Event: Canada

Canada's Ice Hotel

When:	4 Jan - 29 Mar 2009 (annual)
Where:	Ice Hotel Quebec-Canada Inc
Costs:	Please contact the hotel for room prices To visit C$11-C$15; seniors & students C$9.50-C$13; 6-12 yrs C$5.50-C$7.50; under 6s free; family ticket C$38
Opening Hours:	Guided tours 10.30am-4.30pm

After its amazing success in northern Sweden, the Ice Hotel concept is now an annual attraction in Sainte-Catherine-de-la-Jacques-Cartier in Canada. Get there before the sun destroys it!

This isn't a normal hotel. While still riddled with creature comforts, this snazzy hostelry forgoes fluffy cushions and bouncy king-size beds in order to make the best use of what surrounds it: frozen water. The net result of this eco-friendly design is a structure made entirely from ice and snow with ceilings as high as 16 feet, walls covered with original artwork and furniture carved from ice blocks.

The hotel is forged with 11,000 tons of snow and 350 tons of ice. Just like its sister in Sweden, it boasts two art galleries, a movie theatre and an Absolut Ice Bar, as well as rooms where you can bed down for the night in toasty furry sleeping bags. Guided tours and self-guided visits are possible every day.

It all disappears when springtime arrives and the temperature picks up, so get on the case to avoid scrabbling for your freezing experience.