The Ice Hotel (Hôtel de Glace) is a must-see in Quebec City. Even if you can’t secure a night’s stay, it is worth it to tour the hotel and church, ride down the slide, and get an ice drink.
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The Ice Hotel Tour Experience
The only ice hotel in North America, made with 35,000 tons of snow and 2400 blocks of ice, can be toured from 10 am-8 pm. But always check their site to confirm before you go.
It is cold in the Ice Hotel (between 25-40 degrees Fahrenheit), so you should dress accordingly. We recommend snow pants, a winter coat, snow boots (helpful on the slide and sitting for a drink), a hat, and gloves.
When you first walk through the doors, an ice chandelier and ice sculptures greet you. Each year, they change up the theme. So you aren’t sure what you will get the first time you go in!
There is so much detail in every part of the hotel that you can take hours to walk around and take it all in. If you are with kids, you may want to make a beeline for the slide room so they can go down it repeatedly.
Touring the lobby area, hotel and church, the ice slide, and the ice bar would take 1-2 hours or longer if you want to take in all the details.
The Lobby
The lobby is the first area you walk into. It is where you will see the ice chandelier and the main sculptures. Unlike the rooms, where each has its own theme, the Ice Sculptures in the lobby follow the Ice Hotel’s yearly theme. It is hard to believe all of this is made out of ice!
Ice Slide
From the lobby, hang a right, and you will enter the ice slide room. I don’t care your age; you need to go down the ice slide. (It works better if you have snow pants on.)
You walk up the stairs to get in line for the ice slide. Once it is your turn, you make your way down the slide. There is a mat at the end of the slide, so you don’t crash into the ice! Both Carson and I had snow pants on, so we slid down (unlike others we saw with normal pants who were getting a little stuck), but even with snow pants, we didn’t go super fast—which I was OK with!
It was great to see kids and parents enjoying the ice slide. So no matter your age be sure you give it a try!
Ice Drink
After that, head over to the Ice Bar to get an ice drink and hang out by one of the ice tables or sit on one of the ice benches (again, snow pants would be a good idea).
The ice drink comes in a handmade ice glass. As you walk around the hotel, you can stop in the room where they are making the ice cups. They weren’t working when we were there, but it would be really cool to see them making the cups, which are basically a square of ice with a cylinder carved out in the middle of it.
It is a bit awkward to drink at first, given its square shape and inability to wrap your lips around it like a regular cup. But once you get the hang of it, it is so tasty and cold!!
The bar served a variety of cocktail flavors (including some of their signature concoctions), plus a kiddie cocktail or other mocktails for the kids. You can also order an ice champagne flute if you don’t want a cocktail.
When you are done with your drink, drop your ice cup into the ice cup collector bin across from the bar area.
Ice Hotel Rooms
After you are done exploring this area, head over to the hotel area where all of the rooms are and take your time exploring all of the different themed rooms. The snow sculpting in each room is amazing, and each one is unique.
Some rooms had a fireplace—that was not on—but we were told it was only for the ambiance and was not heated. Some rooms had a snow couch and/or tables, while others just had beds in them.
Throughout the halls, there are a variety of snow sculptures on the walls as well.
Staying Overnight At The Ice Hotel
Rooms range from about $400 to $1000 a night. The $400 is a basic room with just a bed. The $1000 is a fancier room with a fireplace for ambiance, beautiful snow sculpture walls, and a private sauna and outdoor hot tub. Umm, yes, sign me up for that one!
There are no bathrooms in the facility, but there are porta-potties. Guests who did not get the private ones can use three hot tubs and one sauna. Each person who books a room also has a room at the hotel.
So you can head over there to shower, change, etc.
Overnight guests can be in their room from 9 pm – 9 am. If you plan to stay overnight, you will get instructions on what to wear. They will also provide you with a sleeping bag to sleep in. It is between 26 – 40 degrees Fahrenheit in there.
Trust me when I say it is COLD in there!!
It is such a unique and cool experience! It is well worth taking the time to tour it, go down the slide, enjoy an ice drink, and, if lucky enough, spend the night in the amazing Ice Hotel in Quebec City!
The Ice Church
On your way out be sure to check out the Ice Church. It is a good thing I didn’t know about this place before I got married. It would be so cool to have your ceremony here!!
Bonus
The Ice Hotel is located on the property of the Village Vacances Valcartier – a family resort with hotel rooms, an indoor water park and a snow tubing park in the winter! This can make it a whole day event.
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More Great Things To Do In Quebec City:
Fat Biking In Snow In Quebec City – What To Expect
Ice Canoeing in Quebec City – What To Expect
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She loves being outside and exploring new places which is all made better when doing it with family and friends!
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