Chilling out at Quebec's Hotel de Glace: a night on ice
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A majestic ice chandelier dominates Hotel de Glace's Grand Hall. -
Hotel de Glace bedroom. -
Since its debut in 2001, more than 700,000 have visited Quebec's seasonal Hotel de Glace, the only hotel in North America built completely out of ice and snow. It's open this year through March 25. -
It takes 15 sculptors more than a month to turn 500 tons of ice into the hotel's furniture, columns and elaborate sculptures. They also carve the thousands of glasses used to serve frosty drinks in the Ice Bar. -
Bedroom in the Hotel de Glace. -
Check in at the Hotel de Glace.
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QUEBEC CITY, Quebec -- I'm not going to lie. My husband thought I was nuts when I suggested spending my January birthday at Hotel de Glace here in Canada.
Our winter getaways typically are spent someplace warm, preferably with a sandy beach, always with a pool or waterfront bar that serves fruity cocktails garnished with colorful paper umbrellas.
Yet ever since watching a documentary a few years ago on how the igloo-like structure springs to life from December to March, I've been fascinated by the idea of making like an Eskimo (or Inuit, since this is Canada) and staying there. I'm not the only one: Hotel de Glace -- the only hotel in North America made entirely from snow and ice -- has welcomed more than 700,000 visitors since it opened in 2001. About 30,000 adventurous souls have actually checked in, one third of them families.
Unfortunately, there are no direct flights between Pittsburgh and Quebec City. (Our early-morning flight connected through Philadelphia.) Depending on what day you travel, a round-trip ticket on Air Canada, US Airways or United starts at about $650. You'll need a passport to enter Canada.
The exchange rate for the Canadian against the U.S. dollar is almost even, so we didn't worry about changing money, especially since most merchants accept American currency. Prices listed below are in Canadian dollars.
Checking in: Hotel de Glace is about 7 miles north of the city on the site of the former Quebec Zoo, in the suburb of Charlesbourg. This year the hotel is open through March 25.
If your package includes an auxiliary room at the nearby Four Points by Sheraton, there's a complimentary shuttle service between the two hotels. If not, it's about a 10- minute drive from downtown Quebec. The easiest way to get there is by taxi ($30 one-way or $40 from the airport). Alternatively, Old Quebec Tours (www.toursvieuxquebec.com; 1-800-267-8687) runs a shuttle five times daily from various locations in the city ($19.95 round trip/$12 one way, or $34.95 with a tour of the hotel). Or, save money with the bus (#801), though as our concierge pointed out, it will take you "all day."
First Published February 12, 2012 12:00 am
