This Amazing Floating Hotel Is The Best Way To See The Northern Lights

If watching the Northern Lights from Lapland has always been on your bucket list, then this is the way to experience it – in an ultra-cool floating hotel and spa in the heart of Sweden.

Designed by the team who created the famous Treehotel just below the Arctic Circle, the Arctic Bath hotel floats on top of the Lule River in summer, and freezes into position on the ice during the winter months.

The star of the show is the circular central bath itself – it’s kept at a very cool four degrees, so it isn’t for the faint-hearted, but it’s also a prime spot for basking in the summer sun or, if you’re lucky, enjoying the world’s greatest natural light show – the Aurora Borealis.

If that sounds a bit too chilly, you can warm up in one of the toasty saunas in the spa, or retreat to one of the six cosy cabins that surround the central bath. As you’d expect, these also float on the water or sit on the frozen ice depending on the season you visit.

Just like the super stylish Treehotel, the 25 square-metre cabins will also be designed in a cool Scandi minimalist style, clad in timber, with crisp white finishes and your very own log burner.

The Arctic Bath will be situated just down the river from the Treehotel, so you could even combine a stay in one of the unusual cabins high up in the trees with a trip to the hotel and spa.

The building was inspired by the idea of a natural dam created by floating timber, and the designers claim it’s a symbolic reminder of just how important sustaining the forests is for the country’s future development.

The 500 square-metre development, including the central bath (both hot and cold), spa treatment room, multiple saunas, plus bar and restaurant, is due to open in 2018, and is expected to be a popular attraction, with booking available six months in advance.

For more information on the hotel, click here, or to register your interest, email info@offthemaptravel.co.uk.

About the author

Charlotte Luxford

Architecture & Design Editor

As Culture Trip's architecture and design expert, Charlotte has more than 12 years' industry experience, working for an array of national publications. Prior to joining Culture Trip, Charlotte was the editor of Grand Designs Magazine, steering the magazine in a new direction and overseeing a new look for the title. She has also worked for mass media organisation TI Media, providing content for Livingetc, Ideal Home, Country Homes & Interiors and Homes & Gardens. Charlotte has always had a passion for design and is also a qualified interior designer, having completed a diploma in her spare time. At Culture Trip, Charlotte has worked closely with institutions including the Design Museum and London Design Festival, as well as interviewing design heroes such as Thomas Heatherwick and Sir Terence Conran.