The hotel is totally amazing. Everything right down to the chairs and tables is made from ice. The art work is beautiful and the rooms are spacious. There is a main building where there are lockers etc which is heated and where you can get warmed up if you need too. The sleeping bags they provide are more than adequate to keep you warm at night. I am not a person who tolerates the colld very well however I had no problem sleeping. I did not even have to do up the sleeping bag all the way or use the hood. The orientation is painfully detailed but it really helps. They give you some tips which come in handy, but most of it is plain old common sense.

If you need to use the washrooms at night you have to go to the main building. I just threw on shorts, a shirt and my coat and I was fine walking to and from the building. The fewer clothes you wear to bed the better.

This is something which is really worth the money for the experience.

My husband and I, who live in Massachusetts decided to forgo our normal caribbean vacation and head north. This vacation decision was for two reasons. 1. We have always wanted to stay at the ice hotel, and 2. My mother in-law is very sick with pancreatic cancer. We decided to it would be easier to get home if from Quebec then from the caribbean. Anyway a long story short, she has taken a turn for the worse and we felt that we needed to cancel our trip, not realizing that there is 100% NO REFUND policy due to you can not view their policy from their website. Went I called and explained our situation I can not explain how cold, rude, and unemphatic they were. They kept saying they were sorry, however would not do anything to help our situation. Everything that they offered us was going to cost us more money. They wanted us to change to a different date, however did not understand that we could not predict when we would be able to come, and that we could not just get in a car and drive 8 hours away with my mother in-law being so sick. So as the director put it "this is my final offer" book for next year and we will only charge you an additional $175 instead of our normal $175 per person. (So so generous of them). This was after I explained that we are working middle class people and can not afford to just forget about a $600 a night hotel room. This was meant to be a special getaway for us for my 40th birthday. I can only hope by next year we can overcome this experience and have a good time.
I understand that there are policies, however I just could not believe how rude the staff was at the hotel. Life does have unexpected turns, and it would be nice to have people be understanding.
On a positive note my mother in-law is doing well for the moment and we will enjoy our time with her.
I hope everyone will be prepared not to have a change in plans when you book this hotel because they are not forgiving at all. Plus it makes it difficult due to it's popularity and the short time it's open that you need to book in advance.
Good luck to all but beware.

fun to visit the rooms, church and outdoor spa and wander around but would not pay the money on sleeping there. beds look uncomfortable. was expecting the rooms to be more extravagant for the cash you would have to shell out to sleep there. get a drink at the bar and enjoy the music!

WOW! The hotel itself is a sight to see and very unique to stay at. Everyone should at least see it even if they aren't willing to stay the night or cannot afford it. My boyfriend and I stayed the one night after we purchased a themed suite group buy deal for $350 tax in. It was pricy even after the 50% discount but I feel it was worth it.

----- Rooms -----
Beautiful. Each themed suite is different. If you are going to stay here… I recommend paying a bit more for a themed suite because the regular rooms were tiny, had no carvings, sculptures and white basic lighting. They looked like jail cells with white walls. Don't get a fireplace because it gives no warmth! It's just for show and I'd save the money.

----- Sleeping -----
First of all, read the email and make sure you follow it to the tee to prepare yourself for the night. Bring everything they advise -- fresh UNWORN non-cotton clothing, socks, gloves, scarf etc. If it has been worn during the day, you will be cold. I sadly experienced this because my gloves and socks were worn the day before (I didn't have any extra…). Basically, anything you have wore will hold some moisture particles from your body and it will make your sleeping bag cold. The sleeping bag is good for up to -29C degrees and the hotel is around the -5C mark. Your body heat is what will keep the sleeping bag warm.

If you don't go to the orientation to learn how to use your sleeping bag, you will be cold. The staff gives you critical information to stay warm during the night.

You don't want to wear too much in your sleeping bag because then you will sweat and the moisture will make you cold. However, bring an extra sweater and gloves and throw it in the sleeping bag with you just in case. I wanted mine in the middle of the night but it was in the lockers. Put gloves, socks, light sweater, face mask/scarf, camera in the sleeping bag. You can remove and layer and add layers while you are in the bag.

Everything else like your luggage, cameras, wallets are kept in the lockers near the washrooms.

Don't drink lots before sleeping because I'm sure going to the washroom in the middle of the night is going to be a pain. You'll get cold and let the warm heat out from your sleeping bag.

In the end, I didn't get much sleep since I got cold, this might have been from my gloves and socks (they were wore before…) I also woke up twice because my face was exposed in the cold air. Bring something to cover your face! On the other hand, my boyfriend slept and snored like a baby. He said he was warm and slept fine.

----- Spas -----
Nothing super special they were three Arctic Spas sponsored hot tubs that were just in a area of the hotel. They put some pine trees and lights around it for deco. There was also a small portable sauna outside too. It was still enjoyable and relaxing like any outdoor hot tub! Bring flip flops.

----- Breakfast -----
It is a buffet-styled breakfast served indoors in the check in/washroom area. Breakfast was from 6:30am to 9:30 am. There were eggs, sausages, home fries, cereals, toast, jams, peanut butters etc.

----- Check out -----
Room checkout was at 8:30am. This is a breeze because you wake up, grab your stuff hidden in your sleeping bag and leave. All your luggage is in the lockers anyways so you can pack and get ready there after 8:30am.

---- Other tips for overnighters ----
Arrive at 8pm or slightly earlier. We arrived 9pm and there was only an orientation at 11:15pm (The last one so I guess for any guests arriving between 9-11pm).

Another reason to come early, the exterior ice slide closes at 9pm. We arrived too late and apparently the big ice slide outside of the hotel is way more fun than the interior slide. The slide re-opens the next morning at 10am but it was too late for us.

The other rooms close I think at 8pm so you cannot see them until the morning. Arrive earlier if you want to tour the other suites during the night. Otherwise you can see them in the morning after checkout. That's what we did.

The bar claimed to close at midnight BUT it closed at 11:30pm so we didn't get to get our free cocktails in the ice glass since we were planning to get them after our 11:15 orientation.

Find out when there are fun activities. We got to try some ice carving in the hotel lobby/bar area around 10pm.

You could also get a package for a room at the nearby sheraton hotel if you don't think you can sleep there. This is a bit of waste of money in my opinion tho, might as well just tour the place.

Top reasons for staying overnight vs. a visit
- Great photo opportunities. No background people because the hotel isn't crowded at night even at full capacity.
- Not crowded compared to the tours. I'm sure if we went for the tour during the day on a weekend while Carnaval was going on, it would have been PACKED. Hard to see everything, try the slides etc.
- You get to see the hotel at night and during the day. Very different feel. I loved both!
- If you want to try something new and different… this is it!