Society

Building Canada’s coolest hotel

Hôtel de Glace, a colourful, snowy fortress—made of 15,000 tonnes of artificial snow and 2,000 blocks of sculpted ice—will welcome visitors from Jan. 2, 2022 to March 20, 2022

The Hôtel de Glace ice moulds in their Valcartier, QC storage lot, shown in a long exposure image combined with another image that used light painting techniques. (Photo illustration by Roger LeMoyne)

The Hôtel de Glace ice moulds in their Valcartier, QC storage lot, shown in a long exposure image combined with another image that used light painting techniques. (Photo illustration by Roger LeMoyne)

As ice architects prepare to begin their work, a Vitruvian bonhomme poses in the moulds that will be used to create a hôtel de glace—an ice hotel—at a family resort near Quebec City. Just as our photographer used light effects to create an ethereal image, the snowy fortress itself, kept at a temperature between -5 and -8° C, will use colourful lighting to enhance its 15,000 tonnes of artificial snow and 2,000 blocks of ice sculpted into elaborate decorations, bar seating and bed frames.

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The space is not just for those splurging on “once-in-a-lifetime” overnight stays in sleeping bags (with fireplaces and hot tubs in several suites). So says Catherine Dumont, a marketing coordinator for Village Vacances Valcartier, which has welcomed lodgers in the igloo-like structure for 22 years running. Visitors can take in the structure and just grab a drink—like the “North Pole” or “Sex on the Ice” cocktails—at its temporary bar from late December. From mid-January, kids can try an indoor ice slide. Rooms are available Jan. 2, 2022 to March 20, 2022.


This article appears in print in the January 2022 issue of Maclean’s magazine. Subscribe to the monthly print magazine here.

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