World's first permanent ice hotel: ICEHOTEL sets world record (VIDEO)
Jukkasjärvi, Sweden -- Situated approximately 124 miles north of the Arctic Circle in Jukkasjärvi, Sweden, ICEHOTEL 365 is a 22,604 square-foot construction with 20 rooms, an icebar and an art gallery which sets the new world record for the World's First Permanent Ice Hotel, according to the World Record Academy. Photo: Deluxe Suite 365 – "The Victorian Apartment" by Luca Roncoroni. Situated approximately 124 miles north of the Arctic Circle in Jukkasjärvi, Sweden, ICEHOTEL 365 is a 22,604 square-foot construction with 20 rooms, an icebar and an art gallery. Photo credit: Asaf Kliger/www.icehotel.com(enlarge photo)
The Guinness World Records world record for the First habitable sand hotel was set in Weymouth beach in Dorset, UK, where holidaymakers can spend the night in a hotel made entirely of sand. A total of 600 hours were needed to build the open-air 15 m? (50 ft?) hotel. A family room with a double and single bed, and a sea view, can be rented for ?10 (US$21) a night. The hotel was the brainchild of sculptor Mark Anderson (UK), who was commissioned by the website LateRooms.com.
Guinness World Records also recognized the world record for the most northerly full-service hotel is the Radisson SAS Polar Hotel in Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway. Svalbard consists of several islands from Bjornoya in the south to Rossoya in the north, Europes northernmost point. About 60 per cent of the archipelago is covered by ice.
The idea came about a year ago primarily in response to people wishing to stay at the frozen structure during summer and autumn.
And since research shows that winters will become shorter, Yngve Bergqvist, Founder of ICEHOTEL 365 noted, "We want to create a sustainable product."
It took more than a hundred people over five months to build the permanent ice hotel: First by making a steel construction and inserting a cooling system, then by turning 30,000 liters of water from the Torne River into several tons of ice and snow, and using them to cover the walls, ceiling, ground, plus all the rooms, Forbes reports.
Given that climate control is one of the biggest challenges, steel pipes are drilled into the permafrost (at 16 feet below ground) to keep the building at 23 degrees (Fahrenheit)—the ideal temperature for the preservation of the hotel plus its ice and snow sculptures, according to Bergqvist.
"That way, the building works like a thermos where it doesn't let the cold air out nor the heat in," he said. What's more, approximately 7,320 square feet of solar-powered refrigerating plants will be used to keep the hotel cool during the summer months too.
