There isn’t an American ice hotel. (When I say “American,” I mean U.S.A., not North or South America) But there was one. After I mentioned it in my last blog entry, I realized I had enough photos from my visit to add another photo gallery.

    The Aurora Ice Hotel lasted just one winter (and part of spring) at Chena Hot Springs Resort near Fairbanks, AK. And it immediately sparked a controversy, one of fire vs. ice. You see, the fire marshal decided that the hotel wasn’t up to the fire code and wanted to shut it down. The irony of the situation made it national news. One quote suggested that someone might try to “throw an ice sculpture to put out a fire,” likely not the best method.

    From the beginning, World Champion Steve Brice was (and is; I’ll explain in a minute) the lead ice carver for the hotel. The hotel featured a large room with color changing ice chandeliers and an elaborate ice bar. A number of small bedrooms adjoined the main room and all the rooms were decorated with fantastic ice art.

    I almost didn’t get to see it (several times.) I was competing at the World Ice Art Championships in Fairbanks, and I’d thought that a group of carvers were going to go see the hotel after the competition. Somehow the group excursion didn’t happen (strike one) and I was left trying to find out if there was some other way to see it (if I remember correctly, it’s about 60 miles from Fairbanks and I had no car) Dick Brickley, head of Ice Alaska, generously allowed me to borrow a minivan to take the trip up the icy road to Chena Hot Springs Resort.

    Before I got the minivan out of the ice park, I got it stuck (strike two.) With a little help from passersby and using the van’s floor mats to get more traction, we got it unstuck and I was on my way. I didn’t have much more trouble getting up there even though I hadn’t driven on snow for several years since moving to Louisiana. I’m sure I was extra cautious after getting the van stuck in the first two minutes.

    When I finally got up there, I saw the outside of the hotel and began to think that I was really going to see it. Well, not quite. I talked to the ticketing persons and I found out that I was well outside of any tour times and the hotel was locked (strike three?). On top of that, I found out that the minivan was needed back at the ice park soon to take carvers to the airport. I explained to the Chena Hot Springs staffperson how I knew Steve Brice and that I’d driven all the way up there and had been looking forward to seeing it ever since I’d heard of it in 2003. They were sympathetic and a manager came and gave me a short, personal tour. Whew!! And I even got the minivan back to the ice park without wrecking on the dark, icy road back to Fairbanks. My thanks to Dick Brickley and the staff at Chena Hot Springs! Without their help, I would have missed another opportunity to see an ice hotel. In 2000, I missed my only chance thus far to see the original Swedish hotel when I was at a competition in Lulea, Sweden (the hotel isn’t that far away, at least, compared to Louisiana)

    So I succeeded in seeing the only American ice hotel (so far) when I visited March 2004. And it’s good that I saw it too, because, after the fire marshal controversy and a meltdown in the nearly perpetual sun of summers in Alaska, the Aurora Ice Hotel was no more. But, fortunately, it was reborn in January of 2005 as the Aurora Ice Museum, complete with a cooling and insulation system to help it last through the summers. And it’s rumored that it’s still possible to stay the night in one of the “museum’s” bedrooms. But if you don’t stay overnight, there’s no risk of having to use an ice sculpture as a fire extinguisher...

    Enjoy the photos!