Sweden's Ice hotel offers 'haute couture' suites

Sweden's famous , known for its individually designed suites carved out of ice and snow, is offering guests the chance to design their own bespoke suites for winter 2014.

The suites, set to be available starting in December, will be made exclusively to order and guests will be involved in the design process, getting the chance to work closely with the ice and the resort's ephemeral art. Prices will start from Sek 1,485,000 ($ 231,000), making them some of the most expensive hotel rooms in the world.

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"We want to create a forum in which guests can express their own design ideas and experiment with ice as an art material," said Arne Bergh, Creative Director of Ice Hotel. "The beauty of ice is that it only exists briefly and then goes away, it unleashes an incredible creativity in people."

The suites will be made from the exclusive natural ice from the river Torne and feature original handmade art work. Part of the proceeds from the cost will be donated to environmental initiatives in the Baltic Sea, where the river Torne runs into the ocean.

Once the client has left, the suites will be left to melt into the river with the spring. Guests will be given a bottle containing some of the melted ice, along with the sketches and blueprints for the design, and photographs of the suite.

Located 200 km north of the Arctic Circle, the Ice Hotel has been a pioneer in ice art since its launch 25 years ago.
For more information or to design a suite see icehotel.com