Snow Hotel

Back at the Rica Arctic Hotel, I was picked up at 6pm to be taken to the Snow Hotel. I had with me what I would need for the night and would collect the rest of my luggage tomorrow from the Rica. Kat and Michelle were already in the bus and we were joined by a few others - they'd be 9 of us staying at the Snow Hotel tonight.

We began in the warm room with information about the clothes we could borrow (snowsuits, boots, gloves, beanies, wool socks, etc), the sleeping bags, and sheets. The guy told us to collect what we needed later and instructed us on how to best use the equipment. We had to place a sheet inside the sleeping bag, put our clothes in the sleeping bag between the bag and the sheet and we sleep in the sheet with our wool socks, thermal leggings, thermal top and a beanie. If we needed, wear gloves too. Zip our sleeping bag all the way up, leaving only the face opening. The clothes need to go inside the sleeping bag otherwise when you go to put them on the morning they'll be frozen and not nice to wear. Inside the Snow Hotel it is -4degrees. Outside if can get far colder.

We had a chance to explore the Snow Hotel. Walking through the tunnel entrance and in the double blue doors, complete with reindeer horn door handles, we entered the main room - the Ice Bar. This large domed room featured the Ice Bar in the centre, ice sculptures and ice carvings in the walls. The simple blue lighting came from the ceiling and under the ice of the bar. Two corridors came off the Ice Bar where the 20 hotel rooms were located. We were given time to explore each of the 20 rooms as they are decorated uniquely. Our guide informed us that each person sleeps best with different lighting, so to take note when looking in each room, as they are lit differently and the lighting stays on all night.

During this time, I was amazed at the detail of the snow carving in each room. Some more detailed, others simpler. Also each room had either two separate beds, two beds together and there was also a Kingsize bed (3 singles together) and a family room with 4 beds. I took note of which rooms had the dimmest lighting, as one of these rooms would be where I would sleep. As there was so few of us staying this evening, we didn't need to reserve a room.

Our guide explained how the Snow Hotel is made. Firstly they inflate a huge strong balloon and use tractors to compact 3m thick walls. The corridors and the hotel rooms are made in a similar fashion. Each room also has a hole in the centre of the dome. This is the safest and strongest structure, as it will not collapse, even when it melts in spring, as the hole in the middle just gets bigger and bigger. Although for safety reasons they still have an emergency exit through the end room of the first corridor. Additionally, and rather oddly, each room has a smoke alarm!

Once the structure is made, the rooms are decorated. This year they had Japanese ice sculptors do the carvings in the rooms as well as the Ice Bar. The walls have carvings in the snow wall and the ice blocks (cut from the lake) surrounding each bed are also carved to match the room theme.

After our time exploring the Snow hotel, we entered the Gabba Restaurant for our three-course dinner. We began by roasting our own reindeer sausage over the central fire, wrapping it in flat bread and adding mustard sauce if we desired. It was quite a tasty entrée. The main meal was mouthwatering salmon and cod, honeyed carrots, baked potato with a delicious herb sauce accompanied with a lettuce salad. A simple dessert of ice-cream and berries was a lovely way to finish a sumptuous dinner. Possibly the best meal I'd eaten during my travels so far.

Kat, Michelle and I spent some time taking some night photographs of the property and in the Ice Bar. Unfortunately we didn't see any northern lights, as it was a little overcast, but had fun taking our photographs. We spent some time in the warm lounge room, chatting about the night ahead of us and hoping that we wouldn't need a bathroom during the night! That would mean getting dressed and walking the 50m back to the lounge where there are toilets, showers and a sauna. Not the easiest thing to do in the middle of the night.

Kat and Michelle decided to leave most of these belongings in the lounge room and go across to the Hotel in snowsuits. I was going for the whole experience and took everything with me. With a huge sleeping bag, sheet, snow boots (they'd be warmed to put on in the morning instead of my hiking boots), wool socks and the rest of my belongings we headed off to bed. Closing the curtain door, I began the interesting experience of getting undressed whilst trying to get the sheet inside the sleeping bag along with my clothing. Ahh, finally I was in and sorted the pillow under my sleeping bag hood. Within seconds I was toasty warm and comfortable enough to drift off to sleep. I woke only occasionally to hide my nose under the sheet as it got a little cold.