Eastern Europe’s only Ice Hotel is set in Transylvania’s highest peaks, at over 2,000 meters where golden eagles soar, marmots and bears roam, and tourists enjoy the winter landscape.
Preparations for the 18th season of the Ice Hotel at Balea Lake finished a week before Christmas and the first guests checked in on Dec. 20 (only after it had been blessed by priests as per Romanian custom).
Britain’s Ambassador to Romania, Giles Portman, officially inaugurated the hotel on Friday and it will stay open until the ice melts sometime in the Spring.
Trees cannot grow at this altitude and the stunning but bleak landscape is also prone to avalanches, though the Ice Hotel is far enough from the sheer face of the mountain to be protected. Cable car is the only way to reach the hotel.
On Friday afternoon, it was a bearable -6C outside, which felt like -10C with the wind chill factor. Inside, it is a bearable -1C with lots of blankets and furs to provide warmth.
The hotel lies across from the frozen Bâlea Lake where on Friday children and adults enjoyed the snow and glacial landscape bathed in winter sun.
Ambassador Portman was joined by the Ice Hotel owner Arnold Klingeis and Admiral Florentin Scaletchi for the ribbon cutting ceremony.
“What makes it unique is the change in landscape. You start in the woods, which is very calm and you end up on a tough, cold and dramatic landscape where you face 500-meter high peaks which is an experience in itself,” said owner Arnold Klingeis.
Normally, tourists drive on the Transfagarasan road, but that closes in October as winter settles in.
At the Ice Hotel,”guests are served warm food from three menus. They eat dinner on ice tables, sitting on ice chairs and enjoy classical music,” Mr. Klingeis told Universul.net.
It’s not just young people that enjoy the ‘chill’ atmosphere. The oldest guest was over 80.
“The cold is not harmful for you; it strengthens the immune system,” Mr. Klingeis explained.
The hotel is rebuilt every year using four-feet long ‘bricks’ made from ice and compressed snow from the nearby Balea Lake and the hotel features a new design every year.
Sculptor Eugen Petri led this year’s architecture, sculpting the interior decoration, each room embellished with sculptures and bas-relief paintings inspired by the season’s Classical Music theme.
Builders said late 2024 provided them with excellent weather conditions allowing them to complete the Ice Hotel quicker than in past seasons. In 2019-2020, warm weather meant the hotel couldn’t be built.
The hotel offers double rooms and family rooms. The beds have an ice structure, over which is placed a wooden grill, classic mattress and linen with blankets, sleeping bags and sheep furs, to keep guests toasty warm.
To honor the presence of UK Ambassador Portman, maestro Eugen Petri created ice and snow sculptures featuring British composer Benjamin Britten and conductor Simon Rattle.
Each room is named after a famous composer or conductor, in keeping with this season’s theme. There’s even an ice piano _ and nobody needs to ask for ice in their drinks. The bar also serves hot chocolate, coffee and mulled wine.
Romanian-Austrian Mr. Klingeis’ parents have been running one of Romania’s oldest chalets across the lake for 24 years. It was built in 1896 by the Transylvanian Carpathian Society– Siebenbürgischer Karpatenverein (SKV) when Transylvania was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Mr. Klingeis runs the Bruckenthal Palace, the former summer residence of Transylvanian governor Samuel von Brukenthal in Avrig. The historic manor and gardens are now a boutique hotel and location for weddings and events.
Tourists choose the Ice Hotel for the otherworldly experience and to return to nature with fewer mod cons.
But it’s worth remembering that while the Ice Hotel seems unique, this is how our ancestors lived.
“This isn’t an invention,” Mr. Klingeis.”Thousands of people survived like this is northern Europe years ago.”
ABOUT
Altitude: 2,034 meters above sea level.
Access: reachable via cable-car from Balea Cascada.
Description: The Hotel of Ice is rebuilt every year from ice from the nearby Balea Lake and every year features a new design.
First built in 2006, the Hotel of Ice has 12 rooms, an ice-lounge, a bar and a restaurant, and a kitchen. Most people stay one or two nights.
Next to the hotel and higher up, there is an Ice Church where youngest guests can get baptized, have their marriage blessed, or celebrate their wedding anniversaries.
All bedrooms have ice beds with layers of bedding: mattresses, covered with bed-sheets and real furs. Guests can also be provided with a sleeping bag for the night.
Features & Activities:
Snow-shoeing, ice sculpting, sledging and snow mobile.
Meals (breakfast, lunch or dinner) are served on covered ice tables. Guests can sit on covered ice chairs and most cold dishes are served on ice plates.
Guests’ luggage is stored in the chalet, over the frozen lake. Meals are prepared in the chalet and guest can take their meals there if they fancy a bit of cozy mountain warmth.
Rates:100 euros a night, 150 euros at weekends and holidays.
More information and reservations:
http://hotelofice.ro/
