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Saturday 30 December 2017

Hotel de Glace (Hotel of Ice)

Hôtel de Glace sculpté dans la glace.

Location: Saint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier, Quebec, Canada
Address:  1860 Boulevard Valcartier
Date: Feb 2010
Website: www.hoteldeglace-canada.com

  The Hotel de Glace or The Ice Hotel is located just north of Quebec City.  It is built out of snow and ice each December and guests can start spending the night in January.  The hotel continues to be built and by February it is complete.  Then come April it is demolished before it melts away.  The next December the whole process starts again.

Stairs Down To The Ice Hotel.

   We were brave enough to spend one night inside the hotel, but most visitors come just for a brief daytime visit to see the ice sculpted rooms.  We will discuss our overnight stay in another blog post.  First let us take a tour of how the hotel looked in 2010.

Ice Hotel Floor Plan.

  The green section in the floor plan (above) was built by January 4th.  The red section was built by January 12th and the final blue section was finished January 19th.

Furry Front Doors.

  We entered through the fur covered front doors.

Igloo Room.

   The first room we entered was the Igloo Room.  It had a tall curved ceiling.

Ice Chandelier.

  An ice chandelier hung from the ceiling as tourists roamed the Grand Hall area.

Everything is on the rocks.

The Ice Bar had tables made of ice and huge ice pillars holding back the thick snow roof.

Fire & Ice.

  It also had a fireplace to help you forget that it was -30 degrees outside and below freezing inside.

The Ice Slide.

  A slippery ice slide was set up in a corner and grown-ups took turns acting like children as they played in the snow.

A Long Icy Hallway.

  A long hallway of snow and ice leads to the special hotel rooms.  We spent our night in a basic room, but the special rooms are a highlight of the hotel.  Each room has its own theme.

Ocean Room.

  There was an ocean room with whales carved into the walls.

Eclipse Room.

An eclipse room where it looked like you could reach out and touch the sky.

Mermaid Room.

A room with a mermaid watching over you while you sleep.

Rose Room.

A rose room with a pink glow and flowers carved into the snow and ice.

Greek Room.

A Greek room complete with statues and pillars.

Bear Behind The Bed.
Blue Ice.
Totem Room.
Wall Carving Room.
Sloped Roof Bedroom.

Above are some other highlights from the various rooms we visited.

Ice Chapel.

Just behind the hotel is the ice chapel.  There have been many visitors to the Hotel de Glace who have chosen a chilly start to their new life together.  Many weddings have been held here each year since the hotel first opened in 2001.  Each year the chapel melts away with the rest of the hotel and is reborn with a new look the next year.

Etched Ice Chapel Window.

  The chapel had a beautiful etched ice window at the back.  The entire Ice Hotel with its carvings and coloured lights is quite a sight to see.  Spending the night inside the hotel is a different story.  We will continue with that story in our next post.


Map of Our World
Hotel de Glace

Post # 202

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