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Hans Christian AndersenThe Snow Queen, and a Very Romantic PotionMadelyn Miller
Unlike the Snow Queen s palace in Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen, the Ice Hotel of Quebec offers every possible amenity and comfort in a spectacular snowy setting that is truly worthy of a fairy tale. And since fairy tales usually contain a magical potion - the Ice Hotel is featuring the enchanting elixir known as Inniskillin Ice Wine. Listed in the May 2001 edition of Condé Nast Traveler as one of the world s Hottest New Hotels, the Ice Hotel will open its crystalline doors of snow and sculpted ice for the season in January, just outside the capital city of Canada s east coast province, Quebec. Attracting guests from all over the world, the Hotel s incredible success led Canada s best-known estate winery, Inniskillin Wines, to become a partner for the upcoming season, and to add an exciting new element to the Hotel s extraordinary winter experience. Inspired by a similar concept, launched ten years ago in Jukkasjärvi, Sweden, a seven-hour drive from Stockholm, Canada s Ice Hotel is unique in the Western Hemisphere and located a 20 minute drive from Quebec City - a 90-minute flight from Toronto, or New York. Described as an amazing snow and ice cathedral, it features magnificent hallways with 18 ceilings, ice candelabra and vast artworks, a movie theatre, indoor and outdoor skating rinks, a spa with snow bath , and the now famous Absolut Ice Bar. This year, couples will be able to tie the knot in the world s purest environment crystal clear ice and toast with Inniskillin Ice Wine. Each of its 31 rooms and luxury suites contain a bed of ice covered with deer pelts and a toasty sleeping bag. The Hilton Quebec suite includes a working fireplace that pushes the limits of the impossible, according to CEO and ecotourism pioneer, Jacques Desbois. The Ice Hotel s structure and furnishings are carved out of some 11,500 tons of snow and 350 tons of ice, which last for approximately three months. Set within the Duchesnay Ecotourism Station, the 2002 winter experience will also include cross country skiing, snowmobiling, dog sledding, and ice fishing. It will then be fated to disappear at the end of March as it slowly melts away under the warm spring sun. Inniskillin s expensive, sweet, and intensely flavored Icewines have been seducing wine lovers the world over for close to a decade. Often described as liquid gold, Icewine is made from grapes naturally frozen on the vine and hand picked when the temperature drops below -10ºC. Perfect après ski or with dessert, patrons at the Ice Hotel will be able to savor a glass of Inniskillin s Gold Label Oak Aged Icewine at the Ice Bar, or purchase a 50 ml bottle from their ensuite wine fridge. “Like the developers of the Ice Hotel, we recognize that one of nature's purest resources is ice,” said Donald Ziraldo, co-founder, Inniskillin Wines. “On the one hand, its frozen crystals can create one of the most stunning examples of architecture in the world, and, on the other hand, they turn grape juice into a seductive, exquisite nectar that is in high demand across North America, Asia and now Europe. We are thrilled to partner with the Ice Hotel to bring the ultimate sensory experience to discerning world travelers.” For more informationwww.inniskillin.com by Louis Ducharme, Ice Hotel Quebec-Canada |
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TM
“The
walls of the palace were formed of drifted snow, and the windows and doors
of the cutting winds. They were all lighted up by the vivid light of
the aurora, and they were so icy cold and glittering! There were no
amusements here, not even a little bear's ball, when the storm might have
been the music, and the bears could have danced on their hind legs, and
shown their good manners. 