Try Staying at an ICE Hotel
The ice hotel is such a fun experience and Hotel De Glace at Valcartier Resorts in Quebec, Canada is the only one in North America. But you there are a few things you should prepare for, some you expect and some you may not.
When you book your room at the Ice Hotel, you also book a room at Hotel Valcartier. This is where you store all the items that you bring with you. They told us that only 3% of people do not make it through the entire night in the ice hotel.
The Ice Hotel is open for visitors (those staying in the hotel and those not staying in the Hotel) to tour from 10 AM to 8 PM. Though they do block off the beds so that you cannot get on those if you are touring it.
1. BE SURE TO GET TO THE HOTEL BEFORE 8 PM
For me, this is a must, but something no one told me about. Because the hotel is open for visitors you can see the other rooms and the other rooms before heading to be. It is a bit of a maze in the hotel, though they provide you with a map and have them around the hotel. You want some time to check into your hotel room in the Village as well as tour the Ice Hotel before it is time to go to bed. There are also instructional sessions on how to stay in the Ice Hotel that you are required to attend before your actually head to your room.
2. YOU CANNOT GO TO YOUR ROOM IN THE ICE HOTEL BEFORE 9 PM
Because the hotel is open for tours until 8 you cannot get ready for bed until 9 PM. At 8 PM the staff bring out the sleeping bags to each room and open up the hot tubs and Saunas.
3. CHECK-OUT TIME FOR THE ICE HOTEL IS 9 AM
They mean 9 AM. Around 8:15 the staff comes around to wake people up. The last wake-up call is 8:45 to make sure you are out by 9 AM.
4. BE PREPARED FOR THE COLD
Yes, it is cold in the ice hotel, it’s made out of ice after all. This seems obvious, but the rooms aren’t heated. The temperature inside the hotel varies from 25°F to 32°F. But the hotel provides Tundra-rated sleeping bags that are good for temperatures up to -20°F. The sleeping bags have a hood on them to keep your head warm as well.
5. STAY HYDRATED, DON’T DRINK TOO MUCH ALCOHOL
You want to make sure your body has enough energy to stay warm all night, which means you need to be hydrated with a good meal. But when you have too much alcohol, your body struggles to regulate its own temperature which means you may overheat or get too cold. The sad part about this is there is a fun ice bar and they give you one drink coupon.
6. USE THE HOT TUB AND SAUNA BEFORE BED
Just like with any other good night’s sleep, you want your body temperature to be slightly elevated so you don’t spend time trying to get warm to get to sleep. The Nordic Hot Tub and Sauna are perfect for this, it is a fun experience to do this at night in the cold. But you’ll get ready for the hot tub and sauna in the room in Hotel Valcartier, meaning put on your swimsuit then head through the hotel to the Ice Hotel where there were 3 hot tubs and 2 saunas. We arrived at the hotel right after 9 PM and there was no one there for the 30 minutes we spent in them. One couple arrived around 9:30 PM, but we each had our own hot tubs. We used the Sauna to dry off after the hot tub and this was the best decision I highly recommend that order. Then we headed back to the Hotel Valcartier to take showers to get ready for bed before heading back to the Ice Hotel around 10:45 PM.
7. MAKE SURE YOU ARE COMPLETELY DRY BEFORE GETTING IN YOUR SLEEPING BAG
From head to toe, meaning dry your hair and make sure your socks are dry before getting in the sleeping bag.
8. BRING NON-COTTON SLEEPING CLOTHES
Because it is freezing or below outside of the sleeping bag you don’t want to sweat and if you do, you don’t want your clothes absorbing that sweat. Because then it may freeze on you and make you extra cold. The hotel recommends sleeping in synthetics like polar, lycra, nylon, or wool. Also, it is acceptable to sleep completely naked in the sleeping bag, the hotel washes them after every use. They also recommend you wear a hat all night, but we were a bit warm so we took them off.
9. IF YOU’RE CLAUSTROPHOBIC, CONSIDER SLEEPING IN THE HOTEL VALCARTIER INSTEAD
Before staying in these sleeping bags if you asked me if I was claustrophobic, I would have said no. But not I question that slightly. If you know you’re claustrophobic and don’t like it when you’re hands are not free then or your face is not covered then this might not be the experience for you.
10. THERE IS ARE HEATED PORT-A-POTTY TO USE THROUGHOUT THE NIGHT
The port-a-potties were pretty clean and warm, not too bad for late-night pee breaks. I told myself if I had to use it though, I was going to go back to bed because it was an effort to get into my sleeping bag. But I was able to make it through the night, which was nice.
11. THERE ARE STAFF ON SITE THE ENTIRE TIME
Staff walks the property throughout the night to make sure there are no issues. They also want you to let them know if you leave early before 6 AM so they are not waiting on to wake up.
12. BRING AN EYE MASK AND EAR PLUGS IF YOU NEED COMPLETE DARKNESS AND SILENCE
Because the walls are made of thick snow, kind of like an igloo, you cannot hear your neighbor, which I was surprised about. But the doorway, is just a curtain, which means if you are a light sleeper like me, you may hear people walking past your room at night. I did bring my eye mask which blocked out all the light from the white snow walls. It also helped to calm me down and help me get back to sleep.
13. KIDS CAN STAY IN THE ICE HOTEL
While I’m not sure how this went because we don’t have any kids, there were plenty of people who brought their kids down to the toddler age. They even give you added features to make sure the kids are comfortable in sleeping bags.
