Hotel de Glace (Ice Hotel)

On my last full day in Quebec, I shelled out fifty bucks to a tour company, climbed onto a bus with about forty other tourists, and headed out of town to visit the Hotel de Glace. The Ice Hotel.  The bus ride took us about forty-five minutes northwest of Quebec, to the station touristique Duchesnay (the Duchesnay resort) in the town of Sainte-Catherine-de-la-Jacques-Cartier. (Yeah, I know.)

When we first arrived, I was seriously disappointed. I mean, look at the exterior of the hotel. Not. Very. Exciting.

But then ... I went inside.

You know what? I'll just let the Ice Hotel speak for itself.

Pretty amazing, huh? But wait, it gets better.

There was a ... Greek temple suite ...

... and an under the sea migration suite ...

... and a MERMAID SUITE!

How insanely perfect for me was that? It's like they knew I was coming.

I spent about half an hour on the guided tour and then another hour wandering through the frigid hotel (which is kept at below freezing, even when it's above freezing outside). I was really lucky to see the hotel at all. It was supposed to close the first week of April, but because of the un-winter-like winter they had to close it early. Just four days after I was there! (And I could tell why, too, since everywhere you went inside there was drip, drip, drip. A little scary when there are tons and tons of snow-packed walls above your head.)

Anyway, a trip to the Hotel de Glace is not complete without a stop at the discotheque/bar for a drink in a--you guessed it--glass made of ICE! I ordered an Ours Polaire (a polar bear) which was some magical mint concoction that was almost as tasty as it was fun to drink.

When I couldn't take the cold anymore, I wandered up the hill to the resort/auberge (hostel) to wait for the bus. As a side note, I would totally go back to stay at the resort. It had a very rustic, summer campy feel and overlooked the most gorgeous lake view.

And, oh yeah, I'd stay at the Hotel de Glace, too. Wouldn't you?

Hugs,
TLC

PS--Want to see more pictures from the Ice Hotel? Check out the Flickr set.