The Daily Surprise

Ice hotels are the latest trend in the hospitality industry. An ice hotel is essentially an elaborate styled igloo - where ice are carved into furniture and sculpture, and large blocks of ice make up the walls, ceilings and floors. Room temperatures are from -5 to -8 C.

The hotels are built by rivers where water can be drawn, frozen into ice and cut into large blocks. A complex and large ice hotel takes about 5 to 6 weeks to construct. After spring, it all melts away and the hotels must wait once more for winter to rebuild. Ice Hotel in the Arctic, however, can accommodate guests all year-round.

The IceHotel, above, located on the river Torne, 124 miles north of the Arctic Circle in Jukkasjärvi, Sweden is the world's first ice hotel.

Read more here.