You can actually sleep well in silence and a cold air. The sleeping bag they provide is perfect to keep you warm after jacuzzi+sauna.
- Free Wifi
- Free parking
You can actually sleep well in silence and a cold air. The sleeping bag they provide is perfect to keep you warm after jacuzzi+sauna.
Visited the Ice hotel last weekend, you can do a simply tour without having to sleep there if sleeping on ice doesn't appeal to you. while the cost is high ($17.50), it is quite worth it. the rooms are vacant during the day, so the visitors can peek in, some of the rooms are absolutely amazing. they have ice sculptures everywhere, as well as designs on the snow walls. there were even a few ice slides. you can choose to take a guided tour, which start at noon, we were too early and just walked around ourselves, they also rent out an audio guide for $5each.
dress warmly as its cold in there! not hard to get to, GPS got us there easily.
I booked a suite at the Quebec Ice Hotel after purchasing a Teambuy voucher. I was happy that the voucher included a night in a suite, as the suites were more intricately decorated with murals and ice sculptures than standard rooms. A large exterior slide was under construction as of Jan. 29th, it's probably open now - looks like it would've been a lot of fun. I loved touring around the hotel and finding all the fun little details in the designs, but would not spend the money again for another night's stay.
The room is yours from 9 PM to 8 AM, which leaves little time for sleeping, once you take advantage of the free cocktail, and the hot tubs and sauna. The hot tubs and sauna were enjoyable, though the Overnight guest pavilion is very basic (i.e. three womens/mens washroom stalls separate from the showers/change rooms). One of the three Arctic Spa hot tubs was too cold to use, a second one only had one fully functioning jet, so that left one hot tub for the majority of the guests to use.
The bartender was the first person all day to inform us that the free cocktail voucher excluded the specialty cocktails containing Domaine Pinnacle ice cider, which was unexpected, especially as the bar was sponsored by Domaine Pinnacle, and unappreciated due to the cost of the experience. On the flip side, the Overnight guest registration lady and welcoming gentleman in the main visitor pavilion, and shuttle driver/valet were all superb and added to the enjoyment of the experience.
Due to the high volume of visitors throughout the day, the cozy fur bedspread was wet and dingy. If I stayed again, I would bring more clothing for sleeping than they tell you is needed. Don't worry about being too warm at night, and bundle yourself up in the sleeping bag exactly as the orientation session indicates.
This hotel is great if you are staying for the right reasons. If you are looking for a comfortable nights stay in a luxurious hotel the Hotel de Glace is probably not for you. If you are looking for a new and unique experience and don't mind giving up some comforts a nights stay at the Hotel de Glace is a must.
My wife and I stayed at the HdG in January. The outdoor temp was -25C without windchill we were a toasty -5C in our room. Don't let that scare you, we were both adequately warm all night long. My wife (like most women) normally has a difficult time staying warm, she slept in her long underwear wool socks and toque. She reported staying warm all night. I was a little braver, I slept in my normal underwear, toque and wool socks. The only part of me that was cold was my nose. Tip 1: do not sleep in anything cotton. Wool and synthetics are fine. That being said my underwear were cotton and I was fine.
We checked in earlier and went to the training session. Tip 2: Go to the training session!
We had a late dinner in the City and got back to the hotel at around 11:15pm. We went in the hot tub and sauna. Tip 3: walk to hot tubs in your bare feet. We hit the sack at around 12:30pm making sure to completely drain our bladders (there was no monkey business it was too cold for that). Tip 4: Don't drink a lot (of anything) before bed. Getting up to pee in the middle of the night is not nice. It's not like camping where you can just hop out the tent and pee on the ground.
One thing that really surprised us is there are no doors on the rooms, only curtains. Security isn't really an issue as you don't bring anything but your camera with you to your room. They give you a locker for your valuables and luggage. If you can afford it booking a room at the Sheraton 2km away is the way to go.
I have too much good things to say about the unique experience at the wonderful ice castle - Hotel de Glace.
I heard some complaints about uncomfort while staying on ice. Acturally the hotel does't provide "comfort" like Hilton-like hotels do. If don't have right mentality and good physical conditions, please don't try sleeping on ice, but simply pay a short scenery visit instead. For me and my wife, we definitely enjoyed the great over-night stay in the hotel. The accomodations and activities all are great, particularly the ice bed sleep and winter starry night SPA !
The joy belongs to the people who enjoy somewhat of adventures.
Great at least for once in a lifetime!
It was my dream to sleep in an ice hotel after watching the James Bond movie, seriously!
So one day I've heard a news that there is an ice hotel being built in Quebec, Canada which is practically next door to New Jersey, right ? I was so excited that we made quite impossible arrangements for kids babysitting and booked a 1 night stay about 8 months in advance. Why? Because the price was about $100 cheaper than their regular prices. We were able to book a regular room for $279 + taxes ~ $360 CAN. Yes, you can book a suite for about $100 or $200 more but we figured we'll see the suites anyway, we don't have to sleep there.
Anyway, this is how it works:
You go in for an orientation where the stuff explains how to sleep in the room, then you get a locker and you are free to roam around until about 6pm. Everyone can visit any room so we were able to see and make photos of every cool decorated suites there, go to the wedding chapel and of course the main hall. After 6pm the rooms are cleaned and become private.
At night there is an open bar for the guests, a fun dance music is playing so people could drink and dance in the ski outfits :-) as well as fun games and activities for everyone. I really enjoyed that part. A little word about the crowd. Not the richest people ever. Normal families with kids (could be a challenge for a child though), couples celebrating birthdays and anniversaries, various ages, many people from the nearby cities in Canada and many New Yorkers!
Later at night everyone could just go to sleep or first visit a hot tub and sauna outside. Of course we couldn't miss this opportunity, the hardest part was running from the changing area to the hot tub in about -15C = 5F cccold weather. However it was so much fun sitting in the hot tub under the starry sky and of course enjoying the dry sauna. Very romantic ...
Afterwards you go to the room, undress, jump into the sleeping bag and zip up very fast. In fact the bag is very warm and we definitely didn't get cold sleeping there. As you might guess the hardest part is getting out and dressing in the morning :-) The morning coffee at the hotel desk definitely helped!
One more important thing - the hotel price includes a room in a good hotel nearby, so if you are uncomfortable or cold you could always get there. A special shuttle goes regularly between the Hotel de Glace and the hotel day and night. We stayed at the Four Points by Sheraton.