Places to Chill Out
What's idea of a great winter vacation? Do you prefer to escape the cold or embrace the cold? While your some folks dream of heading south to sunny Caribbean beaches, others prefer the cold of northern ski slopes. After all, they can look forward to a cozy, warm hotel room at the end of the day-unless they're booked into an ice hotel.
Yes, you read that correctly. There really are ice hotels made from ice and snow! In Jukkasjarvi, Sweden, 10,000 tons of ice and 30,000 tons of snow are used each year to create The Ice Hotel. This popular hotel has space for more than 100 guests, but there is still a long waiting list for rooms. Much smaller is the Hotel Igloo Village in Kangerlussuag, Greenland. This friendly "village" has a large common room surrounded by private sleeping igloos. Hallways of snow connect the igloos.
Closer to home is The Ice Hotel Quebec-Canada. Here guests can sleep on a bed made of ice (topped with deer pelts), watch movies projected onto a screen of snow, view ice sculptures in a snow-walled art gallery, sit on ice chairs, and eat from ice plates. Outdoors, hotel guests enjoy skating, skiing, snowboarding, lessons in igloo construction and dogsled riding, and, of course, ice fishing.
Inside The Ice Hotel Quebec-Canada, temperatures hover around a frosty 26 degrees Fahrenheit (about -3° Celsius), which is much warmer than the frigid outside air but not exactly toasty. Of course, each guest is supplied with a sleeping bag designed for weather as cold as -22°F (-30°C). No worries, though, the hotel keeps people warm. Ice and snow, which make up the four-foot-thick walls, are good insulators. They trap heat inside the hotel and keep colder air out. Guests are advised to pack plenty of winter gear, such as long underwear, fleece hats and gloves, and warm down coats for their time outside and when walking around the hotel. Inside the hotel, guests stay comfortable with good boots, a hat, a coat, and mittens or gloves. For sleeping, normal pajamas and a hat should suffice.
Construction of The Ice Hotel begins every year in early December and is completed in about five weeks. In addition to guestrooms, the 30,000-square-foot structure has themed suites, a reception room, a theater, a bar, and an ice chapel available for weddings. But this marvelous hotel stays open for only three months. When the spring thaw arrives, The Ice Hotel begins to melt, inevitably, to be rebuilt anew the following winter.
Which kind of reader is the author most likely trying to appeal to in this selection?
a. students on a limited budget
b. people with infants or toddlers looking for a relaxing family trip
c. elderly couples who enjoy working in their gardens
d. people with an interest in vacations that are somewhat offbeat