If this weekend’s temperatures don’t slake your thirst for chills, you can always raise a glass at an ice bar. Here are a few suggestions, from upstate New York to the South Island of New Zealand.
Hôtel de Glace, Quebec City
What would a hotel be without a hopping bar? Quebec City’s ice hotel has a popular one, along with an ice chapel for a frosty wedding, for those so inclined. And if you book one of the 44 rooms, you don’t have to worry about driving home afterward. (Do bring your warm pyjamas, though.)
1000 Islands Harbor Hotel, Clayton, New York
Two hours southwest of Ottawa, the 1000 Islands Harbor Hotel in Clayton, New York, is hosting the Fire and Ice Extravaganza next weekend (February 18 to 20, 2016), and one of the highlights is an ice bar surrounded by ice benches and sculptures, all carved from 20 tons of the cold stuff. The $20 entrance fee includes hors d’oeuvres, beer and wine samples, DJ entertainment and fireworks; there’s also a cash bar featuring signature cocktails.
Minus 5° Ice Experience, multiple locations
I bet this is a refreshing (if hydro-intensive) idea when the outdoor temperature tops +40°C: a chain of year-round ice bars in places such as Las Vegas (which has two), Orlando and the Cayman Islands. The Minus 5° Ice Experience chain also has a location in midtown Manhattan.
And yet more ice bars
Yes, cold makes me grin like Jack Nicholson in Batman. This is at the Icebar at the Nordic C hotel in Stockholm. Photo by Paul Paquet.
Heading further afield? You’ll find ice bars (often in ice hotels) in locales as far flung as Chateau Lake Louise (Christmas season only); Stockholm; Kemi, Finland (more of a restaurant, really); Avrig, Romania; Tomamu, Japan (OK, I couldn’t determine definitively whether this ice village has a bar, but I bet it does); and Queenstown, New Zealand. There are several in Norway, including one at the Sorrisniva Igloo Hotel in Alta, which claims to be Europe’s northernmost ice hotel.
Did I overlook your favourite chilly watering hole? Let me know in the comments!
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