In Lapland, Sweden, 200 km north of the Arctic Circle lies the village of Jukkasjärvi by the Torne River. Jukkasjärvi translates "meeting place" in the Sami language, has been a crossroads and marketplace for half a millennium. Jukkas AB, the company which started Ice Hotel, has been involved with tourism since the mid 1970's and offers numerous activities such as river-rafting, fishing, wilderness adventures, teambuilding, snow-mobiling, dog sledding, reindeer safaris and much more.
Before Ice Hotel, few tourists visited Jukkasjärvi throughout its long, dark, cold and snowy winters. However, in 1989, Jukkas AB (today Ice Hotel AB) decided to see the winter as an asset instead.

It all started in 1989 when Japanese ice artists visited Jukkasjärvi, resulting in an ice art exhibition, which was much discussed and written about. Shortly thereafter, in the spring of 1990, a cylinder-shaped igloo was constructed directly on the ice of the Torne River, where the French artist Jannot Derid had the opening of his exhibition of paintings. Hundreds of visitors marveled at the 60-m2-art gallery, which was named Arctic Hall. One night, some visitors spent the night on reindeer pelts - and the next morning they were very thrilled by the night they had spent. Arctic Hall was never planned to be a hotel, however well rested guests maintained that it was a warm and exciting experience.                      

The idea of Ice Hotel was born!                    

Now in its twelfth year, Ice Hotel continues a prosperous and prestigious climb as the world's largest hotel made completely of ice and snow. From its modest one room start a decade ago, Ice Hotel now boasts 4 000 sq. meters, about 3 000 tons of ice and 30 000 m3 of snow. 

During the winter season of 2000/2001, 14 000 overnight guests and 33 000 daytime visitors came to Ice Hotel. This 60 room winter wonderland includes a hotel reception, a main hall, an ice-art exhibition, the world-famous Absolute Ice Bar, Ice Hotel Cinema with ice-screen, the glorious Ice Church where many weddings and christenings take place, and of course - all hotel rooms. In the evenings, all gather in the Absolute Ice Bar to have a drink "in the rocks", from glasses cut from river ice. The Ice Church is a holy entity of snow and ice where services, weddings and christenings take place.

At the end of October, about thirty resident artists and builders get busy before the arrival of the first guests in mid-December. Snow canons and front loader help to mould the snow over vaulted steel forms, some forms as large as 5 meters high and 6 meters wide. After two days the vaulted sections are removed and ready for use in a new location. Then ice columns are put in place, to give extra support to the freestanding snow vaults. In late November, the builders remove ice from the Torne River aided by tractors and special ice saws and ice tools developed here in Jukkasjärvi. Also a stock of river ice since the winter before is used to start the building. The clean river water complemented with
and the fact that the water is fast moving produces crystal-clear ice.

In the beginning of December, the main structure nears completion and refinement of the interior begins. The interior design continues into late January. With a constant indoor temperature of about -5ºC, the indoor working conditions are relatively comfortable compared to the outside temperature which can drop below -40ºC. Late into the evening, the sculptors saw and chisel the ice blocks to create, amongst other things: architectural details, windows, doors, columns, desks, beds, chairs, tables, lamps, and sculptures. Every year, hand picked national and international guest artists are invited to design the interiors of certain rooms. The diverse styles of the numerous artists in combination with the characteristics of the ice result in a museum-like atmosphere full of magic, mystery, and surprises as one meanders from room to room.