Embrace the cold, and indulge in some good old-fashioned fun in the snow at one of Sweden's famous hotels made entirely of ice!

As we landed at Kiruna airport in the north of Sweden, I noted no attempt had been made to clear the runway. It was positively covered in snow. Had this been the UK, inbound planes would have been diverted, all outbound flights cancelled, holidays would have been ruined and we would all have been advised to stay housebound and turn up the heating.

But this was Sweden and the Swedes are made of sterner stuff. This further hit home during the 20-minute transfer to the hotel; the roads were also caked in a thick layer of snow, but this did not deter our driver. We got to the hotel in 15 minutes.

The other thing we noticed was the light, or rather the lack of it. We landed at 1.30pm to a sort of grey gloom. This was the day at its brightest, and you only got about two hours of this, before you were plunged into darkness.

In the summer, it goes to the opposite extreme and you get 24 hours of daylight, and while I wouldn't fancy living with either, it was all part of the experience for a long weekend.

Childhood revisited
There were only a few children among the guests, the rest were adults of varying ages, but the snow seemed to turn us all into big kids. We had an overnight snowmobile trip booked so my husband Bill and I hurried down to the warm changing rooms (not all of the hotel is frozen) to dump our bags, don our thermals and pick up our snow suits and boots. We had about an hour to kill and we couldn't wait to explore the Ice Hotel proper.

Inside it was like a something from Hans Christian Anderson's Snow Queen. The ice pillars and sculptures glowed (all the lighting is set into the ice) creating an ethereal, other worldly quality to the whole structure. Built on the frozen River Torne, when spring comes, it simply melts away.

Exploring the hotel We ran round the Design and Art suites like excitable children, taking photographs of ice beds shaped into dragons (pictured), giant chess boards and horse-drawn sleighs. Then, a quick vodka in the ABSOLUT ICEBAR, before donning fleece balaclavas, helmets and goggles for the snowmobile tour.

Snowmobiling
I've driven quads and jet skis before, but nothing beats zooming across a frozen lake on a snowmobile. It was pitch black, but we had headlights and heated handle bars and foot plates, which were very welcome. It was about minus 9. We drove for about an hour before setting up camp at one of the wilderness lodges.

We then whiled away the evening by the stove chatting with two other couples over beer and wine as our guide prepared supper.

Bedtime saw one couple set up camp above the sauna, the others offered to stay in the lodge with the guide, which left us with a whole other lodge to ourselves. This was very toasty with a stove and gas heater, but we were scared they'd burn the lodge down as we slept, so we turned them off before turning in, a BIG mistake to make 200 kilometres inside the Artic Circle. I woke shivering at about 6am dying for the loo which was in a hut about 20 metres away in the woods. Brrrrr.

After breakfast we took a long route on the snowmobiles back to the hotel, before enjoying a bowl of elk soup for lunch.

Chasing Rudolf
Our afternoon activity was a visit to the Saami viste (homestead) where we lassoed reindeer (some more successfully than others) and then drove them in a race around their enclosure. This was a little hairy, as you climbed into a one-person sled while the guide ran with the reindeer to pick up speed, before tossing you the reins and you were on your own.

Thankfully, my reindeer turned out to be the Lada of the reindeer world and we quickly slowed to a walk despite my cries of 'MUSH, MUSH!'

After a few hours of making friends with the reindeer we retired to a Saami tent where we were cooked, yes, you've guessed it, reindeer. If you're wondering, reindeer tastes like stringy beef. Not great, but when in Rome...

To recover from eating Rudolf we hit the ICEBAR hard on our return to the hotel. I guess we'd worked our way through roughly half the cocktail list, before deciding it was probably time to find something to eat. The Ice Hotel restaurant was great. It was heated, and the gourmet menu was delicious, featuring local delicacies such as salmon roe, moose and chard, as well as sea bass and lamb.

By 10pm we were full and very tired. A quick hot chocolate at the bar downstairs was all it took to send us queuing for our Arctic sleeping bags and we were ready for our night on the ice.

Sleeping in ice
We booked a basic ice room which came without sculptures and decoration, but you can look round all the suites during the day as there are no doors. The ice rooms are a sort of igloo with an ice bed (including a mattress and reindeer skins).

It was actually quite comfortable and we were pretty cosy in our sleeping bags, but poke your head out for a moment and you soon feel the cold. The main problem is loo trips. You have to walk outside the hotel to the heated changing rooms for these, so my tip is not to drink too much before bed time.

I didn't get much sleep, I felt a bit claustrophobic in my sleeping bag, but I was glad I braved it. We even got a certificate to say we'd slept at minus 5.

The next morning, we ate a gigantic buffet breakfast - I convinced myself that the cold burns so many calories, that I HAD to eat it all - before heading back to the airport by dog sled. Now that's the way to travel.

To find out more, visit www.icehotel.com