冰宮飯店(Hôtel de Glace)

Absolute must trip if you have a few hours spare in Quebec. The tour bus departs the information center at 9 am and 11.45 am. This is a working hotel, made entirely of ice for a short Jan - Mar season. Guests can stay overnight (8.00 pm to 8.00 am) in individually sculptured ice bedrooms with mattress and military grade sleeping back provided. The 9.00 trip arrives at the ice hotel at 9.45 but you can’t enter til 10.00 am. There is so much to take in that you need longer than the tour allows - the bus leaves at 11.15 am or you can wait for the last bus at 2.45 pm but there would not be enough to see to keep you here til then. Take lots of photos and wear something warm. We took the earlier bus back and didn’t have time to get a cocktail in the ice bar (served in ice glasses btw).

Surprised my wife with a romantic getaway and completely stunned her with the beauty and magic of this utterly unique ice hotel experience. So creative and artistic, fantastic incorporation of lights into all the decor… definitely check out online photography and video tours, to be amazed. I think I could visit here every year. We sprang for the premiere suite with fireplace and courtyard with private hot tub. (I mistakenly thought the hot tub would be in the room, but it is outside for an open sky view.) ice hotel room was forest themed, with trees carved up the walls and overhead, and animals everywhere– – Perfect. I wish we could have been better rested before arriving so we could have stayed up later enjoying it, before going to sleep. Their online instructions were clear and perfect. In the end I only used one layer of synthetic long underwear, and wore wool socks over regular socks. No hat. And I did not even have to cinch the mummy bag up around my head. The bag kept me perfectly warm and cozy, not too hot. someone else in her review left the advice to not drink much later in the evening, in order to try to avoid going to the bathroom… Yes, getting out of that snuggly bag in the middle of the night for a restroom trip was quite a shocker in 4°F. Leave yourself adequate time to tour every themed suite. Recommend proper snow boots and full insulated gear like snow pants, ski jacket, full headgear and gloves, for the walking tour and sliding board. Definitely heed their preparation guide if you will sleep there, RE clothing. We got up early enough to enjoy the hot tub again in the morning. I wish we had left ourselves enough time to enjoy it a few hours of the snow park before we had to leave. It’s a bit of a trek for us, over a 9 hour drive or a flight, but I will strongly consider doing this again for a two day stay, it is just so otherworldly special. The regular hotel room was perfectly lovely as well. The staff were professional and courteous, and the maintenance guy who rescued us when my sleeping bag zipper would not close, was a kind friendly soul, easy to love. Quick easy drive from Quebec City. The resort itself seems geared to families, given the indoor water park and the enormous snow park so while the ice hotel itself is romantic, just be prepared for all the families at the resort itself.

Très belle expérience d’avoir dormi dans l’hôtel de glace. À faire une fois dans sa vie! Nous avions une chambre standard mais comme ce n’était pas complet, nous avons eu un surclassement à une chambre plus spacieuse. Le fait que Valcartier nous donne une chambre également à leur hôtel lorsque l’on réserve une chambre à l’hôtel de glace aider énormément à aimer l’expérience. Sans cela, je ne l’aurais pas fait. On s’est levé en douce à 6h30 pour finir notre nuit au chaud. 😊. Par contre, pas facile de bien dormir dans un sleeping sarcophage car on ne peut pas bouger mais le but n’était pas de bien dormir.

We visited the public areas (Chapel and Bar). The snow/ice sculptures are very impressive. The lights make everything come alive. Drinks at the bar were fun, but too strong for me. We visited the other themed room the next morning. I am happy we selected the least expensive ice room (which was still pretty pricey). It is nice to look at, but once you are asleep you don't see the fancy carvings on the wall or the fireplace (which is only there for ambiance and doesn't give off any heat.) We made it until 430am, before heading back into the warmth of our complimentary room at the hotel. That room was immaculate and had a view of the Ice Hotel and tubbing hill. We ate at Safari restaurant (we were the only ones there).

this was a magical place very calm and wild at the smae time lots to do hotel is a bit cold but a small price for the overall experience. Everything was really fun and really nice ice skating and tubing for all stages from beginner to expert Amazing trip 10/10 would go again definitly try to go when the festival is acticve. :)

Really unique experience to see this engineering marvel. It is much larger than I remember from when I visited it over 10 years ago. Many more sculptures now. Amazing that they build this from the ground up every year. Like the additional tubing hill nearby. The $40 entrance fee was a little high.

C'était ma 2e expérience à l'hôtel de glace... bon, l'autre datait de 2012 quand même! C'était tout autant époustouflant à admirer. Il y avait un Dj le soir que nous sommes allés alors il y avait une bonne ambiance en soirée. On a profité du spa avant d'aller dormir et on a été surpris du confort du lit. Il faisait chaud dans le sleeping! On a quand même terminé notre nuit dans la chambre supplémentaire pour dormir plus longtemps. Le seul point négatif qui ne concerne pas l'hôtel en soi c'est que les restaurants autour du site ne pas du tout recommandés. Le staff nous a grandement suggéré d'aller manger en dehors et je ne parlerai pas des avis tripadvisor. Donc, si j'avais un ptit tip pour vous : apportez des lunchs ou bien préparez-vous mentalement à sortir vers Québec.

The ice hotel is even more impressing than in the pictures! I'm glad I over packed bc the specific instructions for how to sleep overnight in -14 temps are really important! No cottons, but synthetics and wool. With the right clothing we were warm and snug. We stayed in a themed room and it was incredible. The snow tube trails were also amazing. I'd never seen anything like that before! So much fun being able to do a ton of runs on different trails with the fast rope tow lifts. I will definitely come back. We didn't have time for the indoor water park but it looked beautiful from a distance. Definitely a 5 of 5 rating for this place.

Yes the 'Ice Hotel' is a much greater feature of a larger family resort... who actually cares? We didn't, we knew what to expect, a night out in the blistering cold of an 'ice hotel'. We booked two nights at the Valcartier resort, first night in the ice hotel and the second in the proper resort hotel itself. As part of the booking for the night in the ice hotel, you are also assigned a proper hotel room, so if you can't hack the cold you have a fall back position (for all you softies out there). Joking aside, the assigned hotel room acts as your 'base' to drop off all your luggage and all other valuables you have with. Ideal as wouldn't want to have all my luggage sat in an ice box getting damp. Once checked into the resort hotel, you can go down to the ice hotel for a wander about and look at all the rooms. The ice sculptures are amazing and done by different artists. You can see their name plaques dotted around and outside each room. It was very quiet for us at the time and the bar was open to get a refreshing ice glass drink. The cocktails are strong so recommend bringing a bottle/can of sprite etc to water it down a bit. Nevertheless, we managed to walk around unheeded. The overnight stay itself, you can't access your room until 21:00. The hosts themselves supply the sleeping bags which are North Face ones and good for -30C, so don't worry about being cold. You get briefed on how to prepare yourselves for the stay. Firstly, go into one of the outdoor hot tubs. Get proper warmed up! We chose a room that had it's own private hot tub. If you are willing to spend more, I'd recommend this! The tub to yourselves sat in 39C (105F) heat! Bliss, especially with an open night sky. Once this was done, you go back to your 'base', get a shower and proper dry off. You rbody is 'prepared' for the cold. From there, it's a case of wearing base layers, put on a jacket, warm hat and boots and off you go to your allocated ice hotel room. In the room itself, take your boots off and tuck them into each other to stop overnight moisture. Put your jacket into the bottom of the sleeping bag then hop in! Warm hat on and snuggle up for the night. If you have a fire, you need to go to the resort hotel reception to let them know the time you'd like the fire lit. We chose 23:00 so we could drift off with the fire on. It only lasts half an hour and is purely for ambient effect. It does not warm up the room for obvious reasons. Don't worry about sleeping in, they'll wake you around 08:15. I was already awake by 07:00 bursting for a pee in a cool room that was -13C 🥶But I was snug. I've spent many a night out in the cold during my Army days but for this, you don't need that sort of background. Follow the guidance given by the helpful staff and you will be cosy all night! 😁👍 Again, thanks to the staff here for making us feel welcome! If you are thinking about staying here, don't think! Just go and do it! A review on the resort hotel will be done separately.