and definitely worth it). But if you’re on a budget, you don't have to sleep on ice to visit. Here's the quick version, then the details. Ice ice baby!
🛌 Where to sleep:
• Ice Room or Art Suite, ICEHOTEL Winter (Dec-April): the classic, one-season-only version.
• Deluxe Suite, ICEHOTEL 365 (year-round): private bathroom, bookable any month.
• Warm rooms & cabins: where you'll actually sleep most nights.
🧊 Top experiences:
• Day tour of ICEHOTEL from Kiruna: visit without booking a room, and feed the adorable reindeer at Sámi Siida.
🚗 Getting there: Rent a car for the freedom to go at your own pace. The bus works fine too, just know you're on their schedule. Either way, it's about 20 minutes from Kiruna.
ICEHOTEL, Sweden: at a glance
What is the ICEHOTEL? A hotel rebuilt every winter from ice and snow blocks cut from the Torne River, then gone again by spring. The original and first one of its kind.
Do you have to sleep on ice? No. Warm rooms and cabins are available year-round if you'd rather skip the cold night.
Best for: One memorable night, not your whole trip. Pair it with a warm cabin onsite (great for northern lights as it’s far away from light pollution) or in Kiruna.
Best time to combine with the northern lights: December through March, when nights are darkest and the actual ice structure is built.
The story
The lobby and the rooms are made by different artists every year
It started by accident (like many great inventions!). In 1989, founder Yngve Bergqvist opened Arctic Hall, an ice and snow art gallery on the Torne River, built in the shape of an igloo. When the village's cabins filled up one night, a group of stranded guests slept inside the igloo instead, wrapped in warm sleeping bags. They loved the experience. ICEHOTEL was born.
Every winter since, it's rebuilt from nothing: ice blocks up to two tons each, cut from the river, plus "snice" (a snow and ice mix) for walls and ceilings. About 150 artists apply each year, roughly 15 get selected. Construction takes six weeks. The 2025-26 edition was ICEHOTEL 37. And since then, other ice hotels have been built around the world (for example, the Arctic Snow Hotel in Finland, featured in our Rovaniemi Winter Guide). But the original remains our favorite!
And for the interesting fact: Jukkasjärvi means "meeting place by the water" in Sámi.
Browse tours in Jukkasjärvi and Kiruna:
ICEHOTEL room types
The Aurora Art Suite had an amazing music and light show in 2020!
Three tiers, and most people mix and match during their stay.
ICEHOTEL Winter (Dec-April). Ice Rooms or Art Suites, hand-carved each year by that winter's artists. Gone by summer (let it goooo).
ICEHOTEL 365 (year-round). Art Suite 365 or Deluxe Suite 365, kept frozen through summer with solar cooling. Deluxe has a private bathroom.
Warm rooms & cabins (year-round). Arctic Cabins or Kaamos rooms. Where you'll actually sleep most nights of a multi-night stay.
ICEHOTEL's own advice: one cold night, warm rooms for the rest. We totally agree.
What is the ICEHOTEL like
Cheering with ice glasses at the Ice Bar!
Worth walking through even without booking a room! We've done exactly that as day visitors (7 times!) between stays elsewhere in Kiruna (read our guide to the best hotels in Kiruna and the best northern lights hotels in Swedish Lapland). Every winter looks different: some years cathedral-like arches, other years playful sculpture rooms. There's an ice bar too, drinks served in glasses carved from the same river ice, and a ice chapel.
Book a cold room and you'll get a briefing, a thermal sleeping bag, and a sauna waiting the next morning — and don’t worry, the shared bathroom is heated. We haven't slept in an ice room ourselves yet, so we won't pretend to describe exactly what that feels like.
How much does the ICEHOTEL cost
Would you get married here?
We don't have a confirmed, current price list, because rates shift by room, season, and booking window. Rough order for the ice building: Ice Rooms cheapest, then Art Suites, then the Deluxe Suites in ICEHOTEL 365. The warm rooms are the cheapest overall. Packages that bundle a cold night with warm nights and activities are usually more interesting than booking each piece separately.
You can even get married at the ice chapel, budget allowing!
How to get to the ICEHOTEL
About 20 minutes from Kiruna. A rental car gives you the freedom to combine ICEHOTEL with other stops on your own schedule. Bus, cab, and tour transfers all work fine too, you'll just be on their timetable instead of yours. Finally, you can also book a day tour including transportation, a guided tour of the ICEHOTEL and feeding reindeer at Sámi Siida.
What else to see in Jukkasjärvi
Is that a reindeer selfie smile I see? At Sámi Siida
We love this adorable little village, and we mention it in our Kiruna winter guide. Worth an hour or two beyond ICEHOTEL itself:
The Sámi church: small and wooden, at the end of the village road.
Sámi Siida: feed reindeer, browse duodji handicrafts, try suova (smoked reindeer). Full details in our Kiruna guide.
The frozen river: free, simple, and walkable right by the hotel in winter. At sunset or sunrise, it’s spectacular. It’s also a great spot to go dogsledding and watch the northern lights!
ICEHOTEL and the northern lights
And speaking of which, Jukkasjärvi sits inside the aurora zone, same as Kiruna. ICEHOTEL sells its own northern lights packages. The ice rooms aren't built for viewing though, you'll step outside onto the frozen river after dark. More in our Northern Lights in Kiruna guide.
Is the ICEHOTEL worth it?
The lobby is always spectacular no matter what year you visit!
For one night, yes. It's not just a room, it's an art installation you're briefly living inside, and it’s absolutely unique and ephemeral. Not for a whole trip though, warm rooms are more comfortable and the cold room's appeal is partly that it's a one-time experience. If you don’t book a warm cabin or room onsite, you can find more affordable options in our Best Northern Lights Hotels in Swedish Lapland and Best Hotels in Kiruna guide.
Zoom in and out on the map below to explore hotels and cabins in Jukkasjärvi and Kiruna:
✈️ Find flights
🏨 Explore hotels, apartments, guesthouses, cabins
🧭 Browse activities and tours
🚗 Compare car rentals
🧳 Get travel gear
🛡️ Travel safe with Heymondo Travel Insurance (5–15% off)
📱 Get a travel eSIM
🐾 Protect & track Arctic wildlife with Fahlo Bracelets (20% off)
FAQ: ICEHOTEL, Sweden
Is the ICEHOTEL actually made of ice? Yes. Ice blocks from the Torne River, plus "snice" for structure. Melts every spring, rebuilt every winter.
How much does it cost? We don't have a confirmed current price list. Ice Rooms are cheapest, Deluxe Suites 365 most expensive, warm rooms cheapest overall. Check current rates directly before booking.
Is it open all year? The seasonal ICEHOTEL runs December to April. ICEHOTEL 365 stays open year-round with solar cooling.
Do you actually sleep on ice? On a bed frame carved from ice, topped with reindeer hides and a thermal sleeping bag. A sauna is available the next morning.
Can I visit without staying overnight? Yes, day visits don't require booking a room.
How do I get there from Kiruna? About 20 minutes away, by bus, cab, or tour transfer.
Is it good for the northern lights? Jukkasjärvi sits inside the aurora zone. The rooms aren't built for viewing though, you'll head outside onto the frozen river after dark.
Seven visits in, it still gets us every time, mostly because it won't exist in this exact form again after spring. Book one night if you can… and spend the rest of your trip somewhere warm!
Finally, explore all of our Lapland Travel Guides here.
Free download
Travel Cheaper Cheat Sheet
27 tips on flights, hotels, hidden costs and more — spend less without missing what actually matters.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Planning a Lapland trip? Explore our detailed guides:
🏨 Best Hotels in Kiruna — Ice rooms, riverside cabins, and skies that glow in green.
🏨 Best Hotels in Swedish Lapland — Icehotels, glass igloos, and cozy cabins under the northern lights.
💚 Northern Lights in Kiruna, Swedish Lapland— Best time, where to go, where to stay and how it compares to Abisko
🗓️ Best Time to Visit Lapland — Sweden, Finland and Norway compared
🦌 Things to Do in Kiruna & Swedish Lapland Year Round — Aurora skies, Sámi culture, and the northern edge of cozy.
❄️ Things to Do in Kiruna in Winter — Blue-hour days, husky trails, and Northern Lights that light up the whole sky.
🌌 Abisko Northern Lights Tours — Clear skies, the Blue Hole and Sweden’s most reliable aurora nights.
🎄 Kiruna vs. Rovaniemi: Swedish Lapland vs. Finnish Lapland — Two Arctic capitals, one epic showdown.
🦌 One Lapland trip, three countries — How to combine Sweden, Finland & Norway
❄️ Our Ultimate Arctic Travel Guide — How to explore, survive, and avoid becoming a polar bear’s lunch.
✨ Northern Lights for Dummies — How to actually see the aurora (without freezing your butt off or waiting 12 nights in vain).
