First look: Arctic Bath, Swedish Lapland

First Impressions

A giant bird’s nest? No, a timber log jam — or at least that was the inspiration for architects Bertil Harström and Johan Kauppi. This extraordinary spa hotel floats on the River Lule in the snowy, postcard-pretty landscape of Swedish Lapland. Walk over the bridge and  through the spa’s door to see the ice bath which gave the hotel its name; round, surrounded by snow and embraced by a semi-circle of spa rooms which open out onto it. If you are lucky, you might just see the wide skies above dance with the Northern Lights .

Style

The Scandi-minimalist look blends pale wood (local pine, Swedish oak and birch wood) with sheep and reindeer skins. The design of the bath house with its jumble of logs — a nod to the Lule’s former use to float felled trees downriver — is itself transported across various mediums, appearing in ceramic as candle holders and straightened to form eye-catching wooden lampshades suspended from the ceilings. The wooden water cabins will cleverly float during the summer and are frozen into the ice during the winter months.

Eat & Drink

Sámi chef Kristoffer Åström delivers an impressive array of traditional dishes, drawing on locally sourced ingredients. Five-course dinners could start with a spruce baked onion, Arctic cured trout and a sorbet of apple and fennel followed by moose tournedos with a cream of salsify topped by a shaving of smoked moose heart, reindeer with almond potatoes, or Arctic char with sorrel sauce and a parsnip purée. Food is excellent, full of flavour and rooted in a sense of place.

Which Room?

Land cabins, designed by Annkathrin Lundqvist, are ideal for families. They have two bedrooms, one on each floor, and are filled with light due to the triangular wall of glass overlooking the river. Bathrooms offer a tub and shower and amenities are from Swedish-born Kerstin Florian. Water cabins come with a small deck right on the river and a cosy room for two. Bathrooms are shower-only. All 12 cabins are equipped with eco-friendly wood pellet burners, allowing you to relax by the fire.

Do

The raison d’être of Arctic Bath is wellness, based on nutrition, exercise, peace of mind and care of the face and body. The saunagus, a traditional spa ritual which involves alternative hot and cold immersion, is not to be missed. Linger in the sauna to prepare for the bracing Arctic bath which hovers around freezing point.  

Explore the world outside; snowshoeing, Nordic skiing, fat biking and aurora watching are all possible.  

In a nutshell

A clean-lined, scandi-chic winter wonderland which, come summer, will have as much charm when seen under the midnight sun.

Details

Rates at Arctic Bath start from £700 per night based on two sharing water accommodation on a half-board basis. Visit arcticbath.se.

For further information on Sweden, go to visitsweden.com