We booked this trip from the UK with Discover the World as it seemed to be the only agent who could offer a direct flight. Other flights are available and you have to change at Stockholm but there appeared to be too long a wait between transfers. We departed from Heathrow and the actual flight was great. There's 5 rows of first class and you have a hot meal and the champagne is free, that's the only difference I could see. We were in row 6 so when the "posh curtain" was drawn it was like we had a lil private booth. It was a special occasion so we paid for champagne but were pleased to find out that the wine and spirits were free. The meal was cold meats and cheese etc, really tasty. We landed in Kiruna on time and in - 28 degrees. I'd packed some of our snow stuff in the hand luggage so a quick addition of over clothing and we were fine - it's the smallest airport I have ever been to. We stayed in the Ice Hotel for 3 days in the middle of January, they have 3 hours of daylight during the day at this time so expect the journey to the hotel to be dark, but luckily quite quick. The reception staff are fantastic and you are soon checked in, we had a warm chalet first and were soon kitted out in our snow gear. This is really important if you are a lady with smaller feet than a size 39 do not have these boots, your feet will freeze like mine did in a size 37. Ask for a pair of 40 as these are more heavy duty and will keep your feet toasty, don't worry about the size, you won't be running in them but I only found out i had the substandard boots on the last day and my feet had already suffered. If you are going to do this trip I would definately spend the extra money and sleep in a suite, the ice rooms are ok, but if you are going to do this, and you will probably only do this once in your life you may as well push the boat out. Do not book your trips with Discover the World, they are terribly over priced. We used Kiruna Guidetour. They are fantastic and as they are smaller you are very often in a small group with a local guide. We went Ice Fishing and they picked us up at the hotel and Daniel was obviously very keen on ice fishing and was so helpful and enthusiastic, there were just him, me and my husband on this day and it was great. We only fished until we had caught a fish, he's happy to stay for as long or short amount of time fishing as you like. I try not to spoil your experience of hotels by giving out too much information but the ice bed can be uncomfortable, some are easier to sleep in than others. The beds comprise of two single mattresses - I use the word mattress loosely!!! covered with animal hides which can mean it's a bit lumpy and there is a crack in the middle and the sleeping bags tho lovely and warm are nylon and slip about a bit on the fur so you really have to position yourself and your partner in the right place or you will slide together and one of you will be on the crack - which was me, really uncomfortable but omg those sleeping bags are lovely and warm so don't worry about being cold. I'd put a hat on tho as well as one pair of pj's and socks. Despite what others write, it's not that far to go for a pee! Food and drink is madly expensive, we packed two bottles of wine and a bottle of champagne. An inch of red wine in a glass is £11 in the bar. The Homestead restaurant is said to be cheaper than the Hotel Restaurant, but they are both owned by the complex. We walked the 20 mins in the snow to the Holmstead and had a starter, main, two cocktails, two beers and four shots and it cost about £160. Only have the reigndeer meat if you are happy to pay for it, you get it with every trip you go on for lunch. Tho the meat in the Holmstead is excellent and much better that what you get cooked in the pot over an open fire in one of the log cabins. It was too cloudy to see the full effect of the Northern Lights but this did not diminish the excellence of this experience. If anyone wants further information or has queries I'd be happy to answer. Please see my other reviews about trips and the Ice Hotel.

Spending the night in ice room was an adventure of a lifetime! The staff at IceHotel made it easy. The rooms were beautiful - even the non-suites. They gave us a 15-20 minute talk on sleeping warmly. All of their advice worked; my husband and I slept so warmly that I was unzipping my side of the double sleeping bag during the night. The beauty of this experience is that the hotel provides boots, mittens, a snow suit, and a sleeping bag (single or double) so that visitors don't have to pack this voluminous equipment. The hotel also provides a very clean and sizable shower/sauna/dressing room facility. We had a wonderful experience!

We went here for my husband's 50 birthday. Everything about it was great. The IceHotel itself is amazing when you realise it is created from nothing every year. We stayed in one of the Ice Art Rooms rather than the regular snow rooms. It is well worth the additional cost, but if you feel it is a bit much you still are able to wander round and see the rooms - no-one actually gets access to their rooms until quite late on as their are outside visitor tours and you can simple wander as you please before they are allocated. A word of warning - don't have too good a time in the Ice Bar on the night you are staying in the cold rooms, as you have to go outside to get to the toilets! The warm room chalets are beautiful - and has everything you will need. Don't buy expensive cold weather gear in advance - just some thermal underwear, as you are provided with a big warm external jumpsuit, which you basically live in while you are there. The dog sledging and snowmobile trips were fantastic and well worth the additional - we booked this independently in advance and got the public transport into Jukkasjarvi to go on this - public transport was really good and it lets you see a bit of the place other than just the trip to and from the airport. It is worth a wander round the town of Jukkasjarvi - it is a fair distance on the bus - but worth it. There was a huge ice sculpting competition on when we were there - some of the creations were mind blowing to think that they were made of snow / ice.

Odrp’s review is the best one as it covers EVERYTHING you need to know. Odrp tells you the stuff that your travel agent doesn’t!!! But from my own experience I would say:

We booked through Discover The World but if you have the time, book it all yourself. I found DTW rather vague and it took a lot of effort me to actually book the holiday and give them my money!

SAS flight: We were ‘lucky’ enough to be seated right at the back next to the engine. The noise wasn’t too bad on the Outbound Flight but the Inbound Flight really hurt our ears. Seats are comfortable, In Flight service is brilliant – no complaints there.

Weather: We went when there was a rather cold snap and landed in -32 and it got colder the following day, going down to -37!! Be prepared for your nose hairs to freeze and to develop icicle type things on your eyelashes!!!

Clothes: The thermal suits the Icehotel provide are good for keeping your body warm but I struggled with keeping my feet and hands warm no matter what I tried. The only mittens the Icehotel had were XL size and just too big.

Warm Rooms: We stayed in the Kaamos hotel room and honestly cant see why people complain about these! Yes there are 6 rooms in one building but its just like living in an apartment. Yes you get the noise from your neighbours but its nothing to moan about. The room was large with space to store your bags behind the door. Its bright and airy and for those that say its like an IKEA showroom – where do you think IKEA came from???!

Cold Rooms: We upgraded to an Art Suite. I can see just one main advantage to this: they are nearer to the entrance/exit door so less distance to walk in just your thermals! I wouldn’t recommend upgrading to the Art Suite tho. The basic Snow Rooms looked ok and felt warmer than the slightly better Ice Rooms. I was grateful we had an Art Suite that was more snow than ice as there is a big difference in temperature between the two Suites. Looking around the Icehotel of a weekend was slightly manic. Way too many tourists there on Sunday but on the Monday the place was deserted!

Staff: We found all the Icehotel staff to be lovely and helpful and friendly. Yes the whole situation about where you go and what you do is a bit bizarre but it is explained to you. The guys in the Icebar are a good laugh as are the lounge bar staff.

Excursions: We did the husky dog ride at night, snowshoe trekking, snowmobile at night, ice driving and a night at Abisko. The snowshoe trek was booked through Kiruna Guidetur and was easy to book with them online but did take a few days to do. This is a brilliant way to experience the outdoors with your own two feet! Its hard work at times but the view from the top of the hill is pretty amazing. The other tours were booked with DTW/Icehotel. The guides are lovely and friendly. The little cabins that you stop at mid-way through your excursion for coffee/cakes or dinner are so cute and warm and cosy!!! The night at Abisko is more basic, rather like a hostel. The night we went was too cold for the chairlift to run upto the Aurora Sky Station but we did see the Northern Lights put on an amazing display just from the path outside the lower level bar.

Overall summary: The Icehotel is a once in a lifetime thing. I wouldn’t go back as there isnt much more to do there really. Two nights is enough time there.