It is that time of year again. Despite a relatively bad season throughout the rest of Europe, Scandinavia has received enough cold and snow to open up their annual snow and ice hotels. We've posted before about the most famous of these, the Ice Hotel in Jukkasjärvi, Sweden, but haven't brought to your attention the very impressive Snow Castle located in Kemi, on the northern coast of Finland.

As you might imagine, EVERYTHING is made of snow. Of course, there are wooden doors, glass light bulbs, sleeping bags (no beds!) and a few other amenities from non-snow material, but for the most part, when you check into the Snow Hotel, you check into the world's largest igloo.

Like most other hotels, the Snow Hotel also has its own restaurant. The Snow Restaurant features tables made from ice and seats covered with reindeer fur.

I was initially going to post just one photo from their site, but after checking out their photo gallery, I was so blown away with the architecture and workmanship I had to turn this post into a little photo essay honoring past and present Snow Hotels.

Filed under: Finland, Hotels and Accommodations