Sorrisniva Igloo Hotel in Alta

The Sorrisniva Igloo Hotel is basically an hotel made out of pure ice and snow. The accommodation is located outside the city center of Alta in a quit and very natural atmosphere. Sorrisniva is located 20 km away from Alta and therefore it is a very charming place to relax. The whole staff will make your stay so comfortable that you will never leave this unique place again.

It is the most northern Igloo Hotel in the world which makes it a unique experience. The Sorrisniva Igloo Hotel is a family business that started in 2000. The area is about 2.500 km2 large. Something which impressed me is the fact that they have to rebuilt the hotel every year due to the melting of the ice in summer. Every year the Igloo Hotel is constructed with a new theme and construction. As they want to stay local, the snow and the ice come both from Alta and surroundings. To make this even better, the whole city helps to built up this unique hotel in Alta.

The main building of the hotel is opened the whole year as a restaurant and during winter time it is also the lobby, warming up and eating place of the Igloo hotel.

Service building

The service building is a very charming place completely made out of wood. This makes it very charming and keeps it  all natural. When you enter the building you’re standing directly in the reception of the hotel and restaurant. There you have already a few seats to just enjoy the whole ambiance.

On the right hand is the restaurant, where breakfast for the guests of the Igloo Hotel is served. On the left  hand you enter a common room for the hotel guests to relax or spent their evening before going to the ice room. In that room is also a fire place which makes it very comfortable.

There is also a luggage room, toilets, showers and a sauna. Every corner is decorated in a way that you immediately feel at home.

Igloo hotel

Once you enter the Igloo hotel, you will feel like Elsa in the Disney movie Frozen. Everything is made out of ice and snow. You immediately feel comfortable with all the different sculptures and figurines. As they have every year a new theme, the decoration changes also every year. 2016 the theme was trolls, myths and sagas of Norway.

There is also an ice bar where you can have a drink. It is really special because you get your drink in a glass completely made out of ice. I really like this idea because it will give you the real icy feeling.

There are also a lot of places covered with reindeer skin so you can sit warmer. Even if it’s an ice hotel with a temperature below 0, it will not be that cold because there is no wind inside.

A highlight is the ice chapel where you can have a magical winter wedding. This is really special because first you get married in a chapel completely made out of ice and you’ll be spending also your first night as a married couple in the bridal suite. They offer you also a lot of other things in relation with your wedding. I think that this is a really unique experience.

Ice rooms

Spending a night in the ice room is very adventurous. The temperature in the room is constantly between -4 and -7 degrees, which is really cold to sleep. They will provide you with sleeping bags and pillows and instructions how to behave at night. It is recommended to put woolen underwear and two layers to sleep well in the cold ice room.

It is not recommended to take your electronic gear with you because the cold could harm them, but if you want to take your cell phone with you, be sure to put it also in the sleeping bag to keep it warm.

Honestly, I was very nervous to sleep in the ice room and therefore I had problems to fall asleep. It is really strange and different to normal hotel rooms, but I really enjoyed the night there.

Restaurant Laksestua

The restaurant Laksestua is opened the whole year and one of the best restaurants I’ve ever been. As a guest of the hotel, they reserve you a table and so you’ll be able to eat there. You also get a personal waitress for the whole evening. The ambiance in the restaurant is really amazing. Everything is made out of wood with a fire place.

The food was also delicious. They offer a lot of different dishes and everything they serve is made with regional products. As the different towns and cities are not so close together, they call regional products even products, which come from more than 700 km away. I like that idea of staying regional.

Activities

Sorrisniva offers also a lot of different activities for winter and summer time. This goes from activities around the hotel to real winter activities. We tried for example the Northern Lights walk over the frozen Alta river or we did a small tour with a sleigh where you are standing on the sleigh and you have to push yourself forward with one foot.

We also tried the Snowmobile Safari in Alta, which was also a lot of fun and adventure. You can ride your own snowmobile and the tour is really amazing because you are driving over the beautiful Finnmark plateau.

Another activity was the reindeer sledding and sami experience, which I really enjoyed. You can meet the reindeers and also the sami people, which is a folk in the Northern part of Europe.

Conclusion

All in one, I was amazed by the whole Sorrisniva company. Every single person was so adorable and kind that you get the being-at-home-feeling. The people and accommodation is totally worth a visit because they offer you everything you need. Once you come back from one activity to the main service building, you immediately feel comfortable and you’ll never leave this place again.

Did you ever stayed in an ice hotel? How was the experience?

Read next: The ultimate Norway Guide