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A friend posted a luxury igloo hotel on G+ and you know I just had to know more. Iglu-Dorf, is a concept hotel that offers igloo villages in seven locations around Europe.
The history of Iglu-Dorf began with Adrian Günter and one extreme snowboarder’s crazy idea to spend the night in an igloo so he could be the first on the slopes the next day. Apparently being first is a matter of great pride for snowboarders, so he decided to build himself an igloo to make sure no one beat him to that first ride down the mountain. The next day he looked like the happiest person alive, and when someone asked him why he had a big smile on his face, he just pointed at the mountain and said “You see that line over there? That was me.” More and more people followed his example and asked to sleep in his igloo. The next season he built two igloos, then three, and that’s how the Iglu-Dorf igloo villages were born. Now the company builds 12 of them every year, in different locations around Europe. This is no small task as each of these igloos has to be rebuilt every year, using 3,000 tons of snow.
At first, the igloos were built block by block, the traditional way, but that took a team of five people, two weeks to build just one 8-foot-wide and 8-foot-tall igloo, They were only able to open resort at the end of January. They had to come up with a faster way, and found balloons were the best option. They filled up these big balloons, covered them up with snow and waited until it hardened, then simply deflate the balloons and voila, perfect igloos. But that’s where the serious work starts – artists are brought in to carve the lounges, the snow furniture, beds, decorations, etc. An entire Iglu-Dorf village now takes just two weeks to build working 3 shifts, 24 hours a day.The biggest igloo they build is 32 feet high and 32 metres wide. The little ones are 13 by 13 feet.
They have the romantic igloos, some of which even have a private toilet and a private Jacuzzi. And they have the standard igloos which are for up to 6 people. Although Iglu-Dorf does offer heated rooms with a stove, most of the snow igloos are only equipped with sleeping bags to keep you warm, so you better pack some winter clothes. Temperatures during the night don’t fall too far below 32 degrees, but if you feel chilly, you can try the nice cheese fondue fountain, or jump into the incredible hot-tub built right in the snow, and count the stars.
If you have an event, you have the possibility to rent the entire village so that it’s all yours. Open from Dec. 25th until April, prices at Iglu-Dorf range from $99 per person, but can run up to $780 per person on New Years Eve. Dinner of cheese fondue, snowshoe walk, supervision by Iglu-guides and breakfast in the mountain restaurant included.
