Cold comfort at the Snowhotel Kirkenes

A Porsche road trip to Norway’s Kirkenes snow hotel

Chill out in a spectacular palace of ice

4 August 2023

Bed headboard carved from ice into leaf shape

Falling asleep on a frozen bed while tonnes of ice hover over your head makes a night in The Snowhotel Kirkenes in north east Norway one of the most exciting hotel experiences ever

A new way to break the ice

Picture this. A Porsche road trip in a Cayenne over roads as smooth as glass, a dog sled tour through brilliant white snowscapes and, finally, an arrival at an otherworldly ice palace. This is the world-famous Norway snow hotel in Kirkenes. As your eyes gaze around your snow-ceilinged igloo abode, you’ll wonder how it will feel later as you slip into a thermal sleeping bag and head off to the land of nod on a bed made of thick ice.

Woman sits on giant ice throne within ice hotel — These elegant, hand-carved ice thrones don’t last forever

A frozen Porsche road trip that’s next level

And after a day of crab fishing, husky safaris and show shoeing, we pop back to our icy room, where we have a wall-carved Marilyn Monroe for company. The talented artists who sculpted this winter wonderland did so using 300 tonnes of ice blocks, taken from the surrounding frozen seas. If you’re looking for an experience that takes ‘glacial’ to the next level, then this is it.

Image of Marilyn Monroe carved into ice wall — Some like it cold: the snow hotel walls are adorned with art

On this memorable Porsche road trip you’ll encounter the largest ice bar on the planet, where you can sample a crowberry schnapps before bedtime. Served in a glass made of ice, you’ll see your own breath between sips from your fur-topped snow seat. Depending on your date of arrival, another surprise awaits, as every year the hotel creates a unique-themed world from scratch, with previous themes including ‘Russia’ and ‘royalty’.

Man behind ice bar in middle of snow hotel igloo — Frozen, not stirred: there’s always plenty of ice at this bar

Sweet dreams are made of ice

When it’s time to tread along the shimmering corridors back to your snow suite, don’t be deceived by the fragile appearance of the finely chiselled bed. With the temperature kept at a steady –4°C, everything remains steadfastly frozen. It may sound a little too much on the chilly side, but warmth is provided via the ‘snow globes’ sleeping bags that can easily cope with temperatures down to –30°C. Reindeer skins provide natural further insulation, so you sleep soundly in the knowledge that there is no chance of the outside temperatures of –20°C affecting your slumber.

Room with walls and furniture made of ice — The Snowhotel’s bar is the perfect chillout zone

Each of the 24 ice sleeping chambers at the Norway ice hotel are made by sculptors who are among the best in their trade. They come from China’s own ice city, Harbin, renowned for its spectacular annual ice festival. For weeks, these master craftsmen chisel and hew the ice to create a spellbinding, dreamlike kingdom – one that makes this Porsche Travel Experience Arctic an experience to remember.

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