Imagine visiting a hotel constructed from thousands of tonnes of snow and ice, carefully re-built every winter after the summer thaw. Sounds unbelievable doesn't it. Unbelievable is a good word to describe the Icehotel in the little village of Jukkasjärvi in northern Lapland.

The Icehotel features cosy double rooms and suites for the overnight guests, a lobby, a pillared hall, a film auditorium and the famous Absolut Icebar - where people from all over the world mingle till late in the artic night.

Construction of the unique Icehotel commences in November each year, and the doors open to the winter-season's visitors in December. The ice comes from the Torne River, and each May the warm spring sunshine does its best to return the Icehotel slowly but surely back into the Torne in time for summer. The Ice-hotel closes, or more accurately, melts for the season around the end of April, beginning of May.

The Icehotel's Absolut Icebar probably enjoys more international attention than the trendiest bars in Stockholm. Twice mentioned in Newsweek as one of the world's most stunning bars, it certainly leaves no one out in the cold.