We’ve had an entire decade of Game of Thrones warning us that “winter is coming.” Now, as we approach the eighth and final season, the wall has come tumbling down and the storm is upon us. Forget Netflix and chill, it’s time for HBO and freeze (in spring, ironically enough). To celebrate the show’s long-awaited return, Lapland Hotels in Finland has partnered with HBO Nordic to create a mystical Game of Thrones-themed hotel 120 miles above the Arctic Circle.
As acknowledged by the stars of American Gods, a major draw for many-a-Thrones-head is the steamy sexual tension and consistent nudity from season to season. Others of us spend far too much time thinking about how awful they all must smell to ever find anything about the show sexy. Besides, for every sunlit filled Pedro Pascal-led orgy in Braavos, there’s some wildling sleeping with his own daughters and sacrificing his sons to the White Walkers. But if you’re a big fan of the “seduction on a cold night”-aspect of the show, you could do a lot worse than kicking off the final season with a bang (literally, metaphorically) at the Lapland Hotels’ SnowVillage.
The Game of Thrones-themed SnowVillage utilizes 45,000 cubic meters of snow, and over 350,000 kilos of natural ice for a series of sculptures and themed rooms that will allow visitors to “enjoy a dinner inside Winterfell, have a warm beverage inside Dragonstone, interact with Dragons, Giants, and White Walkers, and sleep in a snow suite guarded by the Unsullied army” said Janne Pasma, the Operations Manager for the property.
It should be noted that the themed rooms in SnowVillage are kept between 23 and 28 degrees Fahrenheit — in order to keep the ice from melting — so the hotel only suggests staying for one night before retreating to one of their warmer cabins.
Since you surely get the gist of a GoT-themed travel experience, let’s talk about the sculptures –because SnowVillage makes some weird choices. First, we have the Night King room, where a big ice sculpture of the Night King stands over your bed with glowing blue eyes and his arms outstretched. Weird and very unsettling.
Moving on — and getting more intense — there’s another room where the old frozen one watches your bed with glowing blue eyes. Yes, someone has already had sex while staring into the face of a giant White Walker. Sexy!
There are several other themed rooms that make use of strange character choices, too. You can stay in a room with several unsullied soldiers watching over you, visit Balerion or Drogon, or chill with a dire wolf sculpture. Other amenities include hot berry juices and thermal and fleece-lined sleeping bags to help you handle the ice rooms, an ice restaurant, an ice bar, an ice dragon slide, a recreation of the Iron Throne in — you guessed it — ice, with a sculpture of the Mountain to protect you because HBO Nordic and Lapland Hotels got together and said “We need to make a hotel using the least sexy assets from this sexy-ass show.”
It’s easy to poke fun when you’re not there, truth be told this spot looks pretty cool (sly pun intended). Standard double rooms start at $270 and snow suites at $360. Make sure you hit travel sites like Agoda where you can score a roundtrip flight to Kittilä for $707. If you’re a super fan and want to make this final season of Game of Thrones one you’ll never forget move fast, the hotel will only run until April 8th.
Check out more shots of the hotel below:
The Lapland Hotels SnowVillage is located at Lainiotie 566 99120 Kittilä
