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Quebec: Chill out at the Ice Hotel
By Eleni Berger
(CNN) -- Guests can expect a chilly reception at Quebec's coolest winter destination, but not because they aren't welcome. The Ice Hotel Quebec-Canada, which opens for its third season Friday, is -- as its name implies -- made entirely of ice and snow. "It's the biggest snow fort you could ever imagine," says Veronique Cyr, the hotel's director of communications. "It's the best way to enjoy winter." Perched on the shores of Lac St.-Joseph about 20 minutes west of Quebec City, the Ice Hotel is built anew each winter using 12,000 tons of snow and 400 tons of ice. It takes about five weeks to complete the complex, which always has the same basic architectural principal but differs from year to year in its precise layout and decor, according to chief executive officer Jacques Desbois. "The advantage we have is that we can build it section by section," Desbois says, changing the width and length of hallways, for example, or the height of the chambers. Nearly everything in the building -- walls, ceilings, beds, furniture, drinking glasses, chandeliers -- is made of frozen water.
The result is a tourist attraction that has drawn day and overnight visitors from as far away as Australia, Africa, Brazil and Hawaii despite -- or perhaps because of -- frigid indoor temperatures that hover between 23 and 28 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 2 to minus 5 Celsius). "We had the feeling reaction would be great," Desbois says of the anticipated public response to the building, "but it became bigger ... than we expected. We never thought it would create that kind of reaction." The Ice Hotel saw 100,000 visitors in its first two years, 4,500 of whom were adventurous enough to spend the night on the ice beds in one of the hotel's 32 rooms and suites. Lodging costs about $150 per person ($230 in Canadian currency), including breakfast, dinner and a cocktail. The goal of the Ice Hotel, Desbois says, is to offer guests a full winter experience. Visitors can take advantage of nearby outdoor activities such as skiing, skating, dog sledding and ice fishing, or combine their visit with an overnight stay in Quebec City, or a nature package with eco-tours. The hotel is affiliated with the original Ice Hotel in Sweden, and Desbois says many people who have visited that facility come to the Canadian outpost.
Not all guests come from far away, however. Desbois says many Quebecers have made repeat visits to the Ice Hotel to see each new design and take advantage of the activities. "That's why we're working strongly to create many novelties every season to surprise people and make them feel that even if they came the year before that they're coming to something different," he says. This winter the new features include a nightclub, Le N'ice Club, where guests can take in weekly comedy shows, happy hours and bands for a $13 cover charge ($20 in Canadian currency) including one drink. The hotel also is trying to draw visitors with bigger-than-average vacation budgets by offering a customized Fantasy Suite for $3,200 ($5,000 in Canadian currency). "We can design it the way the client wants," Desbois says, "surreal, Egyptian, space. People can choose from a basic menu of possibilities, or they can propose their own idea." Prospective guests have to hurry, though; the hotel is only open through the end of March. Once the weather begins to warm, the structure is demolished, and the ice dumped back into the lake to melt.
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