Cool As Ice

Now there’s an exotic new way to behold the Northern Lights. Hot on the heels of the success of its famous sister, Treehouse, comes Arctic Bath, a hotel and spa that floats freely on the Lule River in Harads, Swedish Lapland, just 50 kilometres south of the Arctic Circle. The spa offers an array of water activities and spa treatments—as well as a lounge, shop and restaurant—but its biggest attractions are the ice-cold bath at its centre and the twinkling lights above. The design by Bertil Harström and Johan Kauppi pays homage to the country’s forest economy, resembling a dam of logs to be floated to a mill downriver. During the summer the spa-hotel floats, while in the winter it will be frozen in place. The hotel features six cabins in the water anchored around the spa building. Each is fitted with a wood-burning fireplace and a skylight—a cosy space to witness the mesmerising dance of the Northern Lights in winter.