It's day twelve (for me) in the A-Z blog challenge! This month I'll be sharing all about my Christmas/New Year's travels to Canada – providing insight into the places I went, reviewing the hotels I stayed at, and telling my story. Today's letter is P for pretty Hôtel de Glace, the only ice hotel in North America. Feel free to follow along as I make my way through the alphabet this month! :)
If you'll recall, Justin and I woke up the Thursday before New Year's eve expecting to spend our full day in Québec City. We weren't counting on the only ice hotel in North America to be open yet. Supposedly, the expectation was that they wouldn't open for a few days yet … shortly after we'd returned home. So when I was checking Instagram on Wednesday night and saw pictures of people exploring Hôtel de Glace, I knew that, if the ice hotel was actually open, we had to explore it! Turns out, after verifying with our hotel concierge, it was, and he booked a bus tour for us. At a cost of 42.95$ CAD per person, it was well worth it to us to not have to drive in the snowy and treacherous conditions along unfamiliar roads to reach Village Vacances Valcartier, a resort and "winter playground" located forty minutes outside of downtown historic Québec City.
While we chose the simple "get us to Hôtel de Glace right now" tour, other tour options are available including:
+ one-way shuttles, if you choose to stay the night at Hôtel de Glace or Village Vacances Valcartier
+ a historic driving tour of Québec City (which can be added to your Hôtel de Glace bus tour for an additional 10$ CAD or bought separately as it's own thing for 35.95$ CAD)
+ a countryside tour with stops at Montmorency Falls, Albert Gilles Copper Museum, Ste-Anne-de-Beaupré Basilica, and the Island of Orléans for 49.95$ CAD
+ a combo countryside and historic tour 59.95$ CAD
+ excursions that involve snowmobiling (117.95$ CAD) or dog sledding (143.95$ CAD)
+ Or consider opting in for a day at Village Vacances Valcartier with or without the Hôtel de Glace tour (There is more than enough to keep you and your family occupied for the day!)
Now, if you choose the last option, here's what you can expect to find to do at Village Vacances Valcartier.
+ Hôtel de Glace, of course
+ rafting down outdoor snow slides
+ ice skating (on trails!)
+ a playground for the kids
and if you get bored of all of the cold-weather activities, go inside to find:
+ an indoor water park with a wave pool and multiple slides
+ restaurants (for the hungry)
+ and boutiques featuring both winterwear and summer suits
+ a spa, to relax your cares away
If you coming during the summer, check out:
+ the outdoor water park
+ a vertigo-inducing playground (not for the meek)
+ and water rafting
Then, at the end of a busy day, consider spending the night at Hôtel de Glace (with a room available indoors for you at Village Vacances Valcartier when you get too cold to stand it)!
Now that I have you intrigued with all that Village Vacances Valcartier has to offer, how about a photo tour?
When you first arrive at Hôtel de Glace, everyone in your tour group will be clamoring in around you trying to get the perfect shots of the Hôtel de Glace sign, ice sculptures, etc… We recommend walking beyond the first igloo all the way to the end (or at least to the second one and starting from there. Crowds will still be thick, but not quite as bad…
If you get cold, you can stop your tour midway for a warm drink. We got a hot maple drink that was thick and terribly sweet, but the taste is good if you are out in the freezing cold… (Just don't go into a warm place or you'll realize just how sweet the drink is!)
Understandably, this was the only fire pit in any of the igloos. Even here the heat is contained. You have to get really close to feel any warmth at all…
We decided to get drinks at the bar when we realized they would be served in ice cups. Justin got the Signature Hôtel de Glace and I kept sipping on the hot maple syrup drink…
Aren't these apples the coolest? (No pun intended!)
Comfy(?) ice couches for relaxing…
Just try to keep warm at this fireplace! I dare you! :)
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| Photo credit: melolou via VisualHunt.com / CC BY-NC-ND |
Want to get married? You might want to consider this ice chapel…
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| Photo credit: melolou via Visual Hunt / CC BY-NC-ND |
No worries! Hôtel de Glace will instruct you on how to get a good night of sleep if you decide to stay at their hotel. And even if you can't last the night in the cold, you can always go inside to find a warm room waiting on you… Nights at Hôtel de Glace start at 259$ CAD per person.
A little more information on the tour we took: departure times are 9 AM, 12:30 PM, and 4 PM with returns at 11:10 AM, 2:40 PM, and 6 PM. We took the 12:30 PM departure and stayed until 2:40 PM. We had more than enough time to tour the ice hotel, grab drinks, and explore the interior of Village Vacances Valcartier. Unless you pay, you cannot explore the indoor water park or take part in any of the outdoor winter activities. Hôtel de Glace opens at 9 AM for tours, and they even offer a behind-the-scenes tour allowing you to make your own ice sculpture and sharing all of the intricate secrets behind the building of their hotel and the sculptures inside. Due to expected weather conditions, the hotel opens on different dates every year; in 2017, it was set to open the first week of January, but instead, it opened during the last week of December (Yay for us!) with a planned closing in mid to late March. The website offers a variety of ticket options (even beyond what I've listed in this post!) and provides discounts for groups and families. I should mention that the later in the season you go, the more you will see since contractors are constantly adding on to Hôtel de Glace making it bigger and better throughout its open season.
In my opinion, Hôtel de Glace is a fun half-day trip to take from Québec City and must-do if you are in the area during a time when it is open. I mean, even if you have no intention of staying in an ice hotel, isn't seeing one on most people's bucket lists? (Or maybe I'm just crazy!)
Click here to learn more about Hôtel de Glace or here for more information about Village Vacances Valcartier.
Click here to learn more about Hôtel de Glace or here for more information about Village Vacances Valcartier.
What do you think? Are you up for staying a night in a hotel made of ice?
