The Quebec City Ice Hotel is one of the world's coolest hotels. It's made with 500 tons of ice
Quebec City - The Ice Hotel is unquestionably one of the world's coolest hotels. It has four-foot thick walls that insulate like a thermos, keeping the temperature inside between 23 and 28° Fahrenheit (-2°and –5° Celsius). Each year's design is different, with a complete hotel constructed using about 15,000 tons of snow and 500 tons of ice. Versions have featured 36 bedrooms and suites, a chapel, a cinema, an outdoor hot tub, a sparkling chandelier and bar - all carved from ice. Public tours are available (have a drink in a glass carved of ice) or book in advance for an overnight stay (ice beds have furs and thermal sleeping bags). It's been the site of weddings, concerts and fashion shows, and is open annually early January to early April. To date more than one-half- million have visited, 25,000 have spent the night, and 130 couples have been married it the Ice Chapel. Video: I shot this video several years ago when the Ice Hotel was at original location, 25 minutes from Quebec City. It is now much closer to the city.
Where: Having switched to a new location for the winter of 2011, the hotel is now built each year in a park just a 10-minute drive from downtown Quebec City. It's at 9300, rue de la Faune, which is the old site of the Quebec Zoo. The Hotel is scheduled to be open in 2012 from Jan 6th until March 25th. At the end of each season the hotel is not just left to just melt, because of the length of time that that would take. Machinery is used to help dismantle it.
In the News: This season three weekends will offer activities and cultural demonstrations focused on three different First Nations of Northern Quebec. Starting January 20th there will be a 40-ft ice rink outside the hotel that visitors can enjoy, and starting January 28th there will also be a 64ft -long, 20ft-high, covered Grand Slide. From March 5 until March 9 the families of Quebec City will be able to enjoy a visit to the hotel at a special rate of $10 for adults, and free for children.
This winter architecture students, including students from Laval, McGill, Montreal and the QUAM, are competiting to design suites in ice and snow. Their prize will be scholarship money.
Lucy Izon
Canada Cool is produced by award-winning Canadian travel writer & speaker Lucy Izon. Her travel stories & reports have appeared in numerous leading North American publications including the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Toronto Star, Globe and Mail, and Chicken Soup for the Traveler's Soul. Bio page
Canada’s Coolest:
Welcome to a new feature on Canada Cool. I'll be presenting different 'Coolest' lists with my favorites and I encourage you to nominate suggestions from your own experiences. You can Twitter @CanadaCool or email Lucy@CanadaCool.com. Let me know what makes your suggestion exceptionally cool. Remember, by contributing your comments you are giving Canada Cool permission to quote you. Only a selection of submissions will be included, but all comments and submissions are greatly appreciated!
The first feature is: Canada's Coolest Single Day Scenic Drives
Here are some of my favorites...
The Icefields Parkway, Jasper National Park, Alberta - This 229 km (142 mi) Rocky Mountain route from Banff/Lake Louise to Jasper passes 100 frozen rivers and nudges the base of the Athabasca Glacier - the most accessible glacier in the world. You can stop and explore it. It spills down from the Columbia Icefield, an area of ice so massive that you could fit the entire population of North America on it with each person getting at least a square metre of space.
The Corridor, Algonquin Park, Ontario – this 56-km stretch of Hwy 60 cuts through the southwest section of Algonquin Park. Less than three hours north of Toronto the park is a nature-lover's paradise with 7,725 km of lakes, rivers, forest, trails, camping, comfortable lodges and 2000 km of canoe routes. Offers hiking trails to stop and enjoy, but what makes it really cool is that it’s one of the best places in North America to spot moose (especially in May and June). And, on Thursday nights in August up to 600 cars will gather to listen to wolves howl.
The Cabot Trail, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia – Driving this 303 km (187 mile) route is like riding a roller-coaster: the road snakes around hairpin turns, rises to heights over 365 metres (1200 ft), weaves around headlands revealing spectacular coastal scenery, and plunges down to sea level taking you into the heart of small fishing communities. The most dramatic scenery is between the Cape Breton Highlands National Park entrance near Cheticamp and Pleasant Bay, so go slow. And, plan some flexibility into your schedule, so you can drive it on a clear day.
And here are some of your nominations for 'Canada's Coolest Single Day Scenic Drives'...
More from Canada’s Coolest
'Canada's Coolest' topics we'll be publishing in the future:
- Golf Course Features
- Haunted Hotels
- Hotel Special Services
Send your suggestions to lucy@CanadaCool.com
Recent 'Canada's Coolest' topics:
