The hotel bar does not serve beer, because it would freeze. Vodka does not.

The main hall (see picture) is a long archway of thick packed snow, and has windows of translucent ice blocks sawn from the nearby river. The river runs slowly, so the ice freezes with few air bubbles - making it very clear and blue.

Jukkasjaervi is 160 kilometres/100 miles above the Arctic Circle and the ice hotel draws thousands of visitors every winter. The hotel melts in the summer and must be rebuilt each winter.