Travel On The Level

Popsicle for a night

 

Levelers, many have asked what it was like to spend the night at Hotel de Glace, our continent's only ice hotel. Here it is.

Hotel de Glace. Photo © by Judy Wells.

Imagine a queen-size bed of ice in a room of compressed snow. Now imagine sleeping on it after wrapping yourself in a shroud-like lining and encased mummy-like into an aptly named mummy sleeping bag.

Kind of like being a tightly-wrapped Popsicle in a deep freeze.

Me with Tom Griffith of Deadwood, S. D. Photo © by Judy Wells.

That was me at Hotel de Glace, North America's only ice hotel, outside of Quebec City, Quebec.

What they don't tell you on the website or during the tours fills the 25-minute session on how to sleep in below freezing temperatures and wake up breathing.

First, enjoy the hotel's amenities:  


• Drink up at the ice bar. Photo © by Judy Wells.
                       



      • Dance in the adjacent disco. Photo © by Judy Wells.



















• Slip down the ice slide. Photo © by Judy Wells.

Chapel. Photo © by Judy Wells.

 • Tour the hotel.









• strap on a pair of snowshoes or skis and hit the trails.

2. Get your body temperature up by hitting the hot tub followed by a session in the dry sauna. Oh, and you'll have to put on a bathing suit and hustle through the snow to get there. Don't get your hair wet or it will freeze. It did. Fortunately, it doesn't snap off like icicles.

3. Come back into "camp," the heated Celsius, dry off thoroughly - wet is what makes you cold - and get dressed for bed in anything except cotton which holds wetness. Better yet, wear nothing. No one was that brave or foolhardy.

Sleeping chamber in Hotel de Glace.

4. Go into your room - sleeping chamber is a better term because you don't linger here - and get the big black bag. Pull out the lining, pillow and sleeping bag, replacing them with anything you don't want frozen such as your shoes and coat. Store an extra pair of socks and valuables such as cell phones and cameras at the bottom of the sleeping bag. Don't put your glasses on the bedside table; it's ice and they'll freeze to it.

Photo © by Judy Wells.

5. The best way to line and bag yourself is to stand atop your bed.

Photo © by Judy Wells.

Oh, the bathrooms are a snowy trek away in another building.

Sweet dreams.

It's an experience like no other, one best suited for young, agile bodies able to stand on the "bed" to step into said shroud and bag. The less agile will be constantly reminded that the bed is ice and the floor is snow and their bodies are not going to keep those drinks inside all night.

Do tour the hotel; it's quite beautiful and every year there's a different theme to the decor. Photo © by Judy Wells.

Take my advice, Levelers. Go have a look. Try a drink in a hollowed out ice cube glass and take the tour. Then go back to your nice, warm, comfy hotel room with its bathroom for real sweet dreams.

Tip: The compacted snow makes a decent surface for walking but there are icy spots so wear those snow boots and be careful.