Despite the name of this section, none of these houses is built from ice or snow. All four are ordinary winter hotels in the Scandinavian mountains, south of the Arctic Circle: one in Norway and three in Sweden. The entries describe the buildings, their shared rooms and the ground around them.
Dr Holms is an old mountain hotel in the village of Geilo, standing opposite the station on the railway between Oslo and Bergen.
The building
The hotel was opened by a physician in 1909 and has been enlarged several times since, so wings of different periods meet inside. The shared rooms include lounges, a dining room, a ballroom and a bathing area. Wooden panelling and older furniture survive in parts of the house, while the newer wings are plainer in finish.
Around it
Geilo is a village on the edge of the Hardangervidda plateau, strung along one main street with shops, cafés and the station. Trains stop within sight of the door. Marked paths lead out onto the plateau in summer, and the surrounding hills stay open country through the rest of the year.
CategoryIce Hotels
LocationGeilo, Norway
CheckedSeptember 2026
Copperhill Mountain Lodge
Åre, Sweden
Copperhill sits on a ridge above the village of Åre, a long low building set into the hillside by the practice Bohlin Cywinski Jackson.
The building
The lodge follows the contour of the ridge, its roofline broken into sections so that the mass reads as several buildings rather than one. Copper, timber and glass make up the outer walls. Inside there are lounges with open fires, a restaurant, a bar and a bathing area. Most rooms face outward, over the valley and the lake below.
Around it
The ridge rises above Åre village, which lies on the shore of Åresjön with a station on the line between Östersund and Trondheim. A road climbs from the village to the lodge. Forest and open fell surround the site on the other sides.
CategoryIce Hotels
LocationÅre, Sweden
CheckedSeptember 2026
Hotel Fjällgården
Åre, Sweden
Fjällgården stands on the mountainside directly above Åre village, reached by road and by the funicular that climbs from the village square.
The building
The house has grown by additions, and its rooms and apartments are spread across several linked wings. The shared parts include a restaurant, a bar, a lounge with a fire and a bathing and sauna area with windows toward the valley. Terraces on the valley side are used in daylight when the weather allows it.
Around it
Åre village lies below, with its station, shops and eating houses gathered around the square. The lake fills the valley floor beyond, and the fell rises behind the house. Paths and a service road connect the hotel with the village on foot in summer.
CategoryIce Hotels
LocationÅre, Sweden
CheckedSeptember 2026
Storhogna Högfjällshotell & Spa
Vemdalen, Sweden
Storhogna is a mountain hotel standing alone among forest and open fell in the Vemdalen district, built around a bathing and sauna wing.
The building
The hotel is low and timber-clad, with lounges, a restaurant and a bar gathered on the main floor. A large bathing area holds indoor and outdoor pools, saunas and treatment rooms, and it faces the trees on the far side of the glass. Rooms and apartments occupy the wings, and some of them open directly onto the ground.
Around it
The house stands away from any village, on the edge of open fell above the Vemdalen valley. Klövsjö and Vemdalen are reached by road, and Östersund lies further north. Marked paths and forest tracks begin at the door and lead onto the higher ground.
CategoryIce Hotels
LocationVemdalen, Sweden
CheckedSeptember 2026
These are mountain houses, and mountain houses follow the seasons. Opening dates, road access, bathing rooms and restaurant hours shift with weather and with the calendar, and published details go out of date quickly. The guide is independent, sells nothing, books nothing and has no connection with any hotel described here. Confirm everything directly.
Elsewhere in the guide
The remaining sections of the guide, listed by name, with each hotel linking to the entry that describes it.
