Float On at this New Swedish Hotel and Spa

Travelers looking for a unique spa experience in 2018 might want to consider heading to Sweden. The Arctic Bath Hotel and Spa (Harads, Sweden) is slated to open fall this year. The unique twist? The new floating hotel and spa will freeze into the ice of the Lule River in the winter and float atop of the water in the summer.

The new experience comes from the travel experts at Off the Map Travel, in collaboration with the team behind Sweden’s famous Treehotel. “The circular shape of spa and Arctic Bath creates a protected environment sheltering guests and creating a haven to relax and soak up the local Arctic environment,” says Jonny Cooper, founder of Off the Map Travel. “You can experience the spa bath and stay overnight in a room that will float or be frozen into the ice, depending on the season. This will be a one-of-a kind Arctic experience. Although all seven buildings will be securely anchored in place they are freely floating in water or frozen into ice.”

The Arctic Bath project, as it has been called, stemmed from the opening days of the Treehotel in Harads, Sweden, when developers had the idea to take the wood concept of Treehotel from air to water. The project has since been developed by Kent Lindvall (of Treehotel), Per Anders Eriksson, Robert Lundqvist, Patrik Jonsson and AnnKathrin Lundqvist. Specialist design architects Bertil Harström and Johan Kauppi, both of Sweden, translated the concept into design, utilizing their background of minimalist furniture and building design.

The design of the hotel was not only to develop a visually striking property, but to develop a place with high environmental standards using local materials and leave minimal to no impact on the environment. The hotel will host one spa treatment room, four saunas, an outside cold bath, a hot bath, outdoor and indoor showers, two dressing rooms, and six guest accommodations, creating a truly intimate guest experience. An open center of the Arctic Bath was designed for sunbathing, ice bathing, and to view the Northern lights and Arctic star-filled skies. In typical Arctic tradition, guests are encouraged to take a dip in the bath itself to emulate a traditional cold-water plunge, as the bath water is maintained at 39 degrees Fahrenheit, which pairs well followed with a sauna and spa treatment. A special technique has been developed to keep the center of the bath open during wintertime, adding to the drama of the building and the guest experience.

For more information on the Arctic Bath hotel and spa experience, visit www.offthemap.travel; call +44 (0) 800 566 8901; or email [email protected].

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