Offering a unique mix of luxury, escape, creativity and one-off exclusivity, ice hotels continue to proliferate across the northern hemisphere each year. Ranging from sculpted ice to igloo style, these types of stays are an exercise in the ephemeral where for a few short months you have a chance to sleep and play inside one of the most exquisite collaborations between man and nature before it all melts away.
The ice igloos here are a notch down in the luxe stakes - small bare domes. Still worth the experience for a night, however, it's really the line of glass igloos that makes this trip to the Arctic Circle a must.
Fly high above the majestic Otztal Valley, both day and every full moon night. Skiers and snowboarders can also conquer the Alps at nearby Hochoetz resort.
The ice bar (33 feet high by 52 feet wide, 10 x 16 metres) is just one of the main draws of this huge village that spreads out over this 215,278 square feet (20,000 square metres) area of snow each winter.
Often known as Alta Igloo Hotel, this is the 11th year that the Nords are recreating this snow stay near the banks of the Alta River at the edge of the Arctic Circle.
