Four offbeat hotels in Scandinavia

From a retreat made of ice in Sweden to a treehouse in Norway. Chris Carter reports

Icehotel
The Icehotel’s exotic sculptures can be enjoyed from the comfort of your fireside
(Image credit: © Asaf Kliger)

High up in the frozen wilds of northern Sweden, the doors to the 31st Icehotel have just creaked open. Every year since 1989, the Icehotel has been created afresh in the little village of Jukkasjärvi. Outside the mercury falls to as low as –20˚C. But inside the thermometer remains a steady, and relatively balmy, 5˚C thanks to the 563 tons of ice from the river Torne used to build the hotel.

The Icehotel is also an art gallery. In normal years, chainsaw-wielding artists arrive from around the world every October to work the blocks of ice into fantastic shapes. Last year, there was a ferris wheel and miniature rollercoaster to celebrate three decades of the hotel in ice. This year, because of travel restrictions (see below), the artists are all from Sweden. But the range of designs are as quixotic – not to mention exotic – as ever. A giant lizard skulks in its icy den in one suite, along with other fantastical creatures.

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Chris Carter
Wealth Editor, MoneyWeek

Chris Carter spent three glorious years reading English literature on the beautiful Welsh coast at Aberystwyth University. Graduating in 2005, he left for the University of York to specialise in Renaissance literature for his MA, before returning to his native Twickenham, in southwest London. He joined a Richmond-based recruitment company, where he worked with several clients, including the Queen’s bank, Coutts, as well as the super luxury, Dorchester-owned Coworth Park country house hotel, near Ascot in Berkshire.

Then, in 2011, Chris joined MoneyWeek. Initially working as part of the website production team, Chris soon rose to the lofty heights of wealth editor, overseeing MoneyWeek’s Spending It lifestyle section. Chris travels the globe in pursuit of his work, soaking up the local culture and sampling the very finest in cuisine, hotels and resorts for the magazine’s discerning readership. He also enjoys writing his fortnightly page on collectables, delving into the fascinating world of auctions and art, classic cars, coins, watches, wine and whisky investing.

You can follow Chris on Instagram.