You are in Quebec between January and March? The Ice Hotel have to be add to your agenda. A hotel that melts in the spring, is uncommon!
A hotel rebuilt each year
The hotel is located 5 km north of Quebec City, on the lower slopes of the Laurentian Mountains, in the Charlesbourg borough. This is the first and only ice hotel in North America. It is rebuilt every December for a opening date in early January. The hotel has three months of life each year before melting in April. He had 11 double beds when it opened in 2001. It now has 51 double beds, all made of ice and followed by a solid wood base and a comfortable mattress. When the time comes, a cozy sleeping bag, a single bed sheet and pillow are supplied in the rooms. Only the bathrooms are heated and located in a separate insulated structure.
It takes about six weeks to build with 50 workers. The hotel makes its own snow using a special mixture to adjust humidity. It is constructed with metal frames which serve as molds. Is then added tons of snow on these molds. After a few days, the show has hardened thereby they can remove the moulds. The hotel consists of 30,000 tons of snow and 500 tons of ice and the walls are up to four feet thick.
All furniture is made of ice. As in the Ice Hotel in Kiruna, the bar serves drinks and cocktails in ice glasses.
A unique attraction
The hotel has been described as a “tourist hotspot” and is supported by the Ministry of Tourism Quebec.
Tours are available in French and English, seven days a week. The hotel is also open to the public. After the thirteenth season, official statistics indicate more than the Ice Hotel got more then one million visitors and 43,000 people have stayed overnight.
Weddings
There is a chapel where weddings are celebrated. The Ice Hotel has been described as one of the “10 dream wedding venues.”
Source: Wikipedia