The Icehotel of the year has opened – celebrating 35 years

Last week, the doors to this year’s winter hotel opened at Icehotel in Jukkasjärvi. Icehotel 35 is, as the name suggests, the 35th in as many years. This year’s ice and snow creations are the work of 26 artists from 13 countries, led by Creative Director Luca Roncoroni.

After six weeks of work, Icehotel 35 is ready in Jukkasjärvi. A winter hotel, and an art gallery, which receives visitors during the winter, and then melts back to the Torne River. The ice blocks were harvested in the spring and stored in the Icehotel’s ice warehouse in Jukkasjärvi until construction.

In addition to artists, builders, lighting designers, ice production and artist support have worked hard to get the hotel in place.

“A warm November delayed the start of the construction season, making this winter extra challenging, but once again a great team managed to deliver Icehotel 35 in time for the opening. The artists’ commitment resulted in 14 unique projects, which will perfectly celebrate the 35th anniversary! says Luca Roncoroni, Creative Director of Icehotel, in a press release.

This year, visitors can stay in a suite with a giant rhino in the “WHOOPS WRONG ROOM!!!” or be fascinated by Sami crafts in the “Áhku Fáhcat” suite, which means grandmother’s mittens in Sami.

In addition to the art suites, there is a ceremonial hall with ice flowers for weddings and events. There is also a pillared hall of almost 30 meters, where the crystal chandeliers are created with hand-carved ice crystals.

Since 2024, the Icehotel has partnered with Vidde Mobility, which offers the world’s first electric, circular snowmobile, and this winter season guests can experience a snowmobile ride in silence, in interaction with nature.

Exciting facts about this year’s winter hotel:

• More than 500 tons of ice from the Torne River were used to build the hotel.
• They used 32 700 cubic meters of ‘snice’ – a mixture of snow and ice.
• 26 artists from 13 countries have participated in the design.
• There are 12 art suites, 20 ice rooms, a ceremonial hall and a pillared hall.
• It is -5 degrees inside the hotel.

More about Icehotel in Jukkasjärvi:

Read the Icehotel press release here.
Read more about Icehotel on swedishlapland.com.

Watch a video of the construction of Icehotel 33: