Swedish team plans floating hotel for 2020

Travelers unsure if they want to stay in a hotel or go on a cruise have a new option beyond the long-docked Queen Elizabeth 2: In Sweden's Lule River, the Arctic Bath Hotel and Spa is slated to open in February 2020, offering a unique hospitality option from the same team that opened the Treehotel in the same country that hosts the annual Icehotel. 

Developed by Kent Lindvall, Per Anders Eriksson, Robert Lundqvist, Patrik Jonsson and AnnKathrin Lundqvist, the circular hotel was designed by architects Bertil Harström and Johan Kaupp. 

In winter, the hotel will freeze into the Lule River in the country's Lapland region and will float on the water in summer. The property will consist of six detached floating “cabins” and six additional cabins on land, as well as the Arctic Bath, inspired by the timber-floating era, when felled trees were transported downriver for processing. Both the spa complex and the rooms will float on water ranging from 6.5 feet to 14 feet deep and will be connected by floating walkways. 

The circular-shaped Arctic Bath will have one spa treatment room, four saunas, an outside cold bath, a hot bath, outdoor and indoor showers and two dressing rooms. Guests will be able to sunbathe, ice bathe or just sit in the open center of the bath, which will be kept at 39 degrees Fahrenheit even in freezing Swedish winters. Itineraries and programming for the hotel are being developed by Off the Map Travel.

Photo credits: Anders Blomqvist, Fredrik Persson