Winter isn’t coming, it’s here (especially in the Northeast). And what better place to wait out the Bomb Cyclone, or wait for the next season of Game of Thrones, than in your very own ice hotel.
That’s right. In collaboration with HBO Nordic, Lapland Hotels SnowVillage has built an ice hotel in western Finland dedicated to the hit-series. In a complex that spans 20,000 square meters, the SnowVillage includes accommodation, a restaurant, a bar, and a chapel—all made of snow and ice (20 million kilos of snow and 350,000 kilos of “crystal clear, natural ice,” to be exact). It’s not quite The Wall, but it is 200 kilometers above the Arctic Circle.
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About an hour-and-a-half flight from Helsinki, the SnowVillage is open for both daily excursions and overnight stays. It’s close to the Ylläs and Levi ski-resorts, but if you can bear sleeping temperatures of -2 and -5 degrees Celsius (23°F), there are about 30 rooms and suites to pick from. If you lie awake dreaming of battling the Night King, there’s a room enveloped by a White Walker to keep you company. If the guild of the Faceless Men was more your calling, check out the Hall of Faces. Or if you’re destined for the Iron Throne, see how the Ice Throne fits first—complete with an ice sculpture of The Mountain.
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This is the 17th year the SnowVillage has been built—it’s constructed from scratch annually once temperatures start to dip. The hotel is open until April and tickets for entry are $18 with rooms starting at $200 a night.