ICEHOTEL 36 opens with ice grand piano, -5C rooms for 2025 season

Sweden’s Icehotel in Jukkasjärvi has opened its winter season with ICEHOTEL 36, a temporary, art-filled complex built entirely from ice and snow. The winter wonderland, designed to melt away as the season progresses, features ice rooms kept at about minus five degrees Celsius and a grand piano fashioned entirely from frozen water, a centerpiece that Icehotel Creative Director Luca Roncoroni described as a remarkable achievement. The installation marks another chapter in a long-running project that blends hospitality with sculpture, storytelling and performance, inviting guests to experience a living art exhibition that changes with the thaw of spring.

The hotel’s winter footprint includes 12 suites, each decorated by 33 different artists from around the world, and between 15 and 20 ice rooms that form the core of ICEHOTEL 36. The 2,800-square-metre structure was constructed last month using ice harvested in March from the Torne River. A large team—roughly 89 builders, designers and artists—worked to transform the snow and ice into a functional, if temporary, hotel. Guests arrive through a 30-metre-long Main Hall, known as Cathedral Grove, a shimmering forest of icy treetops that sets the tone for the experience as they step into a world of frost-and-glass artistry. Inside the ice suites, guests are greeted by a quiet, cathedral-like hush, punctuated by the occasional crackle of ice blocks shifting in the cold air.

The accommodations extend beyond the high-desert, snow-white rooms to include thematic spaces that have become a signature of Icehotel. One room, Arctic Archive, features ice books carved into a bookcase on every wall and even beneath the icy bed, while Dragon of Icehotel showcases dragons sculpted from snow and ice with a domed ceiling towering over the bed. There is also a room titled There’s No One Here, where snow feet protrude from beneath the bed and carved faces peer from the walls. The temperature in these spaces remains around minus five degrees, so guests wrap up in reindeer skins and a sleeping bag as part of the ambient, otherworldly stay. The grand piano, standing beside an ice bench with a blanket draped over it in photographs released for ICEHOTEL 36, is highlighted by the team as a moment of creative risk and achievement. "Assembling it was both nerve-racking and magical — we didn’t know if it would hold until the very last minute," Roncoroni said, adding that the music echoing through the corridors would be a defining feature of the season. He emphasized the collaboration that made ICEHOTEL 36 possible, noting that some contributing artists have decades of experience, while others are new to snow and ice.

Icehotel’s creators describe ICEHOTEL 36 as a living art installation rather than a traditional hotel. The project is designed to be ephemeral by design, with the ice and snow gradually melting away once the winter thaw begins. Yet during the season, it offers a unique opportunity to witness sculpture and architecture in progress, as guests experience rooms that are not only places to sleep but works of art in their own right. Beyond the suites, the venue maintains a core ethos of cultural collaboration, featuring art from a rotating cadre of international artists, a concept that has made Icehotel a magnet for visitors seeking a multisensory travel experience. "Now we look forward to hearing music echo through the corridors of ICEHOTEL," Roncoroni added, signaling the intermingling of sound, light, and sculpture that defines the space.

For travelers seeking a more conventional stay, ICEHOTEL also remains accessible year-round in a broader sense. In addition to the 12 winter suites, the property offers 18 art and deluxe suites that are available year-round, along with standard hotel rooms and cabins for guests who prefer warmer accommodations. The on-site Icehotel Restaurant continues the frosty theme with a four-course Ice Menu served on crystal-clear ice blocks sourced from the Torne River, offering a dining experience that blends gastronomy with art. Outside, the site offers winter activities aligned with Nordic travel culture, including snowmobile tours to chase the northern lights, dog sledding adventures, and ice sculpting sessions. A traditional sauna ritual rounds out the offerings, inviting guests to experience a customary Arctic finish to their cold-weather itinerary. The Icehotel’s seasonal emphasis remains a draw for art lovers, honeymooners and curiosity-seekers alike, drawn to a venue that refuses to stay the same from year to year and invites visitors to witness a living, melting masterpiece. The winter 2025 edition, with its grand ice piano and an ensemble of artist-made spaces, stands as a focal point for Sweden’s distinctive fusion of hospitality and contemporary sculpture.