Northern Lights Tour Of Swedish Lapland

Guest room types

Winter cottages: Brändön Lodge consists of individual winter cottages. Each homely cottage is detached, allowing guests the space to unwind and relax in comfort and having all the added benefits of the main building within walking distance.

All the winter cottages have an open plan living and dining area with kitchenette. We recommend taking tea and coffee provisions with you. They have two bedrooms (both furnished with twin beds – in some cases these can be moved together), an en-suite shower room, hairdryer and toilet. Recent room refurbishment leaves the cottages with a modern yet authentic Scandinavian feel. One of the nicest features of the cottages are the terraces, where in the morning you can step out and inhale the cool, crisp air and marvel at the view of the frozen sea and snow-covered forests that stretch before you.

Image credit: Graeme Richardson, Andream Walitalo

Guest bedroom types

The Bird's Nest: One of the most well-known rooms here, the Bird's Nest is camouflaged within the forest. The Bird's Nest has two separate sleeping areas – one double room and then bunk beds, which means that it is suitable for friends or couples. It has a very light interior, with small circular windows. From the outside, the windows are nearly invisible. The nest is accessed by a narrow retractable staircase, therefore, you need to have some confidence with heights to stay here and a level of agility. We recommend taking only the essentials to your rooms and leaving the rest stored securely at Britta's Pension.

The UFO: One of the most spectacular creations at The Treehotel and considered to be a 'big kid's dream'. To stumble across such a modern spacecraft in the forests of Lapland is surreal. Imagine turning the key to release the access ladder and the ladder descends to a puff of smoke. You would genuinely expect a form of alien life to appear.

Despite being modern in décor, the UFO is very comfortable. It has the capacity to sleep up to five people with a double bed and three singles. There is a living area and your very own computer game to complete the childhood dream.

Access to the UFO is by a retractable and narrow metal ladder, therefore, we recommend this for those who are comfortable with heights and agile. We also suggest taking only the essentials to the room and storing the rest of your luggage at Britta's Pension.

The Mirrorcube: As the room name suggests, the entirely mirror clad exterior means that the room disappears in a camouflage created by the reflection of the landscape in the walls. The cube has been clad in an infra-red film, in order to prevent birds from flying into it. It is a four-metre cube with a birch-clad interior. There are six windows which create an incredible amount of light. Couples can enjoy relaxing in the double bed. The lounge area of the rooftop terrace can be accessed by a ladder. Accessed by a 12-metre long bridge walkway this is one of the most easily accessible rooms.

The Blue Cone: Yes, this is the bright red building. This traditional wooden structure is constructed of laminated birch wood. It has a minimalist interior with reindeer skins accenting the timber clad walls. The views from this room are magnificent and can be enjoyed from the seating area. There is a double room and then a loft sleeping area (which is accessible by ladder) with two single beds. This is one of the most accessible rooms as there is a bridge providing access. It is ideal for those who want to experience staying in a tree room without being too far off the ground.

The Cabin: The interior is a real favourite with guests. It offers a romantic tree top retreat for couples and stunning views across the Luleå River Valley. It is one of the larger rooms at 24 metres square. There is a large double bed, a tree top terrace, which is ideal for soaking up the views. The interior is simple and light. The Cabin is easily accessed via a horizontal bridge. The cabin has a real elegance and the small terrace area is a wonderful place to sit and enjoy the panoramic views of the valley below. 

The Dragon Fly: The Dragon Fly is not only the largest room but also the newest addition. It can form a unique meeting venue or an excellent suite for those with a larger party to accommodate.

There is a 15-metre long ramp which provides relatively easy access. The panoramic windows bring the stunning landscape inside. You can sit at the large seating area and absorb the breathtaking views of the valley. The Dragon Fly is equipped with air conditioning and Wi-Fi. There are two rooms here and so it can easily accommodate two couples. A supplement is required when reserving The Dragon Fly, so please see pricing for further details.

The 7th room: The 7th Room is the newest and largest tree room and offers guests a Scandi-style log cabin experience 10 metres up in the air. The inside space consists of two double bedrooms, a sofa bed, lounge and bathroom, which has been furnished in a light and airy style. Outside, guests can climb out onto a net which provides patio space which provides views over the stunning Swedish valley below.

Other Facilities

• The Tree Sauna –this is an exhilarating experience, where you can pay locally for a two-hour visit to the sauna and relaxation area. A hot tub is also available for rental at an additional charge
• Showers are located in a separate building a couple of minute's walk from the rooms
• Your meals will be served at Britta's Pension (guesthouse). The cosy dining area is full of character furniture and quirky charm. All meals are full of local home cooking. Hearty and warming meals enhance the welcoming atmosphere at Britta's
• It is around a 10-minute walk uphill from Britta's to the area which houses the tree rooms. Britta's Pension also serves as the reception for The Treehotel. Britta and her husband Kent own the Treehotel. The guesthouse is Britta's pride and joy and it is easy to see how passionate both Britta and Kent are about the local area and their wonderfully unique, innovative and quirky accommodation.

Please note: Prices are based on you staying in either The Bird’s Nest, The UFO, or The Blue Cone. 

Image credit: Graeme Richardson and Treehotel

Hotel facilities

• The hotel consists of one large, the main building and several smaller outer buildings and cabins. In the main building, you will find the main hotel rooms, sauna, reception lounge, restaurant and the bar area
• The chefs here take great pride in the food, making great use of local and seasonal produce and traditional Swedish recipes. Breakfast is served buffet style, whilst lunch and dinner are set menus and also á la carte (lunch can also be provided to take with you on your daytime excursions)
• The lounge area in the lodge offers comfortable seating and a TV; perfect for relaxing in the evening. The bar area is located nearby, serving a range of beers, wines and spirits
• The hotel’s shop also has a range of food, freshly baked bread, fruit, toiletries and souvenirs.

Guest room types

Standard rooms: These traditionally-furnished, simple and modern rooms all come with en-suite shower and toilet facilities, as well as a small seating area. Some of the rooms have views of Lake Torneträsk, Mount Nuolja or Abisko National Park. Rooms are traditionally set up as a twin so please ask at the time of booking if you would prefer a double.

©Abikso STF Turiststation

What’s more, 2018 saw the ICEHOTEL® become the first-ever Nordic Swan Ecolabel hotel made completely of ice and snow.

The certification process looks at all areas, from energy and water consumption to waste management; understandably, this presented many challenges when measuring a hotel whose rooms melt away at the end of each winter season!

The eco-label adds to a growing list of certifications for the ICEHOTEL® who is also certified a Sustainable Arctic Destination. Certification ensures guests are choosing environmentally conscious products and the ICEHOTEL® are – rightly so - very proud to receive such recognition.

ICEHOTEL 365

The hotel now boasts ICEHOTEL 365, a permanent structure, allowing it to be a year-round destination to visitors who travel the world to sleep in a room of ice and snow. Containing deluxe rooms, art suites, an ice bar and a sculpture hall, this environmentally sustainable building is a construct of glass, metal and concrete, but with the same incredible standard and visual design of snow and ice on the inside, with cooling tubes to keep it at a temperature of around -5 at all times.

Alongside this is the classic ICEHOTEL® building, constructed purely of ice and snow and carefully crafted each December, utilising blocks from the nearby Torne River.

Home to ice rooms, winter suites and a chapel the structure is a marvel to see and, come summer, simply melts back into the river from which it came. Each year, architects, designers and artists submit designs for the hotel's features and a handful are chosen to go forward with their theme.

The hotel consists of several buildings including the main ice building and ICEHOTEL 365. We cannot guarantee which area our guests will stay in.

The rooms which are contained within the ice and snow building will not be available until after the 16^th of December. Check-in time for the cold rooms is usually around 6 pm and for the warm rooms, it is approximately 3 pm. The ICEHOTEL® is open to members of the public for viewing between 10 am and 6 pm. You will check out after breakfast. Please also note that for all ice accommodation other than Deluxe Suites, bathroom facilities are shared.

Hotel facilities

• The reception is in the main warm building which also houses the lounge area, warm bar, dressing room, luggage room, restaurant and gift shop which sells a selection of ICEHOTEL® themed gifts and locally sourced handicrafts
• Guests who are on a guided tour of the ICEHOTEL® will also visit the large warehouse where you can learn about how the hotel is constructed each season
• The restaurant serves breakfast lunch and dinner which include some wonderful Swedish favourites. The restaurant operates fixed dinner seating times and we highly recommend that you make a reservation in advance with us
• As an alternative, guests can eat at the Homestead Restaurant which is a smaller, rustic restaurant a short walk from the hotel
• The classic ICEHOTEL® building is connected to a warm building which houses the toilets, showers and sauna. There are also lockers in here in which to store your valuables and clothes overnight
• The warm building also has a small number of bunk beds in case you decide your ice room is not for you

Guest room types

The Cold Rooms: the inside of the cold rooms is kept at around -5°C but you will be equipped with arctic grade thermal sleeping bags so you will stay surprisingly warm!

Please take note that the cold rooms are accommodated in two separate buildings. ICEHOTEL 365 is a permanent building constructed of metal, glass and concrete with an ice and snow interior kept cool via cooling tubes. Some rooms are also in the classic ice building which is made wholly of ice and snow and constructed afresh each winter season. We cannot guarantee which area you will stay in although we use ice rooms in the classic ice building as standard.

Ice Rooms (in classic ice building) (only available after 16th December): the ice rooms are the simplest designed rooms which are usually booked as standard. These are made of ice and snow and each contains a mattress topped with reindeer skins and also some ice furniture and carvings. They are closed off from the corridors via thick curtains as opposed to doors, but the thick walls of ice and snow allow for great sound insulation. There are usually around 15 rooms available for guests.

Art Suites (in classic ice building) (only available after 16th December): these are uniquely and beautifully designed by chosen artists around the world each year and offer a wide variety of themes and include intricate sculptures and carvings to reflect this. As with the ice rooms, these have curtains instead of doors and there are around 15 in total for guests to book.

Deluxe Suites (in permanent ICEHOTEL 365 building): the unique and enchanting Deluxe Suites 365 are individually themed and hand-carved by artists commissioned throughout the world, with the designs changing each year. To spend a night amidst the lifelike and exquisite carvings is a surreal and magical experience. You are awoken by sparkling colours which reflect from the ice and cup of hot lingonberry juice at your bedside table. A sauna session then awaits you before you enjoy a delicious breakfast. The Deluxe Suites are part of the new concept ICEHOTEL 365, available all year round thanks to a new specially designed building which is run on solar power. There are three different types of Deluxe suite available.

Deluxe Suite Hilla: the Hilla Suites are beautifully decorated suites available throughout the year. They contain a bathroom, two comfortable armchairs, a shower and a sauna, which is directly connected to the bedroom. A comfortable bed decorated with reindeer hides and inclusive of a thermal sleeping bag lies at the centre. The design is a mixture of local culture and history created by Marjolein Vonk and Pia Sandgren. A heated relaxation area is available which provides storage for your belongings and the suite has doors which lock for your privacy.

Deluxe Suite Jáuvre: these majestic suites are furnished with comfortable Carpe Diem beds covered in reindeer hides and inclusive of a thermal sleeping bag. Inside the room, there is a bathroom, two comfortable armchairs, a shower, sauna and a bathtub. Similarly, to the other suites, the Jáuvre suites are designed with a combination of local culture and history by Marjolein Vonk and Pia Sandgren and they have a heated relaxation area from where you can store all your belongings and the suite has doors which lock for your privacy.

Deluxe Suite Johka: this spacious suite contains a comfortable double bed, a connecting bathroom, two comfortable armchairs and double waterfall showers, which are directly connected to the room. The design features a combination of local culture and history and was created by Marjolein Vonk and Pia Sandgren. A heated relaxation area provides storage for your belongings and the suite has doors which lock for your privacy.

Art Suites 365 (in permanent ICEHOTEL 365 building): these offer the same amenities as the art suites in the classic ice building but being part of the permanent building allows them to have a proper door. Each is independently and artistically designed by chosen artists and architects to reflect new carefully chosen themes each year. There are 12 art 365 suites in total.

The Warm Rooms: for those less keen on sleeping in low temperatures, the ICEHOTEL® also has a number of warm accommodation options:

Kaamos Hotel Room (standard): light and airy, these en-suite rooms have modern décor and furnishings. Each has a double bed or twin beds and TV.

Kaamos Hotel Room (superior): these rooms have the same amenities as the standard Kaamos rooms, however, they have recently been updated and decorated in a contemporary style.

Nordic Hotel Chalet: these are designed to accommodate up to four people. Each has one double/twin bedroom and one room with bunk beds, making them ideal for families or small groups of friends. Each has an ensuite bathroom with shower, small living room with a fridge and kettle and TV.

Arctic Chalet: these have a double and a single room so are best suited to three people. Each chalet is en-suite and has a shower room, a small living area, fridge, kettle, TV and telephone.

Image credits: ICEHOTEL, Jose Carlos, Cabello Millan, Javier Alvaro, Colomino Matassa & Asaf Kliger, Tjasa Gusfors, David Andren, AnnaSofia Maag, Anna Katrin Kraus, Hans Aesch, Rob Harding, Timsam Harding, Luc Voisin, Mathieu Brison, Petros Dermatas, Ellie Souti, Nicolas Triboulot, Cedric Alizard, Sebastian Scheller,Kristina Mockel, Jose Carlos, Cabello Millan, Javier Alvaro, Colomino Matassa, Peter Grant & Magnus Skoglöf & Martin Jakobsson & Imagebank.sweden.se