Hotel de Glace
Located about 30 minutes west of Quebec City is the Ice Hotel. Each winter the hotel is rebuilt on the grounds of the Station Touristique Duchesnay. The Station Touristique Duchesnay is a large resort that offers the most popular winter sports: snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, skating, ice fishing, and dog sledding. The Hotel is quite immense, exceeding 32,000 ft².
The Ice Hotel is, obviously, made of ice. That is, EVERYTHING is made of ice. Here’s the breakdown:
The Rooms
Each room is different, but all include a bed that consists of a block of ice covered with a thick foam mattress and fleece sheet. The hotel provides sleeping bags that you then unfurl on top of this; the hotel also provides modified sleeping bags for children so they are able to warm up more quickly. Some of the suites even have fireplaces or hot tubs. Because of the thick walls, the ambient temperature only varies a few degrees inside, between -3°C and -5°C, (23°-28° degrees Fahrenheit,) regardless of the outside temperature.
The Bathrooms
Set in a courtyard of the hotel, the bathrooms are specially designed and heated!
Amenities
One of the courtyards, only accessible to overnight guests, includes a sauna and hot tubs. There is also a bar, where all drinks are served “on the rocks” (a.k.a. in glasses made of ice).
The Ice Hotel’s Website contains a list of items you are expected to pack if planning to spend the night. Upon arrival, you’ll partake in a half-hour long orientation that includes how to use your sleeping bag, where to stow your gear (if you do not have a backup room) and what to do in case of an emergency. After orientation, dinner is served in the Auberge, followed by drinks in the bar and hot tub/sauna time.
The Ice Hotel is open from the first week in January until the last week in March, or when the building melts, whichever comes first. Rooms start at 199 Canadian dollars a person.
Directions
The Hôtel de Glace is at Station Touristique Duchesnay, on the shores of Lac St. Joseph, just 30 minutes from Québec City. Take Highway 40, then Exit 295 toward Sainte-Catherine-de-la-Jacques-Cartier onto Route 367 North and continue to the Station Touristique Duchesnay.
Contact
Telephone: 418-875-4522
Toll free: 1-877-505-0423
Email: information@hoteldeglace-canada.com\\
