I have stayed in countless hostels, hotels, bed and breakfasts and with numerous couchsurfing hosts. I have stayed in hostels so cheap I ended up with bed bugs and hotels so fancy that I never wanted to get out of bed! However, whilst in Greenland, I was lucky enough to stay in what is hands down the most incredible accommodation of my life.
The Hotel Arctic is the most northerly 4 star hotel on the planet and is in a prime location overlooking the gorgeous Ilulissat Icefjord. The hotel has a range of rooms and suites like any other; but it’s the ‘rooms’ tucked away behind the hotel that are truly spectacular.
There are five incredible IGLOOS perched on the rocky terrain rising high above the icefjord! During the months of May – September these igloos are open and ready to give you one of the most unique sleeping experiences you will ever have. The igloos are just a short walk from the main foyer of the hotel, and have all the amenities you’d expect a four star hotel to have. There is a teeny bathroom with a small shower, tea and coffee making facilities, a television and room service is available. As an added bonus, the included buffet breakfast is amazing!
They also provide free transfers to the town centre, airport and World of Greenland office; which is handy as you could be waiting for a taxi at the tiny Ilulissat airport for ages. With Ilulissat only having around 5000 inhabitants there isn’t a great need for lots of taxis waiting outside the airport!
After I checked in with the lovely hotel staff, I set off to begin the short walk to my igloo. However, of course I had checked in at the windiest time of the day and found myself having to clutch the railing of the boardwalk to avoid toppling over. I was laughing hysterically the entire time and must have looked like an absolute idiot to anyone who saw me!
Once I finally arrived at the door of Igloo No. 3 I was quick to throw down my backpack and start taking some pictures!
The igloos themselves are lovely and heated, which is good, cause when I was in Ilulissat the daily temperature was sitting at about -1°C on a warm day down to -8°C with 97% humidity on the truly icy days!
As it was so windy, the igloo would often rumble and shake, which sounds like it may be unpleasant, but I found that it rocked and lulled me into the best sleep I had had in ages. Between bouts of this peaceful sleep, this is also an awesome spot to see the gorgeous northern lights. Due to the minimal light pollution in Greenland, from the deck outside or from within the warm confines of the igloo, it is possible to see the gorgeous Aurora Borealis dance above you.
However, my favourite part was waking up early and seeing the sun rise over the huge icebergs with nobody else around.
T H E L O W D O W N
Getting to Ilulissat: Air Iceland has direct flights from Reykjavik to Ilulissat twice weekly in the summer months
Hotel Arctic: You can hang out in one of these amazing igloos for around $325 AUD per night between May and September, see the Hotel Arctic website for more details and to book
Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M1 with 12-40mm lens and 52mm HOYA polarising filter
Thankyou: To the amazing Hotel Arctic for allowing me to stay in one of these igloos and the wonderful staff for making my stay seriously comfortable
Remember: To tie your hair back when walking to and from your igloo unless you want to look seriously windswept!
Wow — more great travel pics , very inspiring too — wish I had your job OR does your travel pay for your travel 😉
A blogger never tells 😉 haha
How cool is this? I love your posts you are my ‘UNBREAKABLE’ lol! You are so gutsy I shall continue to live vicariously through your adventures! Stunning pics & lots of great info as usual love J Xx
Haha woohoo! Thank you so much- I look forward to sharing many more adventures with you 😊 xx
Great one, I’ll look forward to it X 😎
unique and beautiful, wow! ❤️
So cool! Love the photos
Thank you!
So amazing! I wish one day I could travel like that.
fantastic!! What a great adventure!
i so wanna stay in one of those 🙂
Should add it to the bucket list 😊
added 🙂 thanks for the w’ful post ..
I was wondering where you stayed there. Not what I pictured; that’s for sure. Looks fun. About how big are the igloos?
Not huge but bigger than they look from the outside! Inside my igloo there was a double bed, small table, fridge, shower and toilet with a small amount of floor space. Perfectly cosy 😊
Thank you…That’s not bad. I’ve had smaller room than that in my travels. =)
Sounds like an amazing experience. How utterly memorable – I want to go!!
Definitely one to add to the bucket list!
Wow, what a wonderful place to stay. I think I would stay several blissful nights there
How cold is it there?
In the summer it’s just below zero (celsius) but can get down to -30 in the winter!
I would be glued to the window if the northern lights were turned on. Did you have to pay extra for the lights? 🙂
Ha! No they are a free gift from Greenland! I saw them most nights – so gorgeous 😊
Wowww 🙂 the unique 😀
Nice – I wanna be there immediately. Cheers for the post and safe travels 🙂
Likewise 😊
Great pics! I wanted to see more of the inside of the igloo!
Wow, it looks amazing! I want to go there one day. 🙂
Wow! Can you take me in your backpack? 🙂
Ha! You are not the first person to ask such a thing 😊
Awesome!
Amazing!
That looks really cool Ellen, certainly unique accommodation! Was it warm inside the igloo at night?
It was! They were lovely and heated 😊
That is one futuristic igloo!
That looks like a pretty epic place to stay, also loving the image quality of the EM1.. always nice when a blogger can take awesome photos to really showcase the adventure
Thank you so much 😊 it’s my first SLR and I’m very happy with it so far!
That Just looks so amazing to stay in I think it’s a must if I went there 🙂 x x x
Incredible! The whole thing sounds like a strange but wonderful dream! 🙂
It pretty much was 😊
What a unique experience.
This is incredible, thank you for sharing 🙂
My pleasure! Thank you for reading 😊
How neat is that!?! Wonder if you can stay in actual ice igloos somewhere too…? I got attacked by bed bugs once from a stay in a youth hostel in Quebec City…not a pleasant experience waking up with bites which follow your veins eh? Still, the hostel took it very seriously and dealt with the issue.
I would think so! I’m pretty sure in some parts of northern Scandinavia and Finland it’s possible 😊
I’ve had bed bugs a few times 😞 they are horrid creatures!
Here is hoping bed bugs never infest your home! I hear they can be horrendous to get rid of.
Ugh I hope I never have them in my home too!
Wow! This must have been a wonderful experience!!
It really was 😊
While I may not like the cold…that looks awesome! I’d be tempted to go just to sleep in an igloo!!!!
wow looks amazing! But how did you sleep? I’m not sure I could’ve with a view like that just outside, the night sky must’ve been fantastic!
I feel like a terrible person for saying this- but I seem to have a bit of a northern lights radar! They aren’t visible all the time but I seemed to get lucky and wake up at the right times to see them 😊
amazing post…. This is definitely on my wish list
Oh my gosh what a cool idea. Had no idea this was a thing thanks for making it seem so doable as well!!
Nice travel blog! Thanks for following. Just thought I’d update you the new address of my blog as it has been moved to: trailpen.wordpress.com. Please follow me there instead of the current site. Happy travel!
I’ll check it out!
nice post!! at first glance, I thought your pack was a giant spider! Great experience…but $325 a night? Hey, are the igloos those tin huts, or are they made of ice?
In Greenland that’s a pretty normal cost for a hotel room- it’s a very expensive country to visit! And I don’t think they are made of tin but definitely out of some sort of metal 😊
Yikes, it’s almost as expensive as New York…but with green skies at night?
So green! The northern lights lit up the sky for me many times 😊
that’s one thing I do want to see before I hang up my taveling shoes, but I don’t want to stay in an overpriced igloo!
It may be expensive but not overpriced! It’s an amazing place and worth every penny 😊 if it’s too pricey though you can always find cheaper bed and breakfasts 😊
My history has been a fairly low-budget kind of travel ($4 some times!). But next week I’ll be spending over $600 for a bungalow in the Maldives…just for the experience, and NOT because I want to, and I’ll never do it again. So I might pop for the igloo experience…once.
Ooh you must tell me how it is!
Sometimes you just gotta splurge for the experience! I am usually an el cheapo budget traveller too, but a splurge every once in a while doesn’t go astray
Beautiful photos awesome blog!
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed 🙂