My wife gave me a night at Hotel de Glace for Christmas and we stayed in February. I am glad we did it, but I agree with most prior reviews that once is enough. It DID help that we read prior reviews before coming, so we did know what to expect and what to bring. Firstly, we took lots of pictures, which we shared instantly with friends and family, so we felt like we were on some kind of documentary adventure. Got lots of responses like "wow" and "cool." But make no mistake...this place is cold. There is not much point in showing up until early evening, because the entire hotel is open to the public until 8 pm, including your room. They don't let you have access until 9 pm and then you have to be out by 9 am, for the same reason. There is a warm reception area for those staying overnight. The shortcomings of that building are mainly what lie behind our "very good" instead of "excellent" review. There is a snack bar, and the food, including breakfast, is limited. We drove out for dinner. Breakfast was basic. There are tables in the snack bar area - not a comfortable place to congregate. There is a lounge area for overnight guests, which consists of several couches and several internet stations. Capacity of the hotel is about 90....so this area was always full with no other options. The dressing room/showers were nice, but detached from 2 bathrooms - which were part of the snack bar. This was not practical for 90 guests. And I don't mean 2 bathrooms with multiple stalls. 2 bathrooms that lock when one is in use. Beyond that: The staff was friendly and accommodating. Rooms: We paid for an upgrade to a theme room with a fireplace. That took the rate from $399 to $599. Not worth it, because the fireplaces are set to burn for 2 hours and they do not put out heat - which makes sense in an ice hotel. But they also don't provide additional ambiance because all of the ice walls and beds have internal led lights, so everything glows anyway. Now we get to the "experience:" The rooms are about 20 degrees F. The beds are a block of ice with a cover, which is completely wet because of the humidity. So there really is no such thing as enjoying your room. Basically you go into your room to crawl inside a liner, which then you wiggle that inside a sleeping bag and zip up to the point where only your eyes are showing. And that is it for the night. If you have to go to the bathroom, you must extricate yourself from your bag, get dressed and go outside to either portapotties or the before-mentioned 2 bathrooms. The hotel DOES have hot tubs and a sauna going all night, but in our minds, the concept of getting wet in 20 degree weather, and then crawling into a sleeping bag seemed too much. I read a lot of reviews that said most people had fitful nights, and that was true for us. We stayed at the Chateau Frontenac afterwards, and they let us check in at noon. Then we took 4 hours naps. Which begs the question....why did we pay $600 to freeze from 9 pm to 9 am, and why are we calling the experience "very good?" I guess because it is like climbing Everest. I doubt anyone who has ever done it actually enjoyed it but if you live to talk about it....
- Also Known As:
- De Glace Hotel
- Ice Hotel Quebec
- Ice Canada Hotel
- Ice Hotel
- Ice Hotel Canada
- Ice Hotel Montreal
- Hotel De Glace Quebec/Quebec City
- Official Description (provided by the hotel):
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Located at only 10 minutes from Québec City, the Hotel de Glace is open from January until March. Enter a magical world where snow and ice are transformed into fabulous decors. Come to live a magical night in one of the 36 rooms and suites. Enjoy a cocktail and relax in the exterior hot tubs and sauna. The Hôtel de Glace is a must see attraction to be discovered in family, in couple or between friends this winter!
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