This hotel, which is owned by Air Greenland, describes itself as the most northern luxury hotel in the world, and in fact it is a spectacular place, which also hosted a world climate conference with major world leaders. The rooms are rated 4-star and the conference facilities 5-star.

You have make sure that you book at least a "Superior Plus" room in the new wing, where you have a front-row seat to watch the Disco Bay and the Ice Bergs passing by that are carried down by the currents and waiting to be melt. Surely, one of the most impressive sites I have ever seen. You can also book one of the igloos which are closer to the seafront, but they only operate in summer and are –for my taste- somewhat small and not really welcoming.

If you want to visit Ilulissat, the main question is whether to come during summer or winter season. During summer it is warmer, more touristic, but you have some problems with mosquitoes. The advantage of winter is that you (theoretically) can experience a real Greenlandic winter, do dog sledding and it is possible to come a bit closed to the calving glaciers.

Whatever you choice, conditions in both seasons are extreme, as Ilulissat is located 150 miles north of the Polar circle: during winter you have only a couple of hours of sun and in the summer you get an overdose of sun. The choice is between sun deprivation and winter depression.

I decided in favour of winter season in order to experience the authentic side of Greenland. When I left Copenhagen, it was snowing and I was prepared to encounter some really harsh and cold weather conditions in Ilulissat. However, I was disappointed to see that the temperatures were above 6 Celsius (during day time) during my entire 4 days of stay and there was little snow left. Global warming also seems to have hit Greenland and Ilulissat has been experiencing mild winters for two consecutive years.

Prior to my arrival, I reserved online some outdoor activities through their preferred agency, worldofgreenland, but most of these activities were canceled because of the warm weather and the fact that not enough people showed interest. At least, I could take the boat trip to the glacier area, which was definitely the highlight of the trip (a must for every Ilulissat visitor, also dog sledding if the weather permits).

This point brings me to the only critique of the hotel. There is little to do in the Hotel or in Ilulissat, especially during winter time, when activities are canceled due warm weather or lack of tourists. The result is that tourists have to kill time, and there is not gym or spa available as a Plan B. I voiced this concern to the general manager, and obviously they will consider investing in a SPA area if the investment payoff permits.

Some further general comments on this hotel:

The hotel offers a free transfer from the airport to the hotel and an hourly transfer to downtown Ilulissat, which is around 900m distance, where all the outdoor activities start.

The Hotel Artic has a good gourmet restaurant, however I found some courses over-experimental. I can highly recommend the Hotel Icefjord in Ilulissat, where the former chef of Hotel Arctic is working.

All staff, incl. the general manager and especially the front-desk staff are very hospitable

Price of EUR 166 is fair, considering that Greenland is expensive and you in one of the best hotels in Greenland. I especially enjoyed the floor heating in the bathroom.

I found it interesting that there is also a nightlife in Ilulissat: there are two nightclubs for the enjoyment of alcoholic beverages, but the only recommendable one is “Naderlaq”, where a rock band for Qaanaaq played all nights. An enjoyful mixture of young and old, rock and pop and it is quite easy to mix with the locals.

Another general recommendation: plan your flight itinerary (esp on arrival and departure) with some time cushion as there are many flight delays and cancellation due to the weather conditions. I was the victim of a Air Greenland flight cancellation on my way back and it was quite expensive to rearrange a return flight to Europe.